Last season, the Baltimore Orioles, in conjunction with Major League Baseball, created the “Have a Catch” initiative. The campaign was a “youth baseball initiative” that emphasized the importance of getting outside and introducing the sport of baseball to young people.
Company-Issue Congruence
For a professional baseball organization such as the Orioles, providing opportunities for inner-city and suburban youth to engage in the sport of baseball from a young age emphasized a high level of company-issue congruence. Company-issue congruence is the extent to which an organization’s philanthropic cause aligns with that company’s mission and operations.
In a 2016 paper, researchers Barbara Miller Gaither and Lucinda Austin hypothesized that the higher the level of company-issue congruence within an organization, the lower the probability of negative feedback from the organization’s various publics. The Have a Catch campaign, in accordance with the researchers’ findings, generated positive feedback among Orioles fans.
Event Details
Credit: MLB.com
The Orioles hosted seven separate Have a Catch outings in the greater Baltimore metropolitan area and its surrounding communities throughout the summer. Several Baltimore Orioles players, alumni, coaches and front office officials including catcher Caleb Joseph and bench coach John Russell, made sporadic appearances at several of these events.
Playing catch is one of the most basic elements of our game and yet also one of the most rewarding.
Greg Bader, Orioles vice president of communications & marketing
Beyond the Outings
The campaign extended past the scheduled community events. On June 21, Cornersville, Tennessee native Luke Terry threw out the first pitch at an Orioles game. Terry, 14, had his right arm amputated as an infant.
Credit: MLB.com
The Orioles’ decision to have Terry throw out the ceremonial first pitch as a part of the Have a Catch campaign resonated positively with fans as well as the overarching organizational goals and vision.
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