Former Major League Baseball player Jim "The Rookie" Morris recalls walking into O.D. Wyatt High School in Fort Worth, Texas, last year for the first time.
He was amazed at what he saw.
"I was shocked at just the lack of everything basically with the baseball program," Morris told NASCAR.com of the school's lack of equipment and facilities. "I want everybody to have a level playing field. I want a safe haven for kids to go to after school where they're not on the streets, they're actually doing something and being coached by people who love them."
So Morris decided to do something about it: With the help of a group of sponsors, including Thrivent Financial -- a organization that helps Christians manage their finances -- Morris and NASCAR driver Michael McDowell will host a celebrity softball game at the school on Saturday prior to Sunday's race at nearby Texas Motor Speedway. Volunteers, alumni, students and teachers will be afforded the opportunity to play and during the game, plans for the school's baseball field renovations, as well as new batting cage, equipment and uniforms, will be unveiled.
Despite his lack of baseball experience, McDowell -- who says lightheartedly that he has "no abilities, no skills" in that area -- is excited to be a part of an event that will be impactful for the school and the Fort Worth community.
"Just like any other thing we do with Thrivent -- to live generously and to give back to our community is a really important part and we have a great opportunity with the platform that we have to make a difference in communities," said McDowell, who also works with Habitat for Humanity, Samaritans Purse, The Wounded Warrior Project and other organizations through primary sponsor Thrivent Financial.
"To get people to rally together and to do that is really cool."
He'll also be able to learn a little more about baseball, thanks to a stout teacher in Morris: The inspiration for Disney's 2002 film "The Rookie," Morris went from a 35-year-old high school teacher to a Major League Baseball pitcher in a three-month span after making a bet with his high school players that he would try out for the major leagues if they won the District Championship. He pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays and then the Los Angeles Dodgers before retiring in 2001.
Now, Morris' mission in life is to help underprivileged children and communities through his Jim "The Rookie" Morris Foundation and give them the same opportunities he had growing up. Giving these students new equipment and a revamped facility is the start of helping reform their life, he explained.
"My father and I didn't get along, rough life -- he was in the Navy, he moved around constantly," Morris said. "Baseball was the one constant I had in my life. In between the white lines of that baseball field, I could be the kid I was supposed to be.
"… There is no color in baseball. The baseball's white, the bats are different colors, the gloves are different colors, the players are different colors -- they come from different backgrounds, different countries. I want these kids to see that, that they can go out and reach their dreams as much as we can."
McDowell sees parallels between his racing career Morris' rise to the big leagues, as he's persevered through the NASCAR ranks and finally earned his first major series victory this season at Road America in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.
"When I came into the sport, I had high expectations and I was young and I had won in everything else I'd done and then I got to NASCAR and it was a very humbling experience," McDowell recalled. "I really struggled to perform and after I lost my job at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing), I sort of just found where I am with sort of underfunded race teams and single car teams, start and parking and just driving whatever I could just to stay in the sport. Definitely trying to just persevere through that.
"Luckily I got a break in 2011 and got to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing in the XFINITY Series. Only got to do a handful of races but those went well and that kind of put me back on the map of somebody that could do it and had the ability to do it … but I never got that first win until (this year at Road America).
"Just a story of sticking to it and fighting hard and I feel like I've had some great opportunities the last few years and that's allowed me to stay in the sport and I'm very thankful for that."
Morris will also join McDowell at the race track for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App), along with a group of local children.
"I've never been a NASCAR fan, but I've never had the opportunity to go, so this is great big deal for me, this is a great big deal for the kids and the coaches," Morris said. "At least for a little while, they can leave the life they were stuck in and go out there and watch race and just have fun."
The Celebrity Softball Game will take place on Saturday, Nov. 5 at O.D. Wyatt High School in Fort Worth, Texas, from 3:30-6 p.m. local time. The event is open to the public.