2024 Charter Memberships

In celebration of our 25th season and with an eye on growing our fan base so we are able to sustain Big Train baseball long into the future, we are for the first time offering Big Train fans membership in our Bethesda Community Base Ball Club. The COMMUNITY in Bethesda Community Base Ball Club is intentional. No one person or small group of people owns Big Train baseball. Our founders wanted to be clear that the Bethesda Community Base Ball Club belongs to the community.

We are so grateful to the 380 donors who have contributed $850,000 over the last four years to make our Big Train baseball at Shirley Povich Field so special. The Big Train baseball you love is like your favorite theatre or museum. There is no way we could produce the quality experience you expect when you come to Povich Field with just the revenue from the sale of tickets, concessions, and souvenirs. Nearly one-quarter of our annual budget comes from your charitable contributions. 

To be sustainable long into the future, Big Train baseball needs to grow our base of donors from 380 to 1,000. We hope the Charter Memberships in our Bethesda Community Base Ball Club can help us do that.

Each adult who contributes $50 or more and each youth under 18 years old who contributes $25 will receive a Membership card certifying that you are proud supporter of Big Train baseball and a card carrying member of the Bethesda Community Base Ball Club. In addition to the pride of being part of one of the nation’s most admired amateur sports organizations, your card will give you ten percent discount on tickets, food and beverages from the Home Run Cafe, and souvenirs at Povich Field. You will receive advance notice of ticket sales, new souvenirs, and other opportunities.

($50.00/ea.)
($25.00/ea.)

To help ensure that Povich Field remains a community jewel long into the future, please donate to the David Povich Improvement Fund for Shirley Povich Field. Click here for information about the fund and directions on how to donate, either online or via check.

We Are Big Train 2024

In addition to signing up for 2024 Charter Memberships on this page, you may also contribute to our 2024 We Are Big Train campaign. See below:

Our annual We Are Big Train Spring fundraising campaign helps provide the Bethesda Community Base Ball Club with the resources needed to support the Big Train baseball at Shirley Povich Field that you love. Please make a one-time contribution or sign up to make automatic monthly donations. All contributions are tax-deductible.

Just like your favorite theatre or art museum, we depend upon charitable contributions to provide the special experience you get at Povich field. There is no way we could produce the quality experience you expect when you come to Povich Field with just the revenue from the sale of tickets, concessions, and souvenirs. Nearly one-quarter of our annual budget comes from your charitable contributions.

Each individual and family pledging to support our "We Are Big Train" campaign at the MVP level of $20 per month (or $240 one-time), at the All-Star level of $10 per month (or $120 one-time), or the Silver Slugger level of a custom amount per month will be listed on the Big Train website as part of our "We Are Big Train" Honor Roll.

MVPs

Suggested Amounts

All-Stars

Suggested Amounts

Silver Sluggers

$

Other Amount

$
$0.00

"We Are Big Train" Honor Roll Listing

Almost done. Where should we send the confirmation?

If you prefer to mail your donation, please check "Offline" above for payment method, make your check payable to "Bethesda Community Base Ball Club" and send it to: 

Bethesda Community Base Ball Club
7211 Exeter Road
Bethesda, MD 20814

Our annual We Are Big Train Spring Fundraiser celebrates the essence of what is special about Big Train baseball:

  • We Are Big Train: We Provide Affordable Family Fun – “Fun Is Good” is our brand. Since 1999, we have provided family fun at affordable prices right near home. Marc Fisher of The Washington Post called Big Train baseball at Povich Field “the ultimate small-town fantasy.”
  • We Are Big Train: We Win Championships – In 2023, we won our tenth Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League championship. In 2011, we were ranked the number one team in all of summer college baseball by Perfect Game. Twenty-three Big Train alumni have made it to the major leagues.
  • We Are Big Train: We Inspire and Teach Our Youth – We believe every kid deserves a great summer. Each summer, we bring outstanding student athletes from across the country to provide local kids an opportunity to be inspired by watching the best on the field and coached by these role models at our summer camp.
  • We Are Big Train: We Serve Our Community – Each summer since 2021, we have honored 25 Community Heroes from a different community nonprofit at each home game with a free ticket, dinner, and drink. Since 2022, we have held our Roberto Clemente Community Service Day with 100 Big Train players, staff, and fans volunteering at several nonprofits across Montgomery County. Since 2010, Ripken League players have collected 60,846 pounds of food for the Manna Food Center.
  • We Are Big Train: We Celebrate Our Diverse Community – Each summer, we celebrate Montgomery County’s diverse community with a full schedule of game night activities that include our Clarence “Pint” Isreal Juneteenth Classic honoring Montgomery’s Black sandlots, our Roberto Clemente Community Service Day and Tribute to Latin Baseball, our Pride Night, our Sister Cities Night, our Military Appreciation Night, and our Jewish Baseball Heritage Night.
  • We Are Big Train: We Honor Our Heroes – Our “Shirley & Walter” sculpture honors two legends of Washington sports history. We honor local community heroes at each game every summer.

The Bethesda Community Base Ball Club is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization approved by the IRS to accept tax deductible donations. Our federal employer identification number is 85-0895405.

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