More than 150 boys and girls from Rochester joined three Rochester Red Wings players and recreation department staff at the city's third Play Ball baseball clinic on Wednesday. 

The event, held at the fields behind Frederick Douglass Center on South Avenue in Rochester, is the latest edition of a collaborative effort by pro baseball and the nation's mayors to promote a game that has seen a decline in participation for more than a generation. 

Tasha Stevens of Rochester watched her son embrace soccer before introducing him to the sport she loved watching her grandfather play. Tasha believes the time her son spent at Play Ball Wednesday will make a difference in his love for the game. 

"Baseball is a skilled sport that's passed down. It was hard at first to get him involved, but once he had friends and learned the skills he needed, he fell in love with it," Stevens said.

​Three years after participation numbers in youth baseball dropped more than a Clayton Kershaw slider, clinics hosted by Major League Baseball and more than 300 U.S. cities report success in stemming the decline. Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren and Red Wings General Manager Dan Mason worked together to host Wednesday's two hour session.

"It's been fun for me," added Zony Lynd of Rochester. "I've been practicing with my brother and my dad is our coach.  This is great."

Red Wings pitcher Zack Littell gladly volunteered. He remembers loving clinics with the Kansas City Royals Single A players who started their careers in the North Carolina town where he grew up."

"It's awesome to get out here," said Littell. "We don't get a lot of chances to get out, help with the community. It's a lot of fun."