Baseball greats teach kids at Oakland's O.co Coliseum

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Sports and science intersected Tuesday at Oakland's O.co Coliseum for some lucky kids from Richmond as some of baseball's best taught them the tricks from the game and a little bit about the science behind it.

When Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa led the Oakland Athletics to a world championship, these kids hadn't been born yet.

A who's who of former players and managers showed up to teach the kids how the pros do it. The kids are from Richmond's Little League and Police Activities League.

"You know, a lot of these kids have probably never been to an A's game let alone get a chance to do this on the field," said Vida Blue, former A's All-Star pitcher.

La Russa added, "A lot of times you'll see young people, they just don't have opportunities. And this is an opportunity to mix sports and learning."

Learning things like patience.

"I take 300 swings a day off this thing for 20 years," said former MLB slugger Willie McGee. "That's how i won two batting titles."

Getting to learn from some of the baseball greats was a pretty good reason for these kids to pay attention. And while they're transfixed, the grownups are hoping they learn that the game isn't just physical, but requires mental strength as well.

That includes learning how your brain finds the strike zone and your body weight makes the catch. It's why the sponsors at Chevron put on the event.

"And not only will it help them become better athletes, it can actually potentially help them become better employees in the future for us," said Chevron Human Resources Vice President Rhonda Morris.

Even A's rookie pitcher Kendall Graveman has an engineering degree.

"Math and science is something you'll use on a daily basis no matter what field of work you decide to go into," he said.

It's a day these kids will never forget.