In 2005, Minute Maid and the Houston Astros announced the Grand Slam for Youth Baseball (GSFYB) Scholarship program to assist Houston-area high school senior boys and girls with college expenses. GSFYB presented two (2) $2,500 scholarships that first year from a pool of qualified applicants selected from senior boys and girls participating in Houston’s Reviving Baseball in Inner-Cities (RBI) program. This year, the program was expanded within the greater Houston area with four (4) $2500 scholarships and eight (8) $500 grants awarded to seniors selected from more than 60 applications. The winners of the second annual GSFYB Scholarships were Bryan Smart ($2500 -Howard University/Booker T. Washington High School); Samantha Martinez ($2500 – Sharpstown High School/University of Houston); Oscar Ayala ($2500 – J. Frank Dobie High School/University of Texas) and James ‘Brett’ Eaves ($2500 – North Shore High School/Sam Houston State University). The eight (8) $500 grants were presented to Remy Midkiff (Clear Lake High School/Washington University); Juan Jose Acevedo (Jersey Village High School/Steven F. Austin University); Kyle Benson (Strake Jesuit College Prep/St. Louis University); Megan Puckett (Langham Creek High School/Texas A&M University); Robert Bember (Klein Forest High School/Texas Christian University); Travis Teinert (Round Top – Carmine High School/University of Texas); Josh Garduno (Sam Houston High School/University of Texas) and Jocelyn Rodriguez (South Houston High School/University of Houston).

On July 25, Ayala, Smart, Martinez and Eaves were treated to an up-close-and-personal visit to the Astros batting practice prior to the game with the Cincinatti Reds before being introduced to the fans during pre-game ceremonies.