Since his ownership group was approved to purchase the Astros two years ago, Jim Crane has been a constant champion for diversity -- a cause which helped lead to the hiring of Bo Porter as the team's second African-American manager last year and several off-the-field initiatives in the community.

That's why Crane aggressively pursued the chance to play host to next year's Civil Rights Game and its ancillary activities, which were developed by Major League Baseball to pay tribute to those who fought on and off the field for equal rights for all Americans.

MLB and the Astros announced during a joint news conference Tuesday at Minute Maid Park that the 2014 Civil Rights Game will be played May 30 in Houston when the Astros meet the Orioles. The eighth installment of the game will be televised nationally on MLB Network.

"We made it clear when we got involved a couple of years ago when we bought the team that we were very interested in diversity and we'd be a big supporter of it," Crane said.

Ancillary activities such as the MLB Beacon Awards Luncheon, the Baseball & Civil Rights Movement Roundtable Discussion and a youth baseball and softball event will all take place that week. Ticket sales and more information on the 2014 Civil Rights Game and ancillary events will be made available at a later date on MLB.com/civilrightsgame and Astros.com/civilrightsgame.