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| Delaware Ave. |
As if the offseason wasn't bad enough with the whole ALCS thing still looming large in our memories, then the north gets hit with an apocolypse in the form of Sandy. Kind of made us put things in perspective, to say the least. It was a nightmare. I was living in Long Beach, never evacuated, and when all was said and done, the town was completely decimated. Honestly, when the water finally receded and I could walk around, it was like something from a SciFi movie.
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| Mariano Rivera was being very brave. |
The efforts and charities and fundraising have done more than just provide shelter and support for Sandy victims...they've also provided a sense of encouragement and hope that this, too, shall pass.
So when I heard about a former Yankee working towards this, I knew it was a worthwhile cause. And when I read more about it, I couldn't think of a better way for our great American Pasttime to come to the rescue of Sandy victims:
Former Yank Smalley Gives Glove for Sandy Relief
During his 13-year MLB career, former Yankees shortstop Roy Smalley had more gloves, bats and balls than he knew what to do with. But now, the part-time Twins broadcaster and wealth advisor for Morgan Stanley in Minneapolis, spends his free time searching for used baseball equipment to make sure all kids have the chance to take the field.
Smalley's organization, Pitch in For Baseball a not-for-profit that collects and redistributes new and gently-used youth baseball/softball equipment to communities in need all across the world, is donating $150,000 worth of baseball equipment to youth baseball leagues and communities in the New York/New Jersey area that were impacted by the devastation of Hurricane Sandy including the towns ofIsland Park, North Merrick, Oceanside, Rockaway and East Rockaway on Long Island and Bayonne and Bayshore in New Jersey. On Wednesday (Feb 13) the first PIFB shipments arrived in Oceanside and Island Park.
“As communities get on their feet after a disaster, it’s important to restore a sense of normalcy and nothing is more normal than youngsters taking the baseball fields in the Spring,” said Smalley, former MLB All-Star and President of Pitch in for Baseball. “Hurricane Sandy destroyed the contents of youth baseball equipment sheds and washed away bats, balls and gloves in flooded basements and garages in all of these communities. We hope helping replacing some of the baseball equipment that was lost will allow these people to focus upon rebuilding their lives.”
Smalley spent parts of 3 seasons ('82-84) at shortstop for the Yankees and held the team's single season HR record of 20 before Derek Jeter hit 24 in 1999. He was an MLB All-Star in 1979 and a member of the Twins 1987 World Championship team. Smalley is the son of former MLB shortstop Roy Smalley Jr, who preceded Ernie Banks at shortstop for the Chicago Cubs from 1948-58 and is the nephew of former MLB manager Gene Mauch. In 2012, Roy received the Kirby Puckett Award for community service from the Twins.
People can support the efforts of PIFB by donating new or gently-used baseball equipment, or by making a financial donation. To donate visitwww.PitchInForBaseball.org or text the words “Give Gloves” to 80088 to make a $10 donation (normal text messaging rates apply).
Pitch in for Baseball has been assisting kids and communities in need since 2005, many of those efforts in the form of disaster relief. PIFB has provided much needed baseball and softball equipment following tornadoes in Joplin, MO and Henryville, IN, to communities in Japan impacted by the tsunami and earthquake, to flood-stricken Nashville in the spring of 2010 and many in Mississippi following the severe weather in Spring 2011.
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