Brad Roemer Discusses Baseball Players That Give Back

Opening Day

What can only be classified as every American boy’s dream, these players get to play baseball all year and get paid big bucks to do it. With the World Series safely in the wake of baseball season, Brad Roemer now looks to what the players will do in the offseason. Certainly, some will be traded, but we are more interested right now in how they will give back to the community.

Off Season

With some deals already signed and some people raking in $93 million-dollar contracts, we are hoping that they will decide to help out local communities and their hometowns as well. Let’s take a look at some of the players, both active and retired, that help out the most.

1.       David Ortiz – Big Poppy retired two years ago but is still very much a part of many charities around the United States. Very active in the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles affords David a lot of time to spend with the children with terminal diseases. Along with this, he also still participates in five additional charities and donates millions of dollars annually.

2.       Cal Ripken, Jr. – Another retired player, but another player that still donates millions of dollars to charities. Cal is associated with five different charities, one of which is one he founded, the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation. The organization does work with at-risk youth in underserved and underfunded areas across the United States.

3.       Alex Rodriguez – Quite possibly one of the most controversial players on this list, Alex makes it his mission to donate to several different charities – four to be exact. One of the charities he donates to is Soles4Souls who have donated over 26 million pairs of shoes across the globe. Those of us that live in first world countries tend to take shoes for granted, but having been to many third world countries, Alex knows that it is something everyone should have.

4.       Derek Jeter – Perhaps we spoke too soon on the controversial players. Derek, being a member of the New York Yankees, garnered much criticism for his on and off-field antics. However, we could not overlook the fact that he donates to four different charities. In conjunction with his teammate Alex, they donate millions of dollars to Soles4Souls and help them to put shoes on the feet of people from underdeveloped countries.

5.       Mike Piazza – Only really controversial late in his career, Mike showed his worth early on both on the field and off. Donating millions of dollars annually to the Jason Taylor Foundation, Mike has promoted education through them. The foundation concentrates on literacy but will not turn their back on any education that a child needs.

Last Game

It has always impressed Brad Roemer the number of athletes that give back. What is more impressive is the fact that even after their careers, they continue to give to the community. This gives us all hope for a bright and prosperous future both in sport and out of sports.