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Minor League Baseball announces $300,000 raised in hurricane relief

By Benjamin Chase |
MARATHON, FL - SEPTEMBER 19: Oni Ferreiro III throws items out as he cleans up his home after it was badly damaged by hurricane Irma on September 19, 2017 in Marathon, Florida. The process of rebuilding has begun as the Federal Emergency Management Agency has reported that 25-percent of all homes in the Florida Keys were destroyed and 65-percent sustained major damage when they took a direct hit from Hurricane Irma. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
MARATHON, FL - SEPTEMBER 19: Oni Ferreiro III throws items out as he cleans up his home after it was badly damaged by hurricane Irma on September 19, 2017 in Marathon, Florida. The process of rebuilding has begun as the Federal Emergency Management Agency has reported that 25-percent of all homes in the Florida Keys were destroyed and 65-percent sustained major damage when they took a direct hit from Hurricane Irma. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)


Minor League Baseball announced on Monday their fundraising efforts through their charities wing raised over $300,000 that was donated for relief for Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma

Between late August and early October, three major hurricanes blasted the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, causing damage that combined will cost in the billions of dollars to fully repair. Minor league baseball announced on Monday the totals from their corporate offices and team giving that over $300,000 had been raised toward those relief efforts.

We all saw the various advertisements during the postseason about T-Mobile’s fundraising with their hashtag #HR4HR (home run for hurricane relief). T-Mobile donated a set amount for each home run hit during the postseason and then also added a donation for each tweet sent with the fundraising hashtag. The campaign helped to raise over $2.5 million in roughly a month of postseason play.

Hurricane Relief around Minor League Baseball

As the hurricanes bore down on Texas and then Florida, the minor league baseball season was coming to a close and in postseason mode. This led to the alteration of multiple postseasons across minor league baseball in August and September.

Most campaigns raised millions of dollars in funds for hurricane relief, but often they hit the big cities and major metropolitan areas. Minor league baseball, however, often thrives in more medium-sized markets and even smaller towns, and those areas didn’t get the same national attention or financial priority through national relief organizations. That’s where minor league baseball’s main offices in St. Petersburg, Florida, and its teams stepped up.

As outlined in their press release Monday afternoon, Minor League Baseball Charities donated over $180,000 toward relief efforts from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Minor league baseball’s 160 teams combined to distribute over $120,000 directly to relief organizations.

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Some of the team efforts that were highlighted:

The Corpus Christi Hooks made a large donation to the Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group. The team also has plans to make donations to multiple little league programs in the area. The Hooks are the AA affiliate of the Houston Astros.

The Minnesota Twins’ high-A affiliate Fort Myers Miracle utilized a donation from Minor League Baseball Charities among eight different charities in the Fort Myers area, where the Twins also have their spring training home.

The Charlotte Stone Crabs, a Florida State League affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, utilized their donated funds to assist the United Way of Charlotte County in helping residents recover from damage from Hurricane Irma.

The New York Mets’ FSL affiliate, the St. Lucie Mets, sent their donation to Mustard Seed Ministries, SAFER St. Lucie, and the United Way of St. Lucie County.

Finally, the Southern League AA affiliate of the Miami Marlins, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp donated their portion of funds to the Trinity Rescue Mission Women and Children’s Center.

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In this season of giving, if you would like to help the many who are still homeless, without adequate power and water, and struggling to rebuild, there are multiple places to donate, including Salvation Army, Red Cross, Oxfam, UNICEF, United Way Worldwide, Save the Children, and many, many others.

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