Indians Donate One Playoff Share Toward Puerto Rico's Hurricane Maria Recovery
The Indians are donating one of the team's 62 playoff shares from last season toward Hurricane Maria relief efforts in Puerto Rico, according to Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com.
The team donated $18,400 of the $36,782.74 playoff share to Nuestra Escuela, a high school in Caguas, on Monday, according to cleveland.com. Shortstop Francisco Lindor grew up in Caguas before moving to the United States, and presented the donation check to student leaders at his old grade school in Gurabo. The donation will allow the school to reinstate its sports programs, purchase new equipment and improve the athletic field, according to cleveland.com.
Cleveland will donate the remainder of the playoff share to Extra Bases, Inc., a non-profit founded by former player Carlos Delgado, according to cleveland.com. From there, all of the money will be given to Albergue Jesus de Nazareth, a home for abused children in Mayaguez, to help rebuild the baseball field and get new equipment for the facility. Catcher Roberto Perez, who is from Mayaguez, will present a check to Delgado during Cleveland's two-game series in San Juan against the Twins, according to cleveland.com.
Additionally, the Indians' wives association donated $4,000 to Casa Protegida de Burgo, Puerto Rico's oldest institution for abused women.
On Monday, Twins starter Jose Berrios visited a children's hospital in San Juan and outfielder Eddie Rosario ran a clinic in his hometown of Guayama, according to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. Berrios is scheduled to start Wednesday in Hiram Bithorn Stadium, and according to Reynolds, Berrios will join Javier Vazquez as the only other Puerto Rican pitcher to start a regular-season MLB game in the stadium.
MLB also hosted a charity golf tournament Monday, with the proceeds going to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico and Habitat for Humanity. The league's final activity for Monday was a game at Hiram Bithorn Stadium between 17U Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) teams from Aguadilla and Carolina.
On Tuesday morning, there was a celebration for the expansion of a Boys & Girls Club facility at the Ramos Antonini Housing Complex in the Rio Piedras area of San Juan that included Delgado and commissioner Rob Manfred. Later in the day, players from the Twins and Indians were also present along with Habitat for Humanity representatives for the unveiling of a new mobile response cargo van and a new mobile response truck that will help with home construction and repairs across the island. MLB stocked the vehicles with supplies. And prior to Tuesday's contest, there will be a ceremony to recognize eight first responders who helped during Hurricane Maria.
The festivities will all conclude Wednesday, starting with a ceremony to unveil a new memorial marker for the late Roberto Clemente, which will be located at the shoreline near the waters where Clemente's plane crashed on Dec. 31, 1972. And before Wednesday's game, Berrios and Perez will take part in a ceremony for Puerto Rican Little Leaguers and the MLBPA's Player Trust will present a check to Feeding America.
MLB is also providing new equipment and apparel to 150 Little League softball and baseball teams, and the Twins and Indians will also host a few other volunteer events and other programs aimed at local youth.
