For MLB, protecting planet is a day at the beach

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Perhaps no beach within L.A. County limits is more well known than Santa Monica State Beach, home to the Santa Monica Pier. For All-Star Week 2022, it’s also home to MLB’s Capital One All-Star Oceanfront.

On Saturday morning, Major League Baseball came together with Santa Monica-based environmental advocacy group Heal the Bay, as well as Players for the Planet and Corona, for a cleanup event to help make that world-famous coastline a little more beautiful, with more than 400 volunteers collecting 167 pounds of trash.

“When we come out for our Midsummer Classic, we want to make sure that, through our legacy initiatives and our environmental pillars, we impact the community in a way that really helps -- if it's a cleanup, if it's helping a nonprofit with their own goals around sustainability,” said April Brown, MLB’s vice president of social responsibility. “So that's why this particular morning was important for us.”

Corona joined this All-Star beach cleanup effort as it aligned with one of its own core programs. Through its “Protect Our Beaches” initiative, Corona has pledged to clean 100 beaches and remove one million pounds of plastic by 2025.

Players for the Planet was established in 2008 by co-founders Chris Dickerson and Jack Cassel, both retired Major Leaguers and L.A.-area natives, with the intent of launching initiatives in support of sustainability and environmental responsibility. One of their major goals of getting athletes to use their platforms to advocate for such causes.

The opportunity to do that close to home, with the backdrop of All-Star Week and all the buzz that comes with it, was especially meaningful.

“We have some of the most diverse landscapes in the world -- we have beaches, mountains, forests, and it's probably one of the only places where you can surf in the morning and go skiing in the afternoon,” said Dickerson. “So understanding … how our relationship with our natural environment is under threat, Jack and I wanted to do something to where we could use our platforms as professional athletes to bring more awareness and to instill best practices among sports fans and young athletes.”

Players for the Planet members who showed up to help out on Saturday included former Major Leaguers Ryan Braun, Trevor Plouffe, Kenny Lofton, Jerry Hairston Jr., Derrek Lee, AJ Ramos, Gary Matthews Jr. and David DeJesus, as well as Hockey Hall of Famer Luc Robitalle.

Having groups like MLB and Players for the Planet get involved is a big boost for organizations like Heal the Bay, which saw an especially impressive turnout at this edition of their monthly beach cleanup.

“We obviously love MLB, and so do our volunteers,” said Whitney DuBarry, Heal the Bay’s development specialist of corporate partnerships. “So there was definitely a lot of excitement around this particular event, especially here at Santa Monica with the activation at the pier. A lot of people were very excited, and there was a huge turnout. … A lot of people registered, and even more came the day of. And everyone was really excited and in a great mood.”

What has the people involved with Saturday’s event even more excited is the possibility of how things will continue to grow from here. For Dickerson’s part, he believes that environmentalism is a cause that the next generation of MLB stars is being well primed to champion.

“They're coming out of college after studying environmental science, and they're ready to really get involved,” said Dickerson. “And having veteran presences, like Robinson [Canó] and Nelson [Cruz], and having that rub off on the future, like the Willy Adameses and Wander Francos, that's the plan.

“And from there, it’s getting them out, getting their hands dirty. And seeing the impact and seeing the acts that they're doing, the genuine acts, is what's going to inspire teammates and more sports and more athletes to get involved.”