Tapia donates supplies to families in DR

DENVER -- Rockies outfielder Raimel Tapia is now renowned in his hometown of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, for more than his bat, his legs and his braids.

Tapia provided a large quantity of supplies -- including food, toiletries, surgical masks and gloves -- for about 150 families there about two weeks ago.

Tapia made the arrangements and distributed the much-needed materials with no public announcement, and without even getting the team involved. The Rockies discovered it only through seeing posts from his followers on Instagram.

The giving effort is celebrated in a series of photos via @raimeltapiafans on Instagram:

When contacted by the club, Tapia said that he was unable to just sit at home and do nothing while knowing that others within his community were in dire straits and unable to feed themselves. He said that he felt a moral obligation to act as a member of the Rockies' family.

According to the Worldometer, the Dominican Republic has seen 1,488 cases and 68 deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic.