Players Alliance gives back on 33-city tour

A big black semi-trailer truck full of gear and cheer rolled into the Bronx on Tuesday, ready to deliver to those in need.

Adorned with the logo of The Players Alliance, a nonprofit organization comprised of more than 150 active and former Major League players, the truck was the embodiment of an effort to put weight behind words and to bring needed COVID-19, food and baseball resources to the underserved in Black communities.

“With everything that we have behind us,” said former pitcher CC Sabathia, a member of the Players Alliance, “I don’t think we can be stopped.”

In the midst of civil unrest on American streets this past summer, several players and teams chose not to play scheduled games, in protest of racial injustice. And for the members of The Players Alliance, sitting out meant stepping up. The group’s members donated more than $1 million of their game-day salaries to invest in The Players Alliance’s cause, and MLB has since donated an additional $1 million worth of supplies and baseball equipment for the Alliance’s Gear for Good program.

Earlier this year, in joint support with the MLB Players Association, MLB contributed $10 million to help fund innovative programs designed by The Players Alliance.

The result is the two-month tour that began in New York on what is nationally known as Giving Tuesday. In partnership with Pull Up Neighbor, a Black-owned community response team, the cross-country tour will bring a pop-up pantry, COVID-19 supplies (face masks, hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies and hygiene products) and baseball gear to communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

After continuing in New York City with a Brooklyn stop on Friday, the tour will roll on down the East Coast, on to the Midwest and into the South before venturing out to the West Coast. In all, the Pull Up Neighbor tour will reach 33 cities in 19 states and the District of Columbia.

Each destination will have a special player host from the Alliance’s impressive roster, with current and former stars such as Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, David Price, Curtis Granderson, Dexter Fowler, Jason Heyward, Jimmy Rollins, Marcus Stroman, Michael Brantley, Ryan Howard and Torii Hunter and both of 2020’s Rookie of the Year Award winners -- the Mariners’ Kyle Lewis and the Brewers’ Devin Williams -- among those scheduled to take part.

“As long as we stay together,” said Sabathia, the host at the opening Bronx stop, “it’s going to be a lot of fun what we’re going to be able to do in the Black communities and touching all communities.”

As the pandemic unfolded and as the conversation around racial equity became more pronounced in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Sabathia and other players felt an urge to get involved.

The Players Alliance, which had been formed with a primary aim of increasing Black participation in baseball by reducing barriers for entry, was able to broaden its reach to address social justice issues collectively.

“I have four young kids, and it was actually my youngest [10-year-old son Carter] that fueled me and my family to get out and start going to some of these rallies and just showing our face and making sure we’re doing the right thing in our community,” Sabathia said. “Being a part of this Players Alliance is definitely a blessing. Cameron Maybin, Dee Gordon and Edwin Jackson kind of started this thing, got it going. Now, it’s 150 current and former players that are trying to make a difference. All of us do things separately across our whole careers. It’s a blessing for us all to come together.”

Recognizing the countless losses due to the pandemic, including access to learn and play baseball, the Pull Up Neighbor tour is providing resources in a safe and socially distant capacity. At the Bronx stop, the Yankees provided 500 team backpacks and meal vouchers to community members, and the pop-up pantry -- a mobile unit stocked with groceries and other necessities -- was supplied by the Food Bank for New York City.

This was just the first of many stops in which other teams and grassroots organizations will get involved. The tour is an extension of the ideas expressed in a summer of societal unrest. The players didn’t just kneel or sit out; they pitched in. And now their financial donations are being put to good work.

Those motivated by the movement are encouraged to donate money or volunteer their time to The Players Alliance’s projects and programs.

“There are going to be all kinds of people supporting this event,” Sabathia said. “It benefits the Black community, but it benefits all communities, and we welcome all help.”

Dec. 2: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Dec. 4: Philadelphia
Dec. 5: Baltimore and Washington
Dec. 6: Hampton, Va.
Dec. 9: Cleveland
Dec. 11: Detroit and Flint, Mich.
Dec. 12-13: Chicago
Dec. 14: Milwaukee
Dec. 16: St. Louis
Dec. 17: Cincinnati
Dec. 18: Louisville, Ky.
Dec. 19: Nashville, Tenn.
Dec. 20: Atlanta
Dec. 21: Charlotte, N.C.
Jan 2: Orlando, Fla.
Jan. 3: Tampa, Fla.
Jan. 4: Fort Pierce, Fla.
Jan. 5: Miami
Jan. 8: Hattiesburg, Miss.
Jan. 9: Houston
Jan. 10: Dallas
Jan. 13: Phoenix
Jan. 14: Las Vegas
Jan. 15: Barstow, Calif.
Jan: 16: San Diego
Jan. 17: Inglewood and East Los Angeles, Calif.
Jan. 18: Compton and Watts, Calif.
Jan. 20: Fresno, Calif.
Jan. 21: San Francisco
Jan. 22: Oakland
Jan. 23: Vallejo, Calif.