Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.) sets Spring Training fundraising record of $3.8 million from players, coaches & front office staff
The Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.) for a second consecutive year, has set a record for contributions during the 2023 Spring Training Fundraising Tour with $3.8 million committed from 1,700 players, coaches and front office staff members among all 30 MLB Clubs, which is up five percent year over year. In addition, B.A.T. has named the San Diego Padres and, for the second year in a row, Chicago White Sox as recipients of the 2023 Bobby Murcer Award in both the National League and American League, for the Clubs who led in donations to B.A.T. during the Fundraising Tour. The Murcer Award is named after the former B.A.T. Chairman who launched the tour to raise money to allow the organization to offer assistance to more members of the Baseball Family who are in need of help with financial, psychological or physical burdens. In addition to the support B.A.T. has received from players, coaches and front office staff members among all 30 MLB Clubs, the Major League Baseball Clubhouse Managers Association (MLBCMA) has generously donated $250,000 to B.A.T. payable over the next five years.
The Baseball Assistance Team, now in its 38th year, is a unique organization within the sport dedicated to confidentially assisting members of the Baseball Family who are in need through charitable contributions in a variety of forms, including financial grants, healthcare resources and rehabilitative counseling.
During the Spring Training Fundraising Tour, B.A.T. board members Adam Jones and Eduardo Perez joined B.A.T. President Buck Martinez, staff and previous grant recipients for the second year in a row.
“We are so grateful to all the managers, coaches, players and staff for the continued support, which has allowed us to set consecutive fundraising records,” said Martinez. “This group’s generosity allows B.A.T. to support those in some of their most trying times year after year. Baseball truly is a family, and when you’re a family, you take care of those who need it most. I would like to extend an extra display of appreciation to the Padres and White Sox for their continued support. Both of these organizations have lived up to the spirit of our late friend Bobby Murcer. It is our ambition to make him proud and continue his legacy every day. I would also like to extend a special thank you to the Major League Baseball Clubhouse Managers Association for their generosity and support. Their contributions to this organization are remarkable, and will have a significant impact to the baseball family for years to come.”
Amid the pandemic since 2020, B.A.T. almost doubled the amount of members of the Baseball Family they helped than they previously had in their entire three-decade-plus history. Over that three-year span, B.A.T. provided $15.1 million in assistance to more than 5,400 applicants, covering mortgage/rent, household expenses, prescriptions, medical bills, utilities, health insurance, therapy, outstanding debt, funeral expenses, auto payments/insurance and educational/vocational opportunities. The vast majority of the applicants are former players, with others receiving help including scouts, umpires, athletic trainers, Negro League players and front office staff. 88% of the applicants were under 50 years old and whose income is less than $20,000 per year, with 77% residing in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico and other South American or European countries.
To date, the organization has awarded more than $62 million in grants, benefiting more than 10,400 members of the _Baseball Family_, including current and former, on-field Major & Minor League personnel (players, managers, coaches) as well as scouts, umpires, athletic trainers, Major & Minor League front office personnel, Negro League players, and players from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. B.A.T.’s coverage also extends to widows, widowers and children, ages 23 and under, of the above groups. All aid provided by B.A.T. is strictly confidential, allowing those in need to receive help discreetly. For more information about the Baseball Assistance Team, please visit: BaseballAssistanceTeam.com, Facebook.com/BaseballAssistanceTeam or Twitter.com/BATcharity.