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Reliever Ray King has delivered Thanksgiving turkeys each of the past two seasons. (Brad Girsch/MLB.com)

King, the likeable Brewers lefty, spent most of Monday visiting with fans and delivering Thanksgiving turkeys to families in Milwaukee. He conducted a clinic at the Beckum Indoor Baseball Facility on Monday night, a building he helped dedicate last month, and was scheduled for more meet-and-greets all day Tuesday and part of Wednesday.

His arms were aching after a weekend of landscaping work at his brand new home near the Brewers' Spring Training facility in west Phoenix. Still, he was pressing the flesh.

"I like people. I like talking to people to see where they come from," said King, who turns 29 on January 15. "Knowing your community is what makes you feel like you're home.

"Packing a box and mailing it to somebody is easy. It's harder to pack up a box and deliver it to somebody, but it's better."

Out and About Meet Ray King Tuesday, Nov. 26 12-2 p.m. CT Ponderosa Steakhouse 2730 N. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. 3:30-5 p.m. CT Brewers Baseball Basics Cart North end of Mayfair Mall Tour Miller Park Nov. 29 - Dec. 1 Walking tours begin at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. CT each day at the Brewers FanZone in Miller Park's Hot Corner. No reservation are necessary. The cost is $6 for adults and $3 for kids and seniors. For more information call (414) 902-4005.

Consider: The Brewers acquired him in April 2000 for Doug Johnston, a pitcher who toiled in the Independent Northern League in 2002 while King was facing hitters in the Majors. In 1996 King was the player to be named later in a trade between the Braves and Reds, after the Reds "loaned" his contract to the Braves' Single-A team in Macon for almost two months.

Once he landed in Milwaukee, King found a niche as a situational lefty. And he found a home.

"That little white baseball has taken me to a new place," King said. "The contract was kind of like my stepping stone. It's like laying concrete -- I got all my slabs laid out, now it's time to fill in the cracks."

King's blue-collar ethic matches the city. Over the past 2 1/2 seasons he leads all Brewers with 194 appearances and a 2.91 ERA. He pitched in a near-franchise record 82 games in 2001, when he was the only lefty in the bullpen for most of the season.

In 2002, King, the Brewers' union representative, had labor issues on his mind but he continued to flourish. His 76 appearances tied breakthrough right-hander Luis Vizcaino for the team-high, and King set career-bests with 65 innings pitched and 50 strikeouts.

Even after allowing five earned runs in his 2002 debut, King finished 3-2 with a 3.05 ERA. Take away the one bad outing, and his ERA was 2.39.

"I kept the articles from that game to remind me where I had to come from last year," King said. "I knew I had to fight to get respect back. The thing about baseball is that you can't erase the numbers, you can only try to bring them down."

After the season ended, King's work continued. The Brewers gave him a shot, so he spends a lot of his time giving back.

"The good thing about this place is that you still have support," said King, a Chicago native who made his year-round home in Milwaukee until he bought the house in Arizona last month. "Even after the worst season in team history, the people still want you here."

King was the team's Manager's Award winner in 2001 and won the Michael Harrison Award for Community Service. He continued his involvement in 2002 with visits to Children's Hospital, Milwaukee Public Schools and other events. If the Brewers are in the community, it's a good bet that King is there.

Now he's looking to expand his efforts. King said he's begun discussions with his agent and with Major League Baseball to start a charity focused on ill or underprivileged children. He hopes to have some details sorted out in January, and said when Spring Training begins he will try to recruit some of his Brewers teammates to participate.

King intends to remain involved in the team's other community efforts, and to get teammates interested, too.

"The guy that's going to help me most in that is Mr. Payne," said King, referring to new Brewers president and CEO Ulice Payne, Jr. "It's not something that he's going to ask players for. It's going to be something that he demands."

Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com based in Milwaukee and can be reached at adam.mccalvy@mlb.com. This story was not subject to approval by Major League Baseball or its clubs.