Cleveland Guardians announce player programs, community programs and partnerships

Cleveland, OH – The Cleveland Guardians today announced 18 player programs for the 2023 season with 25 participating Guardians players. The club will also participate in several additional community programs and partnerships.

Mike Zunino & Triston McKenzie will be made available to media in the Guardians Press Room on Tuesday, April 11 from 2:30-2:50PM to discuss their Player Programs.

Guardians Player Programs

New Programs

Oscar Gonzalez, Bottle Caps for a Cause

• Oscar Gonzalez, in partnership with Ronald McDonald House and Pepsi, invites fans to join him in collecting bottle caps and can tabs at the ballpark. All collected materials will be recycled to benefit Ronald McDonald House and Gonzalez’s community in the Dominican Republic.

Oscar Gonzalez, Dominican Republic Equipment Drive

• Oscar Gonzalez plans to host his annual baseball equipment drive in his hometown of Palenque, Dominican Republic. In partnership with Pitch In For Baseball/Softball and Planet Fitness, Gonzalez will collect dollars to go toward equipment for youth athletes in the Dominican Republic.

Andrés Giménez, Art with Andres

• Andrés Giménez, in partnership with Augusto Bordelois of Augusto Fine Art, will join an instructor and a group of 15 to 30 participants for a drawing or painting class.

Mike Zunino, Home Runs for a Cure

• Mike Zunino, in partnership with the Cleveland Clinic, will donate to VeloSano for every home run he hits this season. Additionally, each month he will host a Cleveland Clinic Children’s patient and their family, providing tickets, jerseys and food & beverage vouchers.

Amed Rosario, Amed’s Animals

• Amed Rosario, in partnership with the Cleveland Zoological Society, will spend time with animals in the Cleveland area.

Triston McKenzie, Friday Fireworks with Triston

• Triston McKenzie, in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Ohio, will provide a group of local youth with tickets and meal vouchers to Friday Fireworks nights.

Cal Quantrill, Quantrill Cares

• Cal Quantrill and his wife Eastin will give back to youth in the Cleveland area.

Josh Naylor, Cooking with Naylor

• Josh Naylor will partner with Ronald McDonald House to cook meals for patients and their families in the Ronald McDonald House kitchen.

Xzavion Curry, True2U

• Xzavion Curry, in partnership with CMSD, will join McKenzie and Steven Kwan as a mentor for eighth graders at Valley View Boys Leadership Academy (CMSD).

Returning Programs

Zach Plesac, Plesac’s Pals

• Zach Plesac, in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Ohio, CMSD and FirstEnergy, will host activities centered around living healthy lifestyles and caring for the environment.

Cal and Eastin Quantrill, Letters with Love

• Cal Quantrill and his wife, Eastin, in partnership with Ohio Guidestone, SAFY of Cleveland and Smuckers, will support foster children through encouraging letters and group activities with youth in the area.

Aaron Civale, Pearls for Perseverance

• Aaron Civale and his wife, Fran, will hand-deliver warm-up baseballs from each start to patients at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. The couple plans to play games and spend time with patients at the hospital.

Terry Francona, Tito’s Military Salute

• Terry ‘Tito’ Francona, in partnership with SB Military Spotlight, will purchase tickets, gear and meal vouchers for military families, enhancing eight Military Salute experiences at the ballpark.

Steven Kwan, Triston McKenzie, Josh Bell, Bo Naylor and more, Guardians Chess Club

• Steven Kwan and the Guardians, in partnership with CMSD and Homage, challenge CMSD high school chess clubs to chess matches at the ballpark and at various schools.

Triston McKenzie and Steven Kwan, True2U

• Triston McKenzie and Steven Kwan, in partnership with CMSD, mentor eighth graders at Valley View Boys Leadership Academy (CMSD) throughout the entire academic year.

Will Brennan, Tyler Freeman, James Karinchak, Trevor Stephan, Sam Hentges, Cam Gallagher and Cody Morris, Ready to Respond

• Guardians players and coaches, in partnership with Wayside Furniture, visit first responders in the Cleveland area and invite first responders to baseball games.

Andrés Giménez, Josh Naylor, José Ramírez, Myles Straw, Gabriel Arias, Trevor Stephan and Shane Bieber, Youth Baseball and Softball Ambassadors

• Guardians players will support the team’s youth baseball and softball programming throughout the season.

Chris Antonetti and Sam Hentges, Cleveland Clinic Program

• Chris Antonetti provides tickets, vouchers and gear for Cleveland Clinic Children’s patients and their families; Antonetti and Sam Hentges will meet with them at batting practice during their visit.

Community Programs and Partnerships

Swing for the Trees

• In partnership with Davey Tree, the Guardians will plant a tree in the community for every home run hit by the Guardians at Progressive Field this season. Last season, over 130 trees were planted as part of this program.

Ks for Kids

• Dollar Bank will make a donation to Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio for every strikeout recorded by a Guardians starting pitchers this season.

Fun at Bat, presented by Ohio 529

• José Ramírez and the Guardians, in partnership with Ohio 529, will provide introductory level bat and ball classroom instruction for Ohio K-5 schools with an emphasis on character development, functional movement, literacy, active play and fun.

Division of Recreation Baseball and Softball, City of Cleveland

• Oscar Gonzalez and Gabriel Arias will team up to support Cleveland Recreation summer t-ball, baseball and softball programs. The City of Cleveland Recreation Centers offer free leagues and instruction to all Cleveland residents.

Play Ball! CLE, made possible by Cleveland-Cliffs

• Cleveland Guardians Charities and local youth leagues will partner to provide an astounding list of benefits to increase representation and the growth of baseball, softball and adaptive sports in marginalized communities. Leagues are eligible to earn grants after making a commitment to providing access and opportunity for youth of all ages regardless of backgrounds, demographics and accessibility needs.

Guardians Youth Summer Camps, presented by Cleveland Clinic Children’s

• With the support of Andrés Giménez, in partnership with Cleveland Clinic Children’s, summer camps will provide young boys and girls with a week of learning, competition and fun at seven locations throughout Northeast Ohio in June and July. In addition to unmatched instruction, attendees will receive a Guardians uniform, two tickets to a 2023 Guardians camp reunion game, the chance to meet a past or present Guardians player and much more.

Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI), presented by Nike

• Supported by Andrés Giménez, José Ramírez, Josh Naylor, Myles Straw, Trevor Stephan and Guardians Hitting Coach Victor Rodriguez, in partnership with Nike, the Major League Baseball youth outreach program is designed to encourage academic achievement, increase youth with diverse backgrounds into the mainstream of the game, and increase the number of talented athletes to play in college and professionally.

Senate Athletic League, Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD)

• Cleveland Guardians RBI rosters will be constructed with majority CMSD students. Through the Say Yes to Education grant program, these students will be able to attend their choice of 100+ private colleges and universities in Ohio and across the country for free. Additionally, Shane Bieber will partner with CMSD baseball and softball student athletes to provide exclusive experiences to encourage participation in the game.