The Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.) has named the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals recipients of the 2018 Bobby Murcer Award, which recognizes a team in each League whose players, managers and coaches pledge to contribute the most amount of money to B.A.T during the annual B.A.T. Spring Training Fundraising Tour. The Award, which is named after the former B.A.T. Chairman who launched the tour to raise money to allow the organization to offer assistance to members of the Baseball Family who are in need of help with financial, psychological or physical burdens. This marks the first time the Orioles and Nationals have received the Award. The Clubs succeed the Cleveland Indians and the New York Mets, who both received the Award in 2017.
Nearly 1,600 players, coaches and managers from all 30 MLB Clubs have collectively pledged a record donation of $3.3 million to B.A.T., a 17% increase from 2017, during the organization's 16th annual Spring Training Fundraising Tour. Collective donations from teams in the Cactus League and the Grapefruit League brought this year's Spring Training fundraising total to more than $30 million pledged over fifteen years. During this year's Spring Training Fundraising Tour, B.A.T. representatives - including Board Members Adam Jones (All-Star outfielder for the Orioles), Sal Bando (four-time All-Star third baseman; 16-year MLB career), Buck Martinez (17-year MLB catching career; play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays), Sam McDowell (six-time All-Star pitcher; 15-year MLB career), and Christine O'Reilly (Vice President, Community Relations, Chicago White Sox) - visited various clubhouses to inform clubs about the mission of the organization and the support it provides. Additional B.A.T. consultants during the visits included Benny Ayala (10-year MLB career) and Tim McDowell (four-year MiLB career). They were also joined by several B.A.T. grant recipients who shared stories of the positive effects the charitable organization has had on their lives and the lives of their family members.
"Major League Baseball managers, coaches and players are among the most generous in all of professional sports, and the Baseball Assistance Team is thankful to be a beneficiary of their charitable giving this year," said Randy Winn, B.A.T. President and 13-year Major League outfielder. "One of our organizational missions is to offer help to members of the Baseball Family anonymously, without any perceived stigmas. We are so grateful to our B.A.T. grant recipients for voluntarily sharing their stories during this year's Spring Training Fundraising Tour and giving a voice to those who feel voiceless."
Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones said: "Serving on B.A.T.'s Board over the past seven years, with guys who care so much about our baseball family, has been one of my most humbling experiences. As a Board member, I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for the record number of donations received, which will help our baseball family moving forward. I want to also thank all of my teammates, who gave generously to have us be recognized with the Bobby Murcer Award for the American League. It's an amazing recognition because it shows you that current players care about the future and the past. They understand what people have been through to pave the way. Moving forward, I hope we can continue to help B.A.T. grow because it is an organization that really cares about the past, current, and future players and staff of our game."
"Being a member of the baseball community is an honor and a privilege," said Mike Rizzo, General Manager and President of Baseball Operations for the Washington Nationals. "I'm proud of the contributions made by the Nationals to support B.A.T. and its important work."
The Baseball Assistance Team, now in its 33rd 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.
In 2017, B.A.T., a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization, assisted a record amount of applicants (350). To date, the organization has awarded more than $38 million in grants, benefiting more than 3,900 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 widow, 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.