Derby contestants raise money for good cause
Sluggers team with Chevrolet to net $529,000 for various charities
NEW YORK -- Yoenis Cespedes and Bryce Harper, among others, made the Chevrolet Home Run Derby unforgettable for a number of reasons, but the most important may be that it just raised a ton of money for charity.
All eight Derby participants were pitched specially made gold balls once they reached the ninth of their 10-out limit, and for each one of those balls that were hit for home runs throughout the Home Run Derby, Chevrolet and Major League Baseball combined to donate $23,000 to designated charities.
The grand total? A whopping $529,000, to be distributed among a number of great causes.
The donations from the Derby included $150,000 to a charity chosen by winning captain Robinson Cano, in his name, plus $100,000 to the to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, also in Cano's name.
Another $25,000 will go to the charity of of choice by National League Derby captain David Wright, and the remainder of the funds go to the BGCA on behalf of Chevrolet and Major League Baseball.
The $23,000 figure was selected to coincide with the EPA-estimated best in class 23 miles per gallon highway that the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Silverado features, making it the most efficient V8 in a pickup.
Chevrolet and MLB also combined to make an additional donation of $3,000 for every non-gold ball home run that was hit throughout the Derby.
The eight participants were each paired with a youngster representing one of eight local RBI leagues throughout the New York City region. The child paired with the winner, Cespedes, will earn $50,000 toward a baseball field makeover for his or her RBI league. Chevrolet and MLB will also donate $10,000 worth of baseball equipment and uniforms to each of the other seven RBI leagues.