For the 18th year, Major League Baseball (MLB) Umpires are offering up more than 400 items including priceless, autographed sports memorabilia, rarely available specialty MLB logo caps and one-of-a-kind experiences during the UMPS CARE Charities Online Auction.
The auction, hosted on MLB.com, opens Friday, April 17 at 10 a.m. EDT and closes Monday, April 27 at 10 p.m. EDT.
The auction can be found at www.mlb.com/UmpsCare.
Among items up for bid are tickets to MLB’s All-Star Game and Home Run Derby in Philadelphia, a tour of the MLB Replay Center in New York City, a Cooperstown double play package with a special tour of the National Baseball Hall of Fame paired with a round of golf—signed apparel and merchandise, MLB specialty game caps, and even lunch with an MLB Umpire!
Also up for bid are opportunities to be on the field for batting practice at several MLB ballparks, and lots of signed baseballs and lineup cards!
“For 20 years, the Major League Baseball Umpires have been using their role in sports as a vehicle for giving back to the communities in which they work,” said UMPS CARE Charities President D.J. Reyburn, an active Major League Baseball Umpire. “This auction has been critical for the charity to operate programs that bring such joy to children and really make an impact on and off the field. The MLB Umpires are proud to call UMPS CARE as our charity, and we are looking forward to giving back for decades to come.”
For the fourth consecutive year, our auction has a special section featuring collectibles, tickets and bobbleheads from other sports—the NFL, NBA, MLS and more! Net proceeds from this section of the auction will support Sports Officials Care. Officials from other leagues saw what the Major League Umpires were doing to give back to the community and wanted in. Learn more at SportsOfficialsCare.org.
Net proceeds from the auction support UMPS CARE Charities programs in which youth-based organizations and military families get to meet MLB Umpires before games, visits at hospitals in which MLB Umpires deliver Build-A-Bear® experiences to the bedside of children undergoing treatment, college scholarships for children adopted later in life and our newest initiative, the Official Leadership Program—a 6-week course that trains teens to learn umpiring mechanics on the field and life skills in the classroom.
About UMPS CARE Charities: UMPS CARE Charities was founded in 2006 through the compassion of Major League Baseball (MLB) umpires. UMPS CARE provides financial, in-kind and emotional support for America’s youth and families in need. The UMPS CARE mission puts into action our established creed, “Helping People Is An Easy Call.” UMPS CARE Charities, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, provides VIP experiences for kids and families from various youth-based organizations, provides Build-A-Bear® Workshop experiences for children at hospitals across the United States and in Canada and provides college scholarships to children adopted later in life. UMPS CARE also has launched the Official Leadership Program to train teens in underserved communities to become leaders on and off the field. For more information, click on UmpsCare.com.