ARLINGTON -- What does a guy do after he gets inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame?
In the case of former Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez, he gets involved in hurricane relief efforts and, this year especially, much has been done and there's still more to do. The work continues through the holiday season.
Rodriguez will be hosting an impressive roster of current and former MLB players next Wednesday, Nov. 29, when they team with the Players Trust and Habitat for Humanity to host two events to help victims of Hurricane Harvey and the subsequent flooding in Houston.
The group will meet at the Habitat for Humanity warehouse in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday afternoon to frame two houses for victims of the floods. The houses will be completed in Houston and be ready for occupancy next spring. While at the Dallas warehouse, the players and their families will also assemble holiday gift packages for 177 Houston Habitat for Humanity families who lost their homes to the flooding.
• Rangers in the community
Rodriguez, Astros infielder Jose Altuve and Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich will host the event. Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark, Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, Rick Helling, Jonathan Lucroy, Charlie Blackmon, Chris Davis, Rajai Davis, Chris Iannetta, Rhys Hoskins, Eric Young, Collin McHugh, Hector Santiago, Jerry Blevins, Bobby Bonilla, Jose Cruz Jr., Cecil Fielder, LaTroy Hawkins, Javier Vazquez, Jeffrey Hammonds and Steve Rogers are participating, among others.
That night they will all be at a fundraising and auction dinner in Las Colinas.
Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast at the end of August. It was followed by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria in September, both of which did extensive damage in the Caribbean and Southeast United States. Maria hit Puerto Rico on Sept. 20 and created a major humanitarian crisis, and the island still has not recovered.
"It makes me cry because it is tough," said Rodriguez, who has also played an important role in the relief efforts in his native Puerto Rico.
Rodriguez set up a dropoff location in Irving that allowed people to make all kinds of donations for the relief effort, and then arranged them to be flown to Puerto Rico.
"It's been great," Rodriguez said. "The cities of Arlington, Fort Worth and Dallas, and the whole community, has been great and donating a lot of food and water and generators. Puerto Rico appreciates that."
Rodriguez, who has his own personal foundation, donated to assist victims of Hurricane George in 1998 and displaced families of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The work continues.