In the wake of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene, the North Carolina-based Hickory Crawdads are giving back.
The Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers launched an online auction Wednesday featuring over 80 game-worn player jerseys. The auction runs through Saturday, Oct. 12, with all proceeds benefiting Red Cross Hurricane Helene relief efforts in western North Carolina.
“Here in Hickory, we actually fared pretty well. A lot of downed trees, no power, no internet, spotty cell phone service,” said Crawdads general manager Douglas Locascio. “But the people in Asheville, in Boone, their earths are just shattered. It’s heartbreaking.”
The auction is comprised of a wide variety of Crawdads jerseys worn by prospects and current Major Leaguers alike. Notable names include Wyatt Langford and Luisangel Acuña as well as Sebastian Walcott and Kumar Rocker (the top two prospects in the Rangers organization). Every black alternate jersey worn during the 2024 season is available; also in the mix are home reds, road grays, alternate blues and the team’s Llamas de Hickory “Copa de la Diversión” jersey.
The idea to stage a jersey auction came about during a Crawdads staff meeting earlier this week, soundtracked by the sounds of helicopters flying in and out of the Hickory Regional Airport.
“They’ve been using the airport as a hub [for relief efforts]. Our heads started spinning, like ‘What can we do?’” said Locascio. “In Augusta, [the GreenJackets] used their ballpark as an escape for people, where they were offering shelter, charging stations, food. And so that got our staff thinking. … Like, let’s just auction the jerseys. One person’s idea turned into 15 of us hopping in and tackling it together.”
The Crawdads had been planning to add new patches to their black alternate jerseys in order to use them again in 2025. Some of the other jerseys in the auction would have been held on to, waiting until the name recognition of players increased. Such considerations became irrelevant, however, superseded by the desire to help their fellow North Carolinians.
“Hopefully people see this, like, ‘Oh, I want that jersey and I want to give to a good cause,’” said Locascio. “One hundred percent of the proceeds go to the Red Cross, donating everything back to the hurricane relief efforts here in western North Carolina.
“Asheville has the same area code as us. Boone has the same area code as us. Everyone’s 828, and we always say, ‘The 828 is great.’ This is a way for us to embrace that, to be team players together and truly be united with the 828.”