Source: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox / Getty
As teams were preparing for the postseason back in September 2017, Hurricane Maria wiped out the island of Puerto Rico. Many players who proudly hailed from La Isla del Encanto worried about how their families were keeping up as they strived to bring their A-Game every day.
Today for Opening Day 2018, ESPN published a video of players detailing how they felt seeing the island fall apart on television, some without being able to reach their families.
“Just watching TV and seeing how big it was, I was scared,” said Alex Cora. “All of these thoughts came to mind and none of them were good. That was the first time I felt useless in my life, I was able to connect with them for the first few hours but after that, I couldn’t.”
MLB as an entity and individual players alike gave back to the island in different ways. The organization chartered a FedEx cargo plane filled with much-needed supplies for families affected by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. They sent a plane filled with water, diapers, baby food and more, arriving in Aguadilla in mid-October. Additionally, MLB donated $1 million to assist the communities impacted in September.
“I arrived in Puerto Rico after the season was over,” said Carlos Beltran. “I immediately went to see my family in the town I grew up. It was good to see familiar faces, but there was a lot of work to be done.”
Individual teams have helped out, too. The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Tuesday that they’ve donated $2 million to Habitat for Humanity of Puerto Rico in support of rebuilding the island. Other teams who have stepped up include the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, and more.
You can watch the video down below.
