Former teammates stepping up to bat for their community

Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward played in Atlanta together for five seasons before Heyward moved on to St. Louis and later a World Series with the Cubs. Ten years after they last shared the Braves uniform, the two are stepping up to help those in need at this trying time.

Jeff Passan reported Wednesday that Freeman had pledged to donate $50,000 to the Atlanta Food Bank, $50,000 to Giving Kitchen (which provides emergency assistance to food-service workers) and $25,000 to the Salvation Army. The donations are to help assist those affected from the fallout of the coronavirus crisis.

Later Wednesday, Passan shared that the Cubs' Heyward planned to donate $200,000 to coronavirus relief in Chicago. By donating $100,000 to MASK, which is currently collecting supplies and meals for families affected by the virus, and $100,000 to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

This further illustrates how baseball and its players are giving back to the communities it serves but also those who help to serve them. On Tuesday, the MLB announced they would be providing $30 Million ($1 million from each team) to all ball park employees who would lose wages due to the cancelation of baseball games.

The Toronto Blue Jays announced Friday that they would be paying the lost wages (on top of the $1 Million) for all employees who lost wages.

Opening day was set for March 26, but now the earliest start for America's past time would be mid-May.

Source: ESPN's Jeff Passan

MUST READ

26 minutes ago  |  By Jonathan Ouimet Brady Tkachuk is reportedly off to a Western team and the return is going to shake the league

1 hour ago  |  By Vincent Carbonneau Things just got significantly worse for Stan Bowman and Edmonton after latest update

1 hour ago  |  By Vincent Carbonneau A familiar Canucks nightmare is suddenly returning and fans are panicking

2 hours ago  |  By Vincent Carbonneau Another bad update just hit Martin St-Louis and Canadiens fans are panicking

2 hours ago  |  By Vincent Carbonneau Avalanche tension may be boiling over after Jared Bednar's public shot at Cale Makar

3 hours ago  |  By David St-Jean Stan Bowman eyes major trade to free Oilers cap

3 hours ago  |  By Vincent Carbonneau The NHL just made the Lane Hutson situation even worse for Canadiens fans

4 hours ago  |  By Vincent Carbonneau Kyle Dubas just made another massive announcement after Evgeni Malkin's contract news

MORE STORIES