Dodgers Blue Heaven: Koufax Impacts More Than Just the Dodgers, Players Give Big to B.A.T.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Koufax Impacts More Than Just the Dodgers, Players Give Big to B.A.T.

B.A.T., Baseball Assistance Team, is a great organization that helps folks who are a part of the Baseball family. As you probably know, most of the elder members of game never earned the kind of salaries players make today, so they focus on helping them when needed. Considering the importance history plays in the game, it's a great way to give back to those who contributed to Baseball.

Today, B.A.T. announced a record level of contributions:

More than 1,400 players, coaches and managers from all 30 MLB Clubs have collectively pledged a record donation of $2,457,710 to the Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.) during the organization’s eleventh annual Spring Training Fundraising Tour to raise money for members of the Baseball Family in need of assistance.

Heck, they even made note of how important Sandy Koufax's recent return to the Dodgers was to the cause.

“The current players were overwhelmed by the attendance and participation of the managers, coaches and Hall of Famers during our presentations,” said Joseph Grippo, Executive Director of B.A.T. “The impact of seeing Sandy Koufax sit alongside Dodgers players, for example, is immeasurable and a major reason why so many players at all levels of the organization contributed.”

And once again, the Dodgers proved to be ready to lend a helping hand.

B.A.T. is also announcing that the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are the recipients of the 2013 Bobby Murcer Award. Named after the former B.A.T. Chairman who introduced the Spring Training Fundraising Tour, the award is given to the team in both the American League (Yankees) and National League (Dodgers) whose players commit the most amount of money to B.A.T. This is the fifth consecutive year that the Yankees have won the award and the third time in four years for the Dodgers. Both Clubs will be presented with the Bobby Murcer Award at the 25th annual “Going to Bat for B.A.T. Fundraising Dinner” in 2014.