New York Mets‘ starting pitcher Marcus Stroman is very talented. He accumulates a 3.76 ERA (3.64 FIP) in 849.1 career innings pitched, most of them in the difficult American League East. Yet, he is making his best pitch outside of the field.
According to Newsday, the hurler launched a “COVID-19 Emergency Response” on his HDMH Foundation website. The objective of the initiative is to support the Food Bank for New York City and Long Island Cares, a pair of food banks that normally attends more than 1.5 million people.
Given the current coronavirus outbreak and how it is affecting New York, the number is fully expected to grow in the coming days and weeks. Infection with the COVID-19 is extremely easy, so it provides a very difficult challenge to health authorities in America and in the world as a whole.
Most of the professional leagues and circuits in virtually every sport have been canceled or pushed back. The New York Mets are hoping to play major league baseball this year, but no one can know for sure if that will happen.
The Mets’ pitcher is happy to help
For now, though, the Mets’ starter is happy to help. “Any way I can give back,†Stroman told Newsday on Sunday night in a telephone interview. “Obviously, this opportunity is something that arose from a pandemic that nobody expected. So any way that I can help and give back, especially at a time like this, is always something that I’m looking to do.â€
People with the desire and resources to help can donate to the food banks on the HDMH Foundation website.
The foundation sees its coronavirus response mission as supporting “high-risk New Yorkers such as seniors with chronic medical conditions and families with school-aged children who lose up to two free school meals a day now that schools are closed for the foreseeable future.â€
HDMH is Stroman’s motto: “Height Doesn’t Measure Heart.†A while ago, the pitcher founded an apparel line called HDMH, and then he founded the HDMH Foundation with the goal of inspiring young people.
HDMH Apparel will be donating 50% of its sales to the two New York food banks.
Stroman is keeping himself busy, also joining a virtual beer pong tournament with his Mets’ teammate Dominic Smith.