Former Antioch student, Boston Red Sox pitcher helps South African orphans through baseball
Michael McCarthy teaches kids in South Africa how to field the ball.
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” – Nelson Mandela
By Michael McCarthy
My name is Michael McCarthy. I am a pitcher with the Boston Red Sox organization and a former Black Diamond Middle School student, in Antioch. I am part of a group called Baseball Miracles that helps underprivileged youth around the world grow through the game of baseball.
Michael McCarthy teaches batting to an orphan during a 2014 trip to South Africa.
Baseball Miracles spent five day in Pretoria, South Africa, last fall where we worked with youth ministries to provide baseball instruction and equipment to the orphaned children of the region. Many of these children are orphans due to the AIDS epidemic of South Africa that has resulted in more than 2.4 million orphans across the nation.
More than 200 children received their very own baseball glove and baseball to keep as a gift, along with instruction from baseball professionals throughout the baseball ranks within the United States, including former Major League pitcher Virgil Vazquez, White Sox Hall of Fame Scout John Tumminia and Boston Red Sox Scout Jared Banner (a list of the people involved is in the link below).
We also hosted an All-American baseball lunch for the children that included hot dogs, peanuts, Big League Chew Bubblegum, sunflower seeds and singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame!” This all comes at no cost to them and is created by financial and equipment based donations by generous donors across the nation that have a love for baseball and philanthropy.
Part of the Baseball Miracles team with happy new baseball players in South Africa.
Baseball Miracles is a group of baseball professionals that have a strong knowledge of the game and a desire to help make the world a better place through the game of baseball. We have come together to create a charity that can help spread the goodwill of the game around the world.
Spanning continents, ethnicity, race and gender, we use baseball as a sport of unification and a means to make the world a better place.
Many of us have been incredibly blessed to play the game of baseball as children and learn many of the life lessons it has to offer. Words like integrity, team work and work ethic are among the most commonly used by the group, making baseball truly a classroom on grass. We receive no financial benefit and for most of us there are significant out of pocket expenses that go along with each trip.
Roster: www.baseballmiracles.org/about-us.html
Past trips include: Dominican Republic, Ireland and Pine Ridge Indian Reservation of South Dakota.
Future International trips include: Israel, Malawi and Kenya.
Future local trips include: Frozen Ropes Clinic in New York and Challenger leagues across the nation.
Publisher’s Note: For more information about Michael McCarthy, visit www.soxprospects.com/players/mccarthy-mike.htm.
the attachments to this post:
Baseball Miracles
McCarthy teaches baseball
Michael McCarthy teaches batting
