Wil Myers Gives Back To Community
The offseason has been hard on us baseball fans. Turning on the TV without seeing a fly ball, or even a strike, is unbearable, as we wait to see our San Diego Padres team back in action again. With that being said, it is nice to see some of our favorite players giving back to the community and one in particular is; first baseman Wil Myers.
When he is not giving back to the Padres offense by hitting home runs or stealing bases, Myers is giving back to his community in North Carolina.
On Nov. 12, Myers hosted his second Wiffle Ball Challenge to benefit The Miracle League of High Point. The league provides children with special needs an opportunity to play, with the motto “every child deserves a chance to play baseball.”
The Miracle League’s mission is to provide all children with special needs the ability and the opportunity to play baseball while increasing the awareness and support of those needs.
He first became involved with the organization while he was playing baseball as a third baseman at Wesleyan Christian Academy in North Carolina. The team had a community service event there and helped at the field at least once every season. Myers has continued to stay involved in the group.
This year’s event took place at Myers’ old high school, where the Major League Baseball Players Association and ProCamps were on hand to help. Teams participating in the fast-pitch tournament paid an entry fee, benefiting the Miracle League. Meanwhile, a separate field was set up for children in the Miracle League to take part in their own games.
22 teams that consisted of four to six players participated in the event, along with other minor league and college players. Myers’ former high school coach and two childhood friends were on his team. The funds raised exceeded those from when the inaugural tournament was held two years ago.
Myers would like to make the event an annual thing, and hopes this helps to reconnect the community with a great cause. A special thing indeed to be able to lift the spirits of the children and parents and help them out financially, which is the biggest gift of all. Myers presented a $10,000 check to his hometown group, and $5,000 was given by the Players Going Home program to Myers’ high school baseball program at Wesleyan Christian Academy.
There is no doubt that Myers is a spectacular individual, on and off the field, and with the Padres, he is a gem. During the regular season, he had a career season and broke multiple personal records. He also became the first Padre to join the 25/25/25 club (home runs, doubles, and stolen bases).
He finished the season with a batting average of .259 and hit 28 home runs with 94 RBI. He broke the Petco Park record for a Padres’ player in a single season in hits with 91, home runs with 18, RBI with 56, runs scored with 58, and extra base hits with 41.
Jolene Nacapuy is currently the media operations director of Proud Digital Media. She graduated in 2016 from the University of La Verne with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. She is a small town Hawaii native with high-energy and motivation, with experience in writing hard and breaking news, features, commentary’s and sports articles. She has written articles and taken photos for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine. She has served as an assistant sports editor, sports editor and editor in chief of the Campus Times and also written for HerCampus La Verne. She has also contributed for Lakers Nation and Dodgers Nation. Jolene is a big sports fan and when she’s not working on her next story, she’s at a sports event.