Two weeks into what was shaping up to be a promising season for the Milwaukee Brewers, we're all missing baseball right now, but that goes doubly so for the game-day workers at Miller Park who've lost wages due to the suspended baseball season.
Bob Uecker has joined six Milwaukee Brewers players to help those workers get through this difficult time. They've contributed to a $1 million fund established by the Brewers to provide assistance to Miller Park employees.
"Ryan Braun was the first to commit with a $100,000 pledge to the $1 million fund, and Uecker added another $50,000," according to the MLB. "Lorenzo Cain, Corey Knebel, Josh Lindblom, Brent Suter and Christian Yelich joined with additional pledges for a total of $300,000 contributed to the initial $1 million Brewers fund."
“This is more than supporting those who work at Miller Park,” Uecker said in a statement. “In my 50 years with the team, I have become friends with many of these individuals, and some of them have been around the ballpark nearly as long as me. We’re all limited in what we can do to return to our normal lives, but we want to help people be as comfortable as possible until we can get back to starting up.”
In his own statement, Braun said that “Milwaukee is a second home to us, and the fans and staff at Miller Park are like family. This pandemic has created difficult financial situations for many of them, and I know I speak for my teammates in saying that we want to do our part to help address the critical needs. We know this doesn’t solve the problem, but along with the contribution from the Brewers and the Attanasio family, we believe this fund can help support those who are most in need.”
Braun and Yelich have been particularly involved in pandemic relief efforts. The players have helped fiance thousands of meals for health care workers during the crisis, and have spearheaded fundraising efforts through their organization California Strong.