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“Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”—Yankee Lou Gehrig, retiring due to ALS

Cheer, baseball fans, because there are professional players who transcend the hype and shenanigans and put their fan appeal to work where it will really do good.

Doug Miller, writing for Major League Baseball, stated, “One of the most powerful things about Major League Baseball (MLB) is the ability it provides its players to give something back to their communities.”

The Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award, named for the first executive director of the (MLB) Players Association, “is given to the player whose combination of on-field performance and community contributions most inspires others to a higher level of achievement.”

Around the horn
For example, powerful hitting first baseman Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals, already a record-setter and winner of the 2006 Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award, joined his wife Deidre to found the Pujols Family Foundation. It’s "dedicated to the love, care, and development of people with Down syndrome and their families.”

Albert hosts a charity golf tournament to raise money for the foundation and conducts live auctions, at which he has been known to buy some of the expensive items and give them to kids in the audience who have Down syndrome.

"We didn’t choose Down syndrome; Down syndrome chose us," he asserts.

Albert and Deidre have a daughter with Down syndrome. Since this is close to their hearts, the foundation is “dedicated to people with Down syndrome and their families. Our goal is to promote awareness, provide hope, and create supportive and memorable events for the families and children who live with Down syndrome.

Pride of the Yankees
To the east, New York Yankees’ All-Star catcher Jorge Pasada, was recognized at an Exceptional Parent magazine Disability Awareness Night. The Jorge Posada Foundation provides support to families whose children are affected by craniosynostosis, a congenital or birth defect that causes an abnormally shaped skull.

The non-profit organization established by Posada and his wife Laura honors their son, Jorge Jr. He was diagnosed with the disability when he was 10 days old and had to undergo five major surgeries to correct the condition.

Through the foundation, the Posadas are able to: reach out to families whose children are affected and provide emotional support through a support network, give financial assistance to underwrite a portion of the costs of initial surgeries in its partner medical centers, and encourage further research of this medical condition.

1st Touch
When his 3-year-old daughter Jada was diagnosed with Leber's Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), Chicago Cubs’ standout first baseman Derrek Lee snared the issue by founding the Project 3000 effort to fight LCA. With Lee's 1st Touch Foundation, Project 3000 aims to eradicate LCA, a degenerative disease that results in loss of vision and affects an estimated 3,000 people in the U.S.

Derrek has sponsored Chicago area RBI (Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities) teams and has hosted ill and disabled children through agencies such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

In his wheelchair in Jacksonville, FL, Herb Drill heads Able Me & Associates. His e-mail address is herbdrill@ableme.com. He has Muscular Dystrophy.