We at Adopt a Minor Leaguer are excited to announce that we have accumulated enough funds from our AMAZING community to begin creating grants for the minor league baseball players that we serve. For this, our first round of grants, we have a lot to share…so here we go!

Over 500 players have been sponsored to date.

Through our organization, over 500 players are receiving aid that will help them financially, mentally, and emotionally increase their chances of making it to the Big Leagues. Our network of sponsors is the key to the programs that we have the honor of offering and we, as always, extend our biggest thanks to these members of our community.

In honor of reaching this milestone, we are awarding three grants worth $500 – $1 for every player-sponsor relationship that has been created thus far.

Support for this cause has been more than we would ever imagine.

We knew that there were many people out there that knew about the ugly circumstances that most minor leaguers face the moment that they leave the field of play. Long bus rides, little sleep, time away from family, poor pay, air mattresses, less-than-desirable food options…It all adds up to an exhausting experience for these young men.

However, this has been more than we could imagine. We have seen so many donations to our non-profit come through our donation page as well as our Monthly Donor program. The baseball community has rallied around the minor leagues and its players – even when they aren’t playing a season this year. We were unprepared for how generous the community would be when it came to helping the players so now we have finally gotten everything planned out. It’s time for us to award some grants.

How to Nominate a Player

Players may nominate themselves, sponsors may nominate the players they sponsor, or anyone else can nominate a player, too! The only requirement is that the player be an active minor league baseball player with zero service time in the Big Leagues.

Your nomination must include the name of the player, the organization he plays for (or free agency status), and a short description (250-500 words) about why the player deserves to be awarded the grant.

To nominate a player, you may send us a message with any of the following methods:

Use our website form by clicking here!

Send us a direct message on Twitter!

Send us a direct message on Instagram!

The last day that we will accept a nomination is 8/5/2020 so don’t forget!

About the Grants:

We will have 3 grants available for this round of awards. They are as follows:

  • Michael’s GrantTo be awarded to a black minor leaguer who has displayed that he can compete with the best in professional baseball.

    In light of the social justice issues that are being brought to light in 2020, Michael would like to take the opportunity that he is being presented here to do his small part in leveling the playing field for Americans who have been fighting an uphill battle for far too long. Michael’s focus is to create an impact in those communities that have historically not gotten the same school funding, received equal treatment in the justice system, and face general injustice in a land of plenty.

  • Mariana’s GrantTo be awarded to a Latin minor leaguer who has crossed geopolitical boundaries to rise to the highest levels of baseball yet still does not have the resources at home to train like a world class athlete.

    More than anyone who is a part of our organization, Mariana knows the struggle that players face as a Latin American. A native Venezuelan that now lives in the US, Mariana wants to create a better opportunity for a player that is at a disadvantage compared to his competition purely because of his country of origin. Having lived in both the US and Latin America, Mariana deeply understands the difference between the resources that can be found in these two places – especially for the type of training required of a professional athlete.

  • Anthony’s GrantTo be awarded to a minor leaguer that has proven that he has what it takes to compete but doesn’t have the financial means to reach that potential.

    As a player, our CTO and Player Representative knows best what it is like to be a part of the community that we serve. Anthony has taken the long road to the top, starting his professional career as an undrafted free agent and ascending all the way to AAA. Over the course of his career, Anthony says he has lost count of how many times he has felt like the way he gets paid negatively affects his performance on the field. He tells us “air mattresses are cheaper than real ones,” “pizza is cheaper and more available than real meals,” and “Ever wonder what the psychological effect of getting paid $0.40/hour is?” Those are examples of why the goal with his grant is to help a player perform better.

We look forward to reading your nominations.

We already know that we are going to read every nomination letter and want to do more for each and every nominee that we see. Trust us: these grants are only the beginning.

Want to help make more grants possible?

Your generosity is appreciated by us more than you could ever know. It’s the fans of minor league baseball that make it possible for us to pursue our mission. Without you guys, we couldn’t get much done.

If you would like to sponsor a player, visit our sponsorship page.

if you would like to become a monthly donor to our non-profit, visit our Monthly Donor page.

If you would like to make a one time donation to our non-profit, visit our donation page.

Be on the lookout for the awards!

You’ll see us announce the receivers of these grants here on our blog, Twitter, and Instagram so stay tuned!