Bay Area MLB players participate in baseball benefit for North Bay fire victims
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (KGO) -- A rainy day -- the Sonoma County Fire zone -- Baseball: They're three elements that most of us would find difficult to blend together, but not in Santa Rosa.
RELATED: Young A's fan embraces baseball as distraction after North Bay fires
In one of the most All-American benefits we have found yet for fire victims, consider the scene at Fastball Strike1 Friday morning.
Inside an indoor practice facility, we found a crowd of aspiring baseball players, all looking for hands-on coaching wisdom from familiar names that include Noah Lowry of the San Francisco Giants and Marcus Semien from the Oakland Athletics, along with seventeen others.
All donated their time and expertise to help ballplayers displaced by last September's fires.
"We care about our community. These kids are the next generation," said Semien.
There were fifty-six of them in attendance and all free of charge. Roughly one-hundred fifty others paid $75 each for the three-hour clinic, with proceeds going to players who lost their equipment.
RELATED: Students return to Reibli Elementary after North Bay fires
They included Mason and Jordan Niel, who lost their home while their father, Tony, saved others as a Santa Rosa Firefighter. "It is ironic, yes," he said to us while watching the boys work on baserunning drill. "This is one of those things where it truly does represent the community."
Click here for more information on the clinic and how you can help those in the North Bayhttp://fastballstrike1.com
