New York Mets’ star Amed Rosario has taken charge in his community. He led MLB players to the Dominican Republic to clean up trashed beaches.
According to Leo Sepkowitz of Bleacher Report, an MLB group called Players for the Planet spent Tuesday cleaning beaches in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
The group is led by major leaguer Corey Dickerson and former major leaguer Slade Heathcott. The group aims to help communities in need by cleaning up their environment.
This particular area was brought to their attention by New York Mets‘ shortstop Amed Rosario. Rosario grew up in the area, and when he returned home, he saw the awful conditions the beaches were in. He took it upon himself to bring change in the neighborhood.
He got the aid of Players for the Planets and organized a beach clean up alongside other major leaguers. Most notably Rosario’s Mets teammate Robinson Cano has joined the effort.
Rosario and Cano aren’t the only Dominican born players who have joined Players for the Planet. Nelson Cruz, Fernando Rodney and fellow New York star Miguel Andujar have also joined the effort.
While Tuesday’s outing was simply a beach cleanup, the group has more in store.
Nelson Cruz pointed out to Sepkowitz, “Education is the key. Making sure we get educated about where to put the plastic, what the process should be. We [baseball players] are a big piece of the country—people listen to us, we’re role models. So if they see us doing this stuff, we’re going to influence more people, specifically younger people.”
The cleanup is just step one. Amed Rosario may have organized this cleanup as a way to revitalize the area, but the group is going further. This isn’t a publicity stunt for them. They want their action to spark even more action in the area.
The group plans to educate whoever will listen. They hope that Santo Domingo won’t need their help in the future. Their dream is that others follow their example and begin taking better care of the planet.
