Watch: Dodgers Give Back to Community in Chicago at Jason Heyward Academy
Pop quiz. What can bring together half of the Dodgers’ roster for a road trip during a road trip?
The answer? A text message from Jason Heyward.
Heyward, on the injured list with lower back tightness, still accompanied the Dodgers on their six-game road trip that started in Chicago and ended in Minneapolis. Before the Dodgers played the Cubs on March 5, Heyward asked his teammates if they would join him at his eponymous youth sports academy for a meet-and-greet with the local children.
Thirteen Dodgers heeded the call: Freddie Freeman, Tyler Glasnow, Mookie Betts, Alex Vesia, James Paxton, James Outman, Chris Taylor, Miguel Rojas, Kiké Hernandez, Evan Phillips, Will Smith, Ryan Yarbrough and Daniel Hudson.
Perhaps seeing Heyward fly halfway across the country was enough of a motivator for the other players to take a little time out of their day.
“I’ve always been a fan of giving back by being an influence,” Heyward told MLB Network. “We all come from different walks of life, different families, different backgrounds, different countries. Just to give this back – give a place to be a community, through sport, through education, and all the things they do in this facility, it’s awesome to bring that through the west side of Chicago.”
Come for the cute kids. Stay to watch one of them stump Betts when asked how many hits he has in his career.
Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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