Umps Care Charities, the official philanthropy of the MLB umpires, launches 17th annual online auction on MLB.com Monday, April 21

Major League Baseball (MLB) umpires are offering up more than 400 items including priceless, autographed sports memorabilia, rarely available specialty MLB logo caps and one-of-a-kind experiences during the 17th Annual UMPS CARE Charities Online Auction. The auction, hosted on MLB.com, opens Monday, April 21 at 10 a.m. EDT and closes Thursday, May 1 at 10 p.m. EDT.

The auction can be found at www.mlb.com/UmpsCare.

Among items up for bid are a Wrigley Field scoreboard tour (complete with 4 tickets and pregame access on the field), tickets to MLB’s All-Star Game and Home Run Derby in Atlanta, a tour of the MLB Replay Center, a Cooperstown triple play with a special experience at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, a round of golf and dinner —signed apparel and merchandise, MLB specialty game caps, and even lunch with an MLB Umpire!

Also up for bid are opportunities to be on the field for batting practice at several MLB ballparks, and lots of signed baseballs and lineup cards!

For the third consecutive year, our auction has a special section featuring collectibles, tickets and bobbleheads from other sports—the NFL, NBA, NHL and more! Proceeds from this section of the auction will support Sports Officials Care. Officials from other leagues saw what the Major League Umpires were doing to give back to the community and wanted in. Learn more at SportsOfficialsCare.org.

Proceeds from the auction support UMPS CARE Charities programs in which youth-based organizations and military families get to meet MLB Umpires before games, visits at hospitals in which MLB Umpires deliver Build-A-Bear? experiences to the bedside of children undergoing treatment, college scholarships for children adopted later in life and our newest initiative, the Official Leadership Program—a 6-week course that trains teens to learn umpiring mechanics on the field and life skills in the classroom.

“One of the biggest issues in youth sports today is the lack of umpires and sports officials, and UMPS CARE Charities is working hard with Major League Baseball Umpires and officials to train teens to become umpires but also to be leaders in their communities.” UMPS CARE Charities president and retired MLB Umpire Gary Darling said. “We are proud to share that we have more than 650 graduates of this program. MLB Umpires are abundantly aware of this issue and want to be a part of the solution. This auction will help us expand this program and continue to make an impact with the nationwide shortage of umpires.”

About UMPS CARE Charities: UMPS CARE Charities was founded in 2006 through the compassion of Major League Baseball (MLB) umpires. UMPS CARE provides financial, in-kind and emotional support for America’s youth and families in need. The UMPS CARE mission puts into action our established creed, “Helping People Is An Easy Call.” UMPS CARE Charities, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, provides VIP experiences for kids and families from various youth-based organizations, provides Build-A-Bear? Workshop experiences for children at hospitals across the United States and in Canada and provides college scholarships to children adopted later in life. UMPS CARE also has launched the Official Leadership Program to train teens in underserved communities to become leaders on and off the field. For more information, click on UmpsCare.com.