Ranaudo, Robertson pitching in for Louisiana
Ex-LSU hurler, High Socks for Hope co-founder among those joining MLB, union in flood relief efforts
Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association announced Tuesday that they are donating $250,000 to assist victims of recent floods in Louisiana. A number of MLB players with Louisiana roots have stepped in to help with the recovery, including White Sox pitcher Anthony Ranaudo, who pitched three seasons at Louisiana State University.
Parts of Louisiana are recovering from strong rains earlier in August that left parts of the state under water.
Ranaudo and a handful of other players helped determine that the American Red Cross would receive $125,000 to help with the relief, while the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and High Socks for Hope would each receive $62,500.
Ranaudo pitched at LSU from 2008-10. He and eight other former LSU players helped found the Louisiana Flood Relief Fund, which is one of the foundations helping in relief, according to the news release.
Ranaudo took a no-decision in Chicago's 8-4 loss at Detroit after allowing three runs in five innings of work. He said after the game that he started up a group chat with his former teammates earlier this month, and they decided this was the best way they could help their friends and family.
"A lot of guys have friends and family that had a lot of close ties to the flooding and the disaster," Ranaudo said. "So we just thought that would be the best way to get the word out there and gets some funds and help people down in Louisiana."
White Sox reliever David Robertson and his wife, Erin, created the High Socks for Hope foundation in 2011 to help with tornado relief in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The foundation has since helped with relief in natural disasters across the country and is one of the organizations receiving money from the MLB and MLBPA, according to the news release.
"It's a terrible disaster," Robertson said. "I've seen flooding like that before, and it's really displaced a lot of families. A lot of people have lost all their belongings. And for us, we have people on the ground down there right now, and we're working on feeding the volunteers and those that are without."
Robertson said he is very grateful for what MLB did to help out with the relief efforts, and he is going to take the money donated to High Socks for Hope and give it to those in need in Louisiana.
"Today's contributions represent an ongoing commitment of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association to provide joint support for victims of natural disasters," MLB's statement read. "The parties encourage others to join them in assisting with the area's flood relief efforts."