Players hope gesture helps Douglas families
JUPITER — When the Miami Marlins take the field for their spring training opener Friday afternoon, their caps will look a bit different from the ones we’re used to.
Major League Baseball announced this week that all 30 teams will wear caps Friday to honor those affected by last Wednesday’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Players will wear hats with the Eagles’ logo during pregame warmups before signing them and auctioning them to raise money for the Broward Education Foundation, which will benefit the official Stoneman Douglas Victims’ Fund.
“It’s a tragedy. It was a tragedy that hit the state of Florida, where we have two teams, but obviously has very specific baseball connections,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said this week. “(There was) really a very strong sentiment among the clubs that this was the appropriate thing to do immediately.”
Marlins players and coaches said Wednesday they’re proud to be doing something to show support for the families affected. Seventeen people were killed in last Wednesday’s massacre, including 14 students and three staff members.
“It happened, what, an hour away from Miami?” Marlins shortstop J.T. Riddle said. “We should definitely be wearing the hats. … Anything to help the cause. It’s a big issue right now.”
Marlins third baseman Martin Prado admitted he doesn’t know how soon the pain will go away for the families suffering, but he hopes the gesture will give them “a little bit of peace.”
“I’m just a father and I put myself in their shoes,” Prado said. “There’s so much they have to handle every day, and we’ve just got to give them that little peace they need right now.”
Riddle added he and the team would welcome the chance to do community outreach when the team breaks camp and returns to Miami next month.
The Marlins begin their spring schedule Friday at 1:05 p.m. against the St. Louis Cardinals, who also train in Jupiter at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. At the same time, the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros will play their first game of the spring at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.