Sending cards 2012 - Round Four

Mark Teixeira

Mark Teixeira is not a player I follow, but it is hard to not know who he is. Now with the New York Yankees, he has put time it with the: Rangers, Braves, and Angels. He and his wife started The Mark Teixeira Charitable Fund, through which he has done a lot of good things to help the community. Yearly Scholarships,  helped build "a permanent home for the DREAM Charter School." (facebook page), and helped the Harlem RBI organization with funding.

Tim Lincecum

I believe I have sent to Timmy before, but it doesn't hurt to try again. Lincecum hasn't been the same frightening pitcher in the last couple years, and despite being a Diamondback fan with my eggs in another basket, I hope he can make his adjustments to get back to form. Tim has always struck me as a "David" in a "David and Goliath" situation. He looks so young and casual, almost an opposite to the one-time teammate Randy Johnson. When he started slumping, I was surprised to find myself really pulling for the guy. Get well soon, "freak".

Ian Kinsler

Mr. Kinsler has played with the Rangers for his entire career (6 years). I did enjoy hearing about his strong Jewish faith, and how difficult a decision he may have in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. The Haaretz has an article where he was quoted in regard to possibly playing for Israel, "I would be happy to play for Team Israel," but he followed it up with, "The truth is that if a proposal comes from team USA to play for them, I will have a very difficult decision to make." This stood out for two reasons. One, I love seeing someone who is living a life of faith with honesty no matter what religion it is or if I personally believe that way myself. Secondly, I love seeing patriotism in others. This hit both. Good luck to you sir.

Brian McCann

Brian McCann is another single team player, putting in seven years with the Braves. Brian and his wife are actively supporting The Rally Foundation and the Rally Kids. His personally story is on his website. The Rally Kids are children who are facing and fighting childhood cancer. They give faces and stories behind the numbers. McCann directs his charitable work to these kids and the organization, as well as visits the children in the hospital when he can.

 

Rick Ankiel

Wow, Rick has been someone that I "pop" in on every so often to see how he is doing. By that I mean I keep tabs on him in box scores, stories and game recaps. Not so much home visits or phone calls. It is fascinating to me that he went from pitching at the highest level, to reinventing himself to become a position player back at the "show". To me, it is not only the position change, but to be good at both positions that you can make a valuable contribution to a team at a major league level. He is like a one sport "Bo Jackson". By itself that last sentence sounds really stupid (and I am cutting myself a break by adding the "by itself" qualifier)