Local MLB star Bobby Bradley donates to Boys and Girls Club
It’s not every day you get to go shopping with an MLB star, however, some lucky kids on the Gulf Coast did today.
Cleveland Guardians first baseman Bobby Bradley teamed up with GameCoin to bring a little extra Christmas joy to the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast.
The Gulfport native resembled Santa Claus as he walked the aisles of Academy Sports and Outdoors helping kids fill their carts in an effort to promote healthy lifestyles through fitness and baseball.
“It’s just that– America’s pastime basically. You just want the younger generation to grasp it and just so that way the game stays the game forever.”
One hundred kids in the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast went on a shopping spree with Harrison Central alum and Cleveland Guardians first baseman Bobby Bradley.
Each child was given a gift card to buy whatever they wanted from shoes to clothes to new sports gear. For Bradley, meeting the kids and giving back to his community was priceless. “It’s a dream come true. I mean wishing for this as a kid and wishing that I would’ve had somebody like this, or somebody around the area to do this for us. And it just means the world to come back and do it.”
With the help of GameCoin, based out of Louisiana, a total of $50,000 was donated to the BGCGC. $20,000 went to the kids’ holiday shopping expedition at Academy Sports and Outdoors in Gulfport and D’Iberville while the remaining $30,000 will be used to support the 2022 baseball season for hundreds of children at the clubs. GameCoin Co-Founder Frankie Badeaux said, “One of the main focuses is being able to level the playing field globally for all kids to play sports. And part of that function– the main function of the coin is the charity function where 5 percent of every transaction goes back to a charity fund that we hold. And we’ve raised over $2 million locally.”
While many kids immediately rushed to the Crocs, Bradley would have darted to a different aisle first. “Anything in the baseball section. I would’ve been over there. And then I would’ve wandered around. And then I would’ve been all over the place.”
Besides being Santa, Bradley is staying busy in the off-season by working out and getting plenty of rest.
