Curtis Granderson #28

Quick Facts:
Born: March 16, 1981, Blue Island, IL
Team: Detroit Tigers (2004-Present)
Position: Centerfield
MLB Tenure: 5 years
2009 Salary: $3.5 million
2009 Statistics: 30 HR, 71 RBI, 23 2B, 72 BB, 20 SB
Other: 2009 All-Star
Charitable work: Grand Kids Foundation

The son of two teachers, education was always important to the Detroit Tigers' Curtis Granderson, who is one of the few college graduates playing in the major leagues. (Granderson has degrees in Business Marketing and Business Management from the University of Illinois-Chicago.) In his young, but successful career, Granderson has made many contributions to his community. Granderson's mission with his Grand Kids Foundation is "to enforce educational initiatives to youth and to help bring the sport of baseball back to the nation's inner cities."

Granderson reads to students at Hugo Elementary School.

Established in 2008, the Grand Kids Foundation has a focus on education and raises funds from annual events (such as the Celebrity Basketball Shoot-Out), sponsorships, and donations. The foundation helps buy school supplies and books for needy families, children, and schools. It also provides equipment, facilities, and other funding for baseball programs in Michigan inner cities. A future goal is establishing college scholarships for high school seniors.

In addition to Grand Kids, Graderson has been involved with a number of charitable organizations, such as: Play Baseball Detroit, Tigers Dreams Come True, Detroit Tigers Autographed Memorabilia Donation Program, Gloves for Kids, and the Detroit Action Team. Granderson has also been an international ambassador for Major League Baseball and represented America's pastime in countries such as China, South Africa, and Italy.

For more information or to donate:
Grand Kids Foundation
Player Info

Photos from:
http://legacydirect.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/curtis-granderson.jpg
http://grandkidsfoundation.org/images/samgallery/full/sam_full_1_1253220563.jpg

Barry Zito #75

Quick Facts:
Born: May 13, 1978, Las Vegas, NV
Team: San Francisco Giants (2007-Present), Oakland Athletics (2000-06)
Position: Starting pitcher
MLB Tenure: 9 seasons
2009 Salary: $18.5 million
2009 Statistics: 4.03 ERA, 10-13 (Wins-Losses), 154 strikeouts
Other: 2002 Cy Young Award Winner, 3-time All-Star
Charitable Work: Strikeouts for Troops

Barry Zito has been less than stellar since signing a $126 million, seven-year contract with the San Francisco Giants, but he has continued his charity work with his foundation, Strikeouts for Troops. Established in 2005, Strikeouts for Troops raises money for America's veterans of war who are being treated at military hospitals in the US. Funds raised are used for various things, such as: paying for families to visit their recovering veteran, providing Thanksgiving and Christmas meals for military patients and their families, purchasing holiday gifts for military children, supplying medical equipment for smooth transitions from the hospital to the home, providing toiletries and other supplies for patients who arrive at the hospital with nothing-- everything to keep rehabilitating troops' morale high to help them get through difficult times.

Strikeouts for Troops receive funding from player pledges, events, donations, and corporate sponsors. Contributing players include: Barry Zito, CC Sabathia, Tim Lincecum, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Tim Hudson, Chris Carpenter, Brad Lidge, Adam Wainwright, Joe Blanton, Jake Peavy, Nick Swisher, Scott Rolen, Chipper Jones, Orlando Hudson, and Jermaine Dye, to name a few. These players pledge donations based on their on-field accomplishments (number of strikeouts for pitchers, and number of homeruns, RBI, hits, etc. for position players). Barry Zito, for example, pledged $500 for each strikeout he had in the 2008 season. (He had 120 K's, totaling $60,000.) Since its establishment in 2005, Strikeouts for Troops has raised over $1 million.

In addition to Strikeouts for Troops, Zito has also contributed to other causes such as, cancer research, juvenile diabetes, world literacy, autism, Special Olympics, performing arts, animal rescue, and Little League funding.

Barry Zito holds a flag that was flown at the airbase in Balad named for Zito and his foundation.


For more information or to donate:
Strikeouts for Troops
Player Info

Photos from:
http://www4.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/San+Francisco+Giants+Photo+Day+bS0QxQVBdWfl.jpg
http://www.strikeoutsfortroops.org/images/main_news.jpg