San Diego Padres’ pitcher Joe Thatcher gives back to his community - MLB News
For San Diego Padres’ relief pitcher Joe Thatcher, Kokomo, Indiana, will always be home. The 31-year-old is active in efforts to give back to the community where he started playing the game and eventually made it to the big leagues.
Joe attended the Kokomo High School in his native town and was an accomplished basketball player in his high school years. The left hander pitched for the Indian State University during his college time. His sisters are also athletes in different sports
at Indiana State.
Nicknamed as ‘The Prime Minister’, Thatcher just loves Indiana. He said that he loves spending time there and knows that there is tremendous support for him in his native state.
"It's just home," Thatcher said. "I love San Diego and spending time there. But here ... you see people that you grew up with. And I've always received so much support from the community. I have people tell me that the first thing they do each morning is
to check the box score to see if I pitched."
Recently Joe and his family were present at the Kokomo Country Club on the fourth annual Pitch in for Youth Dinner, which also had a live auction. The proceeds from the event are split between Thatcher’s charity Endowment Fund and the Carver Community Centre.
The event, which also had Padres’ broadcaster d**k Enberg as a speaker, raised $40,000 for charity. The 6ft 2in pitcher said that the dinner had been getting bigger every year. He was all praise for his family who had all been involved in helping in the
event and are a big part of arranging it.
Talking about how it started, Thatcher recalled how the idea hit him sitting in the Arizona bullpen.
"I was sitting in the bullpen in Arizona and my mind started wandering," Joe said. "I starting thinking that it was time to give back. We decided to have the dinner the first year. We didn't really know what we were doing."
Players from sports other then baseball also contribute to the event. The list includes the Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers who sends a football and a jersey every year. Los Angeles Dodgers’ first baseman Adrian Gonzalez also contributed to the
noble cause.
Joe Thatcher is certainly playing an important role in his community. He understands the need to help the very people who has been a part of his success story all along. He is certainly a role model for the youth of not just Indiana but everywhere.
He has set an example that showed by followed by all successful as well as upcoming athletes, regardless of whichever sport they play. We hope all the very best for his efforts and hope that he continues the noble work for a long time to come.
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