Rangers, Astros lead effort for Uvalde Boys & Girls Club

SAN DIEGO – The Rangers and Astros are spearheading this year’s Winter Meetings auction. The proceeds will establish a Boys & Girls Club in Uvalde, Texas, where a mass shooter killed nine children and two teachers in a mass shooting in May.

Rangers executive VP of communications John Blake and Astros senior VP Anita Sehgal represented their respective clubs for the announcement Monday at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.

“What’s great about opening a Boys and Girls Club in Uvalde is it’s something that will stand the test of time,” Sehgal said. “If every year we can think about this auction as building a legacy project for a community that needs it or a cause that is important, then we really as a collective Major League Baseball family, including our media partners and our community partners, are making a real difference.”

The online charity auction is live through Thursday at 7 p.m. CST.

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The Astros and the Rangers have supported the Uvalde community since the tragedy at Robb Elementary. In August the Astros played host to 10-year-old Mayah Zamora, a survivor of the mass shooting.

More commitment to Uvalde

Zamora spent 66 days in the hospital recovering from the wounds she suffered. She lived a few blocks away from where the 18-year-old shooter Salvador Ramos lived. Zamora didn’t want to return to her home. 

The Carlos Correa Family Foundation committed to leading the effort to buy Zamora’s family a new home. Gallery Furniture owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale committed to furnishing the home.

The Astros have held multiple events for the Uvalde community since the tragedy. Astros Owner Jim Crane held a brunch in Uvalde for the victims’ families in July. On that trip, 60 Astros employees, volunteers helped put together a PLAY BALL activation for the community.

Then in August Lance McCullers, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Dusty Baker addressed a large contingent who packed 10 buses for a trip from Uvalde to an Astros game.

Ranger continue to help

Soon after the shooting, the Rangers Baseball Foundation, Rangers fans, and the Rangers ownership group donated more than $100,000 to a fund established to support the families of the victims. Another $25,000 was donated from a Mystery Ball Fundraiser the Rangers held during a home game.

The charity items have been donated by the MLB teams, the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, the commissioner’s office, MLB Network and minor league clubs. Hall of Famer and Rangers icon Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez has donated an 18-hole round with two friends for the auction.

The auction includes special meet-and-greet sessions. Three-time MVP Mike Trout, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, Seattle manager Scott Servais and Mets manager Buck Showalter, All-Star Andrés Giménez, Steven Kwan, Alek Thomas, Daulton Varsho and Christian Walker have volunteered for the meet-and-greet sessions.

The full list of auction items can be found on the league’s website.

“While we’re going to repair Little League fields, and we’re going to help rebuild youth baseball there, this Club will provide a safe haven for families that desperately need it,” Sehgal said. “Just the ability to create experiences and raise money, to leave that legacy for that community will make such a huge difference for them.”