Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas & Michael Wacha Among Big League Participants
Playing To Raise Money for Charity
ST. LOUIS, Mo., August 23, 2019 – For the seventh consecutive year, Adam Wainwright is bringing his annual Big League Impact Fantasy Football Live Draft and its winning fundraising formula of MLB players and fans to Busch Stadium on Friday, August 30.
As part of the event, participating fans will draft their own fantasy football team and compete directly against Wainwright and other Cardinals big leaguers including Michael Wacha, Miles Mikolas, and Jack Flaherty. Participants will manage their fantasy team throughout a 13-week, head-to-head format season, including a direct matchup against the celebrity participants.
Prior to the start of the event, Wainwright will lead participants on a behind-the-scenes tour of Busch Stadium before joining his teammates for the VIP draft event in the UMB Champions Club. Guests will get to play catch and have their picture taken on the field, enjoy VIP access to batting practice and receive suite tickets for the evening’s game versus the Cincinnati Reds. Throughout the fantasy season, participants will enjoy weekly interaction and competition with big leaguers with chances to win other one-of-a-kind prizes.
All proceeds from Wainwright’s event at Busch Stadium will benefit Cardinals Care and Big League Impact’s Global Initiative Fund in addition to the following player-selected charities: IDADEE Hospital (Wainwright), Crisis Aid (Mikolas), Food for the Hungry (Flaherty), and Special Olympics and Boys & Girls Club of Texarkana (Wacha).
Big League Impact started with a single fantasy football charity event in 2013 and has since raised over $2.5 million dollars and expanded to nine additional MLB clubs: Yankees, Mets, Giants, Padres, Reds, Twins, Diamondbacks, Tigers, and Nationals. This year’s roster of participating MLB players includes Steven Matz, Pete Alonso, JD Davis, Jeff McNeil, Aaron Altherr, Zack Wheeler, Nick Ahmed, Steven Souza Jr., Archie Bradley, Luke Weaver, Kyle Gibson, Jake Ordorizzi, Ryne Harper, and Austin Hedges.
“I’m thrilled to bring the Big League Impact Fantasy Football Draft back to Busch Stadium for a seventh consecutive year,” said Wainwright. “I get to celebrate my birthday doing some of my favorite things – playing baseball, interacting with fans, and competing in fantasy football – and it’s all for a great cause. It’s a win all around!”
For a full listing of Big League Impact fantasy football draft day experiences, or to register for events in their cities, visit bigleagueimpact.org.
Fans can learn more about Cardinals players’ community efforts at cardinals.com/community.
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About Big League Impact
Big League Impact, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission of helping to meet basic human needs in an effort to restore dignity and hope to people in local communities and around the globe. Founded in 2013 by St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright and his brother Trey under the name “Waino’s World,” the organization has since grown to include other professional baseball players hosting Big League Impact charity events all across the country. For more information, visit bigleagueimpact.org.
About Cardinals Care
Cardinals Care was established to give fans a way of teaming up with Cardinals players and the organization to help children in our community – both on and off the baseball field. Established in 1997, Cardinals Care has invested over $23 million to support St. Louis area children and has built or renovated 23 youth ball fields in local under-resourced neighborhoods. Most recently, the Cardinals dedicated Dexter Fowler Field at Hess Park in Decatur, Ill. This year marked the 15th year of Cardinals Care’s innovative Redbird Rookies program, a free baseball league for kids who otherwise might not have the opportunity to play. In addition to providing all the uniforms, gloves, bats, balls and other equipment needed for each team, Redbird Rookies also provides extensive off-field support in the areas of health, education, mentoring, cultural arts and scholarship for each of the nearly 2,500 kids who participate in the program each year.
About Crisis Aid International
Crisis Aid serves people in crisis living in 11 different countries. Together with its partners, they have provided more than 15 million pounds of food to 2.3 million adults and malnourished children and rescued more than 870 girls age 4 to 30 years old from sex trafficking. Today, Crisis Aid concentrates efforts in East Africa and the United States serving children and families who are in crisis situations like famine, disease, natural disaster, or sex trafficking.