MLB Donates $1 Million to Puerto Rico and Mexico

The commissioner of the MLB, Rob Manfred, announced that Major League Baseball will donate $1 million to those affected in Puerto Rico and Mexico due to the respective natural disasters in both countries.

Puerto Rico is barely recovering from the catastrophic passage of Hurricane Maria, while Mexico experienced its third earthquake in less than a month.

"These devastating natural disasters have deeply affected the baseball family," said Manfred.

"Players from Puerto Rico and Mexico are an important part of the past, present, and future of our game. We hope that our contribution will immediately help the efforts during this critical moment and the long recovery period for the people in both countries," he pointed out.

Athletes unite for Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is not alone.

After the catastrophic passage of Hurricane Maria, which caused serious damage in all 78 municipalities on the Island, numerous Puerto Rican athletes have made it known to the world that their homeland needs help.

The Olympic gold medalist in Rio, tennis player Mónica Puig, as well as baseball players Carlos Correa and Carlos Beltrán, took advantage of the respective spaces given to them by the US press in recent days, not only to send a message of support but also to donate large sums of money.

"It is something that needs to be done," said Beltrán to The Associated Press, after announcing in a video that he will donate $1 million.

"You try to show a happy face and play baseball every day and try to smile, but inside I know that my family could be in trouble," Correa also expressed to The Associated Press.

Similar to Beltrán and Correa, baseball players Francisco Lindor, Edwin Díaz, and Enrique Hernández also sent messages of solidarity on social media.

Meanwhile, the new player of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Carmelo Anthony, did not forget his Puerto Rican roots.

"I organized a @YouCaring account to help in this battle for Puerto Rico. We need your cooperation in this battle," Anthony said.

On the other hand, Puig appeared deeply affected in an interview with the renowned CNN network.

"Puerto Rico is my home and seeing what's happening really breaks my heart," Puig said. "Tennis is so small and life is so important. It doesn't matter what I'm doing on the court," she emphasized.