Lucas Swineford, co-founder of Baseball Fans Give Back, had had enough of steroid scandal after steroid scandal that was disintegrating the integrity of the game; as a big fan of baseball who loved the game since he was small child, he decided he had to do something about it to offset the negativity and hopefully bring back the glory of the sport. Swineford felt that the game and the players who used steroids were insulting the fans, and to him, this was insanity. He asked himself how he could turn the scandals into something positive, and so one night in February while driving home, he came up with an idea. He would encourage baseball fans to come together even just for one day to make a stand and an impact on their communities. From this idea, ‘Baseball Fans Give Back’ was born.

It was about inspiring people to give back to their communities, Swineford said.

Together with his wife, Stacey, Lucas Swineford made a social initiative, encouraging fans to boycott and stay away from Major League Baseball for one day. Instead of attending the game, he encouraged fans to take a portion of the time and money they would have spent on the game and give it back to the community instead. He said that 30 years of being a big fan of the sport won’t make him quit just like that. If fans can select one day of the season and direct the time and money to worthwhile causes and activities instead of spending money on the game, then that might make a difference.

For a start, Baseball Fans Give Back held a “Baseball Day” on April 17 where they asked people to boycott professional baseball on that day. Swineford suggested for fans not to attend a game or watch a television broadcast of one of the 15 games scheduled that day. He pleaded to baseball fans to donate $13 (half of the average big league baseball ticket) to charity or other non-profit organization instead. The date was especially significant as it was the day that Roberto Clemente made his debut in major league in 1954. Clemente is a Hall of Famer and humanitarian; every year, MLB presents a Roberto Clemente award to a player who follows the footsteps of Clemente.

During the “Baseball Day” event, Baseball Fans Give Back partnered with Domus (domuskids.org), a nonprofit organization based in Stamford that works with underprivileged and at-risk youth. For the whole day, the group hosted baseball clinics and volunteers led discussions with students regarding the positive lessons they can learn from playing baseball and the philosophy of the game in general, as well as the steroid scandals infesting the league.

Participants of the clinic were students from the Stamford charter school Trailblazer Academy, which is run by Domus. Of the kids, Swineford said that the students were some of the most intelligent and respectful kids he had seen in a long time. He was overwhelmed with how incredible the day turned out to be. With the success of the event, Swineford is looking to expand the initiative to more than a one-day event and is hoping to make it a year round thing.

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