In the wake of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, professional athletes like J.J. Watt and Tim Duncan are answering the call to help those affected by the devastating storms.
Pedro Martinez plans to do his part this weekend when he hosts his 2nd annual charity gala at the Colonnade Hotel in Boston on Friday night. The event will raise funds for the former Red Sox ace’s non-profit organization, as well as aid victims of the recent hurricanes.
The Hall of Fame pitcher will be joined by several of his close baseball friends at the gala, including David Ortiz, Jason Varitek, Orlando Cabrera, Vladimir Guerrero, Jose Reyes, Jeurys Familia and more. While Martinez tells Metro that he expects the evening to be a fun soiree, he also notes that the struggles of Puerto Rico and his home country of the Dominican Republic will weigh heavily on guests minds, as many MLB players hail from areas hit by the storms.
“People don’t understand, really, the devastation that there is when a storm like that passes by a country,” Martinez says. “Puerto Rico has been going from bad to worse. I’m just hoping that we continue to give them the support.”
The former World Series champion reveals he has seen some of the devastation firsthand, particularly in the northern parts of the Dominican Republic.
“They really got it, especially by the waters,” Martinez says. “What happens when the sea comes in, everything is made of iron gets damaged, plus what happened to the little houses. You don’t have very good houses over there.”
Martinez admits, though, that his home country wasn’t as badly affected by the storms as Puerto Rico. He hopes to use his star power to help in the U.S. territory’s recovery efforts.
“After watching Puerto Rico, I must say we were really lucky to actually get away with so little damage being done to the Dominican Republic,” Martinez says. “I’m looking forward to also helping out in Puerto Rico with Carlos Beltran and those guys. They’re really working hard, trying to rebuild Puerto Rico.”
While President Donald Trump has been criticized for his response to the crisis in Puerto Rico, Martinez doesn’t believe that any one person in particular deserves blame. Instead, the former Red Sox star is calling on the world to unite and tackle this problem together.
“It’s not just one leader taking over saying this is going to be done,” Martinez says. “It takes everybody to be united and, in these difficult moments, it’s even more important that we all get together and really push.”
“I remember listening to the song ‘We are the World’ for Africa, and I think that’s what we need to do right now,” he adds. “We are the world and we all need to get together and give it a push and feel for your [fellow] human being like you feel for yourself.”
If you go:
Nov. 3, Colonnade Boston Hotel, 120 Huntington Ave., Boston, pedromartinezcharity.com
