Baseball and softball players of the South Bronx High School were stunned by a generous gift from a New York Yankees’ superstar.
They were expecting a visit by newly appointed Department of Education Chancellor Dennis Walcott on Thursday, April 28, when a surprise guest also appeared, bearing a special gift.
New York Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson walked through the school’s gymnasium doors at 701 St. Anns Avenue to a thunderous ovation from the athletes and announced that as part of his Grand Kids Foundation, the teams would be receiving 300 Louisville Slugger aluminum softball bats and wooden baseball bats.
Ecstatic about the visit was school principal Hazel Jospeh-Roseboro, who felt the visit from Granderson was more than just a donation of baseball bats.
“It’s a magical moment to watch a player like him come to our school, it really lifts up the spirits of our young students,” she said. “Just like in any other school or community, we have students who struggle and a donation for our teams such as this really makes an impact on our students’ lives. They look at someone like Mr. Granderson and feed off of his kindness.”
After making the announcement in front of students, faculty and representatives of the Public Schools Athletic League, Granderson greeted the players and signed autographs.
Chancellor Walcott believes that Granderson’s donation is a symbol of how humble someone of his popularity can be and how meaningful it is for the two teams.
“He is just a high-quality individual and although I have never met him until now, I have heard nothing but great things about him,” Walcott said.
“Even when he played with the Detroit Tigers he established himself as a star in so many ways. Since he came over to New York last year, he has produced tremendously for the Yankees and has also donated items to schools and non-profit organizations,” he added.
“One of the craziest things that I hear when I talk to different people on why they don’t play baseball is because it is expensive,” Granderson said.
“I never want to hear kids say that they don’t play baseball because it’s too expensive, so hopefully this is one of the ways we can keep kids playing.”
