Garth Brooks Is Spring Training With the Pittsburgh Pirates
Garth Brooks is a Major League Baseball prospect -- at least, until Thursday (Feb. 14). The country superstar is spending the week of Feb. 11 at Spring Training with the MLB's Pittsburgh Pirates, for a good cause.
The Pirates signed Brooks to a Spring Training contract in support of the 20th anniversary of his Teammates for Kids Foundation, a charity that Brooks launched with the help of pro athletes in 1999. The organization asks professional athletes to pledge donations based on their performance records in their sport, with the money donated going to "children in the areas of health, education and inner city."
"It's the proudest thing I have ever been a part of," Brooks says (quote via TribLive). "Other than the day I married my wife and had my three girls, this is the most important thing in my life."
His stint with the Pittsburgh Pirates isn't Brooks' first with an MLB team: Brooks formerly trained with the San Diego Padres (1999), the New York Mets (2000) and the Kansas City Royals (2004). While Brooks' former MLB contracts didn't land him a spot on any of those teams, he's got high hopes this time around, he jokes.
"As a celebrity, they haven't cut me yet, so we'll see," Brooks tells ESPN. "You've got to use your advantages, you know. Before you could crowd the plate all you want because nobody wanted to hit you. You haven't got speed. You haven't got fielding. You haven't got hitting. So, use the other thing you've got."
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