Baltimore Orioles: Showalter gives back

Buck Showalter “gets it” in a sense. Being in a position such as the head coach/manager of a professional sports team isn’t just something that you do for the accolades and so forth. It’s a real job in a real community; a community that has needs and issues just like any other. Since he’s been the manager of the Baltimore Orioles, Buck and his wife Angela have participated in various local charities, most of which involved kids.

First off – on a side note – the guy has a tender heart. I’m thinking about getting a dog (which may or may not happen), and one of the breeds that I’m looking into are Basset Hounds. So I’ve been researching them online to see if they would fit my lifestyle, and go figure that this article about Buck Showalter and his dogs would come up! It seems that when he got his dog, Showalter was so perplexed about separating his would-be pet from his brother that he decided to adopt both of them.

Courtesy of Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

However dogs aside, Showalter is partnering with KidsPeace, which is an organization that provides charity dedicated to serving the behavioral and mental health needs of children, families and communities. Oriole Park at Camden Yards will host the fourth annual “Trick-or-Trot 5K/1-mile walk on Saturday, November 2nd at 8 AM. The proceeds from this event will be donated by OriolesREACH to KidsPeace programs of Maryland and Washington DC. You can visit this website to register to run or walk in the event.

I think this is very important, because too often we see sports figures as nothing more than just robots or people we see at the park or on TV. By helping to host this event and opening Oriole Park to host it, Buck and Angela Showalter are giving back to the community of which they’ve quickly become a part in a short amount of time. And it also gives people the chance to see the Showalters for what they presumably are, just regular folks. Kudos to them for stepping up to bat local children.