This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola’s Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
MIAMI – When Clayton McCullough was named the Marlins’ manager, he understood his responsibilities extended past the dugout. He is a face for the franchise and must get out into the community.
On Wednesday, McCullough, Otto Lopez, Nick Fortes, Anthony Bender and assistant hitting coach Derek Shomon volunteered at the Miami Marlins Foundation’s annual Baseball Fantasy Camp for Kids at loanDepot park.
Forty participants from the City of Hialeah Parks, local ABA Centers of America and the Miracle League were led through stations that taught baseball fundamentals to kids with physical and intellectual challenges.
“That was really neat,” McCullough said. “I had my whole family out here. … It was really great to be asked to come out and be a part of that and put some smiles on people's faces. Honestly, the smiles that those of us that participated in it got from doing something like that was great.
“We know how lucky we are to be able to be in this profession, and being able to give back is a big thing. And then also to be able to roll in their families with that. Hopefully things we continue to do to be part of this community and help to give back. So it was a really fun morning.”
The quintet of Marlins presented the kids with personalized jerseys before guiding them through hitting, fielding and baserunning stations on the field for a little more than an hour. They later took photos and signed autographs.
Lopez instructed the kids at a hitting station. Fortes, who took part in the event for a third year, was joined by his fiancée, Alli. He and Shomon were in charge of the station where kids hit and ran the bases.
“It's always nice to just enjoy the game, but maybe through a different lens -- their eyes instead of yours -- and just see it in a different way,” Fortes said. “It's refreshing, because it kind of brings you back to what you grew up playing baseball as, and how that felt when you were their age. It's definitely nice to kind of be in their eyes for a little bit.”
In February, on the eve of the first Spring Training game, McCullough, Bender and Fortes, among others, stopped by a local youth softball league in support of retired Marlin Tom Koehler and his daughters.
Bender manned left field then and did so again on Wednesday, when he helped with fielding drills.
“It kind of brought me back a little bit,” Bender said. “I was actually with my wife, Keisha, so she was rolling them ground balls, and I was teaching them how to field and throw into the little net and stuff like that. It's always fun being a PO -- pitcher only -- and going to do fielding stuff like that. It brings you back, teaching the stuff that you learned back in the day. It's a lot of fun.”
Bender’s wife is pregnant with their first child, a boy, who is due in August.
“It's good prep, for sure,” Bender said. “I didn't even think of that. It's a good call. We'll be teaching all these steps soon enough. We'll be throwing everything at him and see what he likes and see what sticks.
“That's kind of how we did it when we grew up. We played hockey. I grew up in a cul-de-sac, so we had hockey, tag football, everything. We always went through a big phase. Basically whatever sports were on TV, that's what we'd be playing.”