Cincinnati Reds join the rest of baseball in support of high school

The Cincinnati Reds wore Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School baseball caps today.

The Cincinnati Reds joined the rest of MLB in wearing the baseball caps prior to their games today.  The caps will be signed and auctioned off to support the Broward Education Fund.  The tragedy occurred in Florida, but impacts all of the country.

Some of the players continued to wear the caps during the game as well.  The Commissioner approved the wearing of the caps during the spring training openers for the teams.  The effort started with a handful of teams in Florida and then spread across the rest of baseball.

Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo , the cornerstone of the Cub’s rebuild, attended Stoneman Douglas.  He has also met with the families of the shooting victims.  Players, coaches, and umpires all wore the caps.

Back on September 17, 2001 the New York Mets made a similar gesture wearing caps with the letters FDNY and NYPD following the September 11th attacks at the World Trade Center.  The Mets did it again when they returned to Shea Stadium for the first time.  The cap is one way that baseball players can communicate solidarity to the fans.

Want your voice heard? Join the Blog Red Machine team!

Write for us!

This was something different though.  Half of the major league teams train in Florida.  This feels like part of the community to the players because they spend six weeks every year living in Florida.

The Miami Marlins went a step further than the Cincinnati Reds and the rest of MLB.

More from Reds History

• Reds: 3 players who’ll force their way onto the roster by the All-Star break
• Merry Clinchmas: Jay Bruce’s greatest moment with the Reds
• Cincinnati Reds: Historically, hot start may mean start of something great
• Cincinnati Reds: The best draft class in team history
• On this day in 2000, the Cincinnati Reds traded for Ken Griffey Jr.

The Marlins are the closest MLB team to Stoneman Douglas.  They are from the same part of Florida as the Parkland school.  Some of the players and staff also grew up close to the school.

Prior to the game, the Marlins wore a special cap and then switched into the same cap as the rest of MLB for the game.  The Saint Louis Cardinals joined the Marlins wearing a patch on the chest of their uniforms.

The Marlins also hosted the Stoneman Douglas baseball and softball teams at their game in Jupiter.

Some of the players gave out souvenirs like bats and balls.  The teams spent the whole day at Roger Dean Stadium, as they don’t return to classes until Monday.

New Era made more than 2,500 caps for MLB.  This was done quickly and without hesitation.  All of MLB is behind this movement.

Next: Scooter won his arbitration case

This is a tragedy without a doubt.  Nothing can explain what happened.  MLB is just trying to do what it can to help.