For each of the last two years we've held charity pledge drives here at Amazin' Avenue, and this season will be no different. Through little more than luck and circumstance, I happen to live in a fairly affluent area of New Jersey, USA. For mostly adventitious reasons, lots of people were born elsewhere in the world into much more difficult situations, and I find that it's nearly the least I can do to help bridge that gap of circumstance.
This pledge drive is for everyone. Maybe you already give money to charity and you want to give more. Maybe you've been meaning to donate but you haven't found the time or the right organization or the proper motivation to do so. Well, we're here to make it as easy on you as possible, by tying Mets accomplishments — both good and bad — to pledged charitable donations to CARE, one of the most virtuous, hard-working, and well-respected poverty relief outfits you'll find. What's more, CARE places particular emphasis on the empowerment and emancipation of women around the world, an area in which I take a special, personal interest.
I do realize we're getting this started a bit late, as we're nearly two months into the season already, but late is better than not at all, and we'll apply all pledges retroactively to the beginning of the 2012 season. The delay is especially bad given that, based on last year's pledges, we'd have collected $531.11 for Johan Santana's no-hitter. I heartily encourage you all to pledge retroactive donations for that no-hitter anyway (and future 2012 no-hitters, too!).
Traditionally, our standard pledge has been a certain amount of money — a dime, a quarter, a few bucks — for each David Wright strikeout. It worked well the past two years, because Wright was striking out a lot and we were able to turn that into something positive, though I think we'll open things up a bit more this year.
Last year we raised $2,137.57. In 2010 we raised $2,578.04. Let's try to do even better this year. You can make your pledge via this form or you can fill out the form right here on this page below.
PLEASE BE AS CLEAR AS POSSIBLE ABOUT YOUR PLEDGE, AND PLEASE AVOID COMPLICATED, MATH-HEAVY PLEDGES. WE CALCULATE THEM BY HAND!
I encourage everyone to post their pledges in the comments as well, which will hopefully encourage other people to get involved. Here are some examples (remember that these are all retroactive to the beginning of the season):
- $1.00 for each David Wright strikeout.
- $.50 for each R.A. Dickey strikeout.
- $50 for each Mets no hitter.
- $2.00 for each Lucas Duda home run.
- $.10 for every point of Jason Bay OPS (where .650 OPS = 650 points).
- $1.00 for every Mets win.
- $7.50 for every Mets win against the Phillies.
Just to get things rolling, here are my pledges:
- $50 for every Mets no-hitter (I already owe $50 on this one!)
- $10 for every R.A. Dickey strikeout per walk (i.e., strikeouts divided by walks, currently 4.12)
- $1 for every Kirk Nieuwenhuis strikeout (currently 59).
What have you got?
Originally published June 7, 2012.