The Amazin' Avenue Charity Pledge Drive Is Back!

For each of the last three years we've held charity pledge drives here at Amazin' Avenue, and it's time to start another one for 2013. This all got started back in 2010 when we decided to turn David Wright's alarmingly high strikeout rate into something good: a charitable donation to help folks who need it.

Perhaps you already give money to charity or you've been meaning to donate but haven't found the time, organization, or motivation to do so. This year, we're taking the Mets' misfortunes and triumphs and turning them into pledged charitable donations to Doctors Without Borders. In short, from their website:

"[Doctors Without Borders] provides independent, impartial assistance in more than 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters."

The season is just over a month old, but we'll gladly apply your pledge retroactively to its beginning. We started by taking pledges of a certain amount of money for each David Wright strikeout, but this community has gotten incredibly creative over the past few years.

You're encouraged to post your pledge in the comments. Here are some examples from the past:

• $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.

And to get things started, here are my pledges for 2013:

• $0.25 for each Matt Harvey strikeout.
• $0.10 for each Lucas Duda walk.
• $1.00 for each time Bobby Parnell earns a Proven Closer point (aka: save).
• $20 if the Mets finish ahead of the Phillies in the standings.

Last year we raised $1,671.28. In 2011, we raised $2,137.57. In 2010 we raised $2,578.04. Let's try to do even better this year. We've set up a pledge drive page on the Doctors Without Borders website, and we'll be directing you there at the end of the season when it's time to donate.

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 avoid complicated, math-heavy pledges. We do these calculations by hand! You can make your pledge using this form, which is also embedded here: