Just because baseball games are banned by law and the Atlantic League baseball season didn’t get off to its planned start this month doesn’t mean the High Point Rockers aren’t engaging in a competition with its scheduled opponent.
Though the Rockers and the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs won’t be taking the field against one another, the two Atlantic League teams are battling it out in another form.
On Friday, May 8, both teams are holding a day-long food drive at their respective ballparks with all food donations going to food shelters that have been facing shortages due to the COVID-19 crisis.
For the May 8 event, the team is partnering with Old Dominion Freight Line in the effort to support a good cause.
Pete Fisch, the new team president of the Rockers stated this week in a press release that he hopes to see a lot of people come out to the stadium even though there won’t be a baseball game going on.
“Although we can’t be on the field picking up wins right now,” he said, “bringing positivity and good will to the community is still our top priority. We are excited to work with Southern Maryland to keep the competitive spirit alive during these unprecedented times and I know our supporters in High Point, and the Triad, will come out in force to help us succeed on May 8th.”
Of course, like everything else going on these days, there will be plenty of safety measures in effect. For one, to ensure social distancing, fans are being asked to load their donations into the back of their vehicles prior to arriving at BB&T Point and then remain in their vehicles while Rockers staff members unload the donations.
Donations will be accepted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. outside the team’s front office along Gatewood Avenue.
Instead of a baseball game between the two teams, the “friendly competition” will feature “special game day moments” such as starting lineups, the national anthem and on-field promotions. Even the national anthem can be very interesting at a Rockers game. Last season, one singer did such a poor job in the pregame ritual that a video of his rendition went viral and made national news.
The May 8 food drive falls on the heels of another charitable Rockers event that took place on what was supposed to be opening day for the team. On Thursday, April 30, the Rockers gave out roughly 1,200 free meals to emergency personnel and frontline medical workers in High Point.
