As an organization through their foundation and behind individual players taking their own initiative, the Los Angeles Dodgers have a strong reputation for making a difference within the community. On Monday night, it was Yasiel Puig’s turn to sit at the main table.
His Wild Horse Foundation hosted their inaugural poker tournament inside the Stadium Club restaurant at Dodger Stadium. The tournament sold out, and an estimated 300 people, including participants, were on hand.
“I’m so happy,” Puig said from the red carpet. “There are a lot of people, celebrities and teammates came out.
“I want to thank my teammates and everybody who is here. I want to do this event for the kids, because when I was young, I didn’t have a bat or glove to go and play baseball. I had to ask my friends.”
Logan Forsythe, Adrian Gonzalez, Clayton Kershaw, Brandon McCarthy and Justin Turner were among Puig’s teammates to attend.
“It’s a pretty cool deal,” Turner said. “I had a long conversation with Kourtney after [my] golf tournament about some of the guys who were out there and hoping maybe it would help them understand how big of a platform we have and how much of a difference everyone wants to make.
“Adrian has the softball game that he does, I do the golfing thing, Clayton has a ping pong tournament, and now Yasi has a poker tournament. It’s nice to see everyone getting on board and wanting to make an impact in the community.”
McCarthy had heard bits of information from Puig on the Wild Horse Foundation, and viewed Monday as an opportunity to further familiarize himself with his teammate’s good doing. That it involved poker was somewhat of an added benefit.
“Now, I’m probably not very good,” answered McCarthy when asked how he’d fare at the table. “When it was kind of a craze, at least through the Minor Leagues, I kind of stayed alive by winning poker. I haven’t played it in a few years.”
Puig’s stardom reached well beyond the baseball diamond. George Lopez hosted the event, Larry King and Metta World Peace were among the attendees. The former Los Angeles Lakers forward has spent several years in the city, but did not have a previous relationship with Puig.
“I think it’s big when you get a chance to utilize the platform when it’s given to you,” World Peace said. “When you have a guy like Yasiel giving back, it’s big. It says a lot, because he doesn’t have to.”
The Wild Horse Foundation provides food to areas in need and during the holiday season, purchases and distributes toys for children, provides athletic equipment to schools and youth leagues in need, and donates supplies to community centers and underprivileged schools.
Their work takes places in both the United States and Dominican Republic.
