Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Cody Bellinger and Joc Pederson are among the revealed participants for the second annual California Strong Celebrity Softball Game. The event, organized by Christian Yellich, Ryan Braun and Mike Moustakas and Jared Goff, returns to Pepperdine University on Sunday.
General admission and VIP tickets to the game remain available, with batting practice beginning at 12:30 p.m. Proceeds benefit California Strong and its efforts to provide for a community that was rocked by tragedy and natural disasters over the past year.
The inaugural game raised more than $1 million, exceeding the goal California Strong set going into the event. Southern California natives Braun, Moustakas and Yelich were motivated to take action in the wake of the mass shooting at Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks and subsequent wildfires in the surrounding communities.
While there was hope professional athletes and celebrities would aid their cause, the California Strong founders were humbled by the outpouring of support they received.
“That’s been the greatest thing we’ve taken from this experience, is the way the community has rallied together,” Braun said last year. “The support we’ve received for the campaign has been incredible. From other athletes, celebrities, local businesses. It’s been incredible.”
To date, California Strong has distributed more than $1.5 million to support victims of the Woolsey Fire, Paradise Fire, Borderline Shooting and Santa Cruz Boat Fire. Donations can be made at the annual Celebrity Softball Game, as well as online.
This year’s lineup is due to feature several returning players, including, Charlie Sheen, Jaime Foxx, Camille Kostek, Jimmy Tratro, Chuck Lidell and Adam Sandler. L.A. Lakers teammates Quinn Cook and JaVale McGee are joining California Strong for the first time, and so too are Matt Barnes and Robert Horry, among others.
Yelich and Bellinger, respective National League MVP winners over the past two seasons, began to form a strong friendship last year. They regularly praised one another and kept an eye on what the other was doing in the MVP race before Yelich’s season-ending knee injury.
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