When’s it okay to put a dollar value on a strikeout or base hit in a high school baseball game? The answer: when the game is a fund-raiser for a beloved coach and teacher recovering from a life-changing medical incident.
This week, the Bridgehampton School varsity baseball team will rally around Michael DeRosa, the school’s athletic director and gym teacher as well as a coach of the Killer Bees baseball team. DeRosa recently suffered a blood clot as a result of undiagnosed Stage 4 glioblastoma during a gym class, and underwent emergency surgery last week to remove a cancerous tumor in his brain.
For the next three baseball games, in which Bridgehampton will face Hampton Bays — DeRosa’s hometown and alma mater — fans and community members can pledge a donation for each strikeout and base hit the Killer Bees can muster as a team. At the end of the series, donors will tally up the pledges and make the corresponding donation via Venmo or check.
DeRosa, who goes by the nickname Bubba, “has touched countless lives with his passion, positivity, and guidance,” according to a fund-raiser announcement posted on Facebook. It is “a fun and meaningful way to honor DeRosa’s love for the game while directly supporting him and his family.”
Jennifer Vinski, the Bridgehampton School Board president and a parent of two athletes who played varsity baseball for the school, encouraged people to support the fund-raiser. A GoFundMe page has also been set up at gofund.me/dc39fdb4, and the school is also selling T-shirts to raise money.
“Mike is a beloved member of both the Bridgehampton and Hampton Bays communities,” she said. “He goes above and beyond for us all, and deserves our support. This is our chance to give back to him for all he has given to others.”
For the fund-raiser, games were to take place Tuesday at Bridgehampton and Wednesday at Hampton Bays, with another today at 4 p.m. at Bridgehampton.
Fans and friends can follow the action on the GameChanger app and on Instagram through the Hampton Bays account @BaymenBaseball. The Hampton Bays coach Rob Pinney can be contacted at [email protected] for more information.
