Operation Iraqi Baseball

Earlier this summer, Rachel Maddow highlighted a McClatchy news story about the Iraqi national baseball team, which, it turns out, is bad at baseball and, more troubling, in desperate need of equipment. Within a few days, Maddow and her staff were besieged with offers to help. Among the calls the show received was from Ebbets Flannels, a Seattle-based manufacturer of vintage baseball uniforms. The company’s founder, Jerry Cohen, pledged 20 uniforms, one for each player. Other companies and private citizens said they would donate bats, batting gloves, spikes, mitts and catcher’s gear, among other pieces of equipment. Maddow, for her part, sent the team a case of baseballs and, because she’s a self-proclaimed nerd, a rule book.

Last night, Maddow announced that the equipment had finally reached the team, after a month-long collaboration between her show, McClatchy, Ebbets, CTG Athletics, a New York-based sporting goods company, and Ohio-based shipping vendor Star USA, who covered the cost of delivery. A genuinely pleased Maddow declared, (unironically, I might add) that Operation Iraqi Baseball was a complete and total success. See for yourself.



You can purchase a Iraqi team jersey here. A portion of the proceeds go to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. You can also find links to various charities that help the people of Iraq at the show’s website.