David Price gives back to Vanderbilt baseball program with generous donation
At this time last year David Price was a free agent on the verge of signing the richest contract ever for a pitcher.
The final numbers saw Price receive seven years and $217M from the Boston Red Sox, which is an absurd amount of money. The good news though is that Price is not one to let money collect dust in his bank account. He’s always looking for opportunities to give back, and it’s that giving nature that will afford his alma mater, Vanderbilt University, an opportunity to upgrade their baseball facilities.
According to MLB.com, Price recently donated $2.5M as a capstone gift to Vanderbilt to help his former school improve its baseball facilities. The gift was officially announced by the university on Friday, and was acknowledged as the largest monetary gift toward the $12M overhaul project.
Here’s more on the project itself from the Associated Press:
The project involves a 30,000 square foot facility with open air batting cages, a weight room and cardio area, new offices and operations space overlooking Hawkins Field at the left field wall. A new locker room will be for former players who return for offseason training, and the clubhouse, team locker room and lounge are being renovated.
Sixty percent of donations came from coach Tim Corbin’s former players, led by Price, the No. 1 draft pick in 2007.
Price has always been quick to credit his time at Vanderbilt as key to his development on and off the field. It’s a relationship that’s benefited all parties, as Price played a huge role in elevating the profile of Vanderbilt’s baseball program. It only makes sense that the sides have come back together to continue paying it forward for generations to come.
“I would not be where I am today, as a person or as a player, without the guidance, education and support I received from Coach Corbin and from Vanderbilt,” Price said at Friday’s press conference. “I am honored to be part of this project, which will support the current players and also provide a place that allows us all to come back to campus and stay in touch and involved with the program.”
During his time at Vanderbilt, Price compiled 441 strikeouts, which is the third-most all-time in SEC history. He also won the Golden Spikes Award, given to the nation’s best college player in his junior season, while also leading the team to the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
If his performance wasn’t enough to get his name on one of these facilities, the donation should be. Either way, everyone wins.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
