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Meet the MLB player who spent his birthday giving presents to the needy

Mike Oz
Dalton Pompey used his birthday to give Toronto's less fortunate a present. (AP)
Dalton Pompey used his birthday to give Toronto's less fortunate a present. (AP)

If you’re a pro baseball player, turning 24 could very well mean every single birthday cliché: a dark nightclub, bottle service, designer this and that.

If you’re Dalton Pompey, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder, turning 24 was more about gift cards than nightclubs and helping the needy instead of making sure all his boys popped bottles.

For his birthday on Sunday, Pompey bought a handful of gift cards to Tim Hortons and walked around downtown Toronto, handing them out to the needy — a paying-it-forward idea that was even more heart-warming considering it’s the holiday season and snow is on the ground in Toronto.

So today's my 24th birthday and unlike any other birthday I decided to do something a little different. Instead of spending a ton of money having a huge birthday party at a restaurant or bar. I decided to take some of that money, buy some Tim cards and walk around Toronto handing them out to the less fortunate. I have a lot to be thankful for in my life and there's no better way for me to thank God for blessing me than trying to make someone else's day. There's no better gift than the gift of kindness! Thanks to everyone who has wished me a happy birthday and helped me in some capacity throughout my life and shoutout to @itsmatthewromeo for the inspiration to do this! #giveyourday

A photo posted by ???????? (@daltonpompey) on Dec 11, 2016 at 12:58pm PST

Here’s the caption Pompey posted along with the above photo on Instagram:

So today’s my 24th birthday and unlike any other birthday I decided to do something a little different. Instead of spending a ton of money having a huge birthday party at a restaurant or bar. I decided to take some of that money, buy some Tim cards and walk around Toronto handing them out to the less fortunate. I have a lot to be thankful for in my life and there’s no better way for me to thank God for blessing me than trying to make someone else’s day. There’s no better gift than the gift of kindness! Thanks to everyone who has wished me a happy birthday and helped me in some capacity throughout my life and shoutout to @itsmatthewromeo for the inspiration to do this! #giveyourday

It’s fair to note that while he makes more money than the average person, Pompey isn’t exactly rich by baseball standards. He made $507,500 last season, the major-league minimum, while playing mostly in Triple-A for the Blue Jays. In 2015, he played 34 games at the big-league level. Last year, eight. So he’s not pulling in one of those $80 million deals we’ve seen handed out in the past week.

Still, Pompey is from Mississauga, which neighbors Toronto, so he knows the community he’s trying to help — even if it’s through something as simple as a gift card for a hot cup of coffee and something to eat on a cold day.

It would be fantastic if Pompey inspired other baseball players, whether they make the big-league minimum or 50 times more, to adopt this idea on their birthdays.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!