When people think of the Renegades they often think of the players. The stories of the players both on and off the field capture the attention of our fans and friends. After all, this team is about the players. There is so much more to the Renegades that makes it’s culture so unique and strong. One of those things is the volunteers and their employers. IBM has done an amazing job supporting it’s employees Rob Weissman, Patrick Marquis, Chuba Arah and Bill Le. Jet Blue has also stepped up to the plate to support Aaron Proctor. This year they stepped up again for the second consecutive year in a big way!
The volunteers are a big part of the Renegades culture. They help set the tone, create the culture and so much on and off the field that goes unnoticed. Volunteers are not motivated by recognition. They are motivated to help, they are motivated by the competition and the drive to bring a group together to work toward a common goal. The Renegades have one of the largest, most diverse and most dedicated groups of volunteers in the entire league.
#JetBlueForGood
For the second consecutive year, Aaron Proctor has teamed up with his employer, Jet Blue to help the Renegades. Once again, Jet Blue has donated eight round trip tickets to the team. This will allow eight Renegades to get to the World Series and save the team about $3,600! We are so very grateful to both Aaron and Jet Blue for this donation.
JetBlue supports giving in the areas of youth & education, community and the environment. This is why they continue to encourage customers, crew members and business partners to become advocates for charitable giving in the communities they serve. They have supported their volunteers who have contributed more than 675,000 hours of volunteer work and $1.5 Million dollars in donations. They truly are #JetblueForGood
On the Field with Aaron
Aaron is a huge part of the Renegade culture and does so much work for this team that deserves attention.
Aaron Proctor holding hi defensive charts to keep the team ready on the field (Photo by Ginger DeShaney)
He works both on and off the field to help the team. On the field, Aaron attends most of the practices and is always willing to do what he can.
Aaron has grown his skills to be a spotter in the team defense. This means, he leads half of the team defense on to the field, positions the players correctly, relays the defensive strategy to the players, and calls when the ball is put in play alerting the defense of the location. For “non-beepballers”, this means he can say only one number between 1-6, just once. That number tells the players where the ball should be hit. Safety is also a big part of his job to prevent collisions.
Beyond this, Aaron helps out in all facets of the game. He keeps score, shoots video, takes photos, works with base-running, helps run defensive drills and even helps our hitters get reps with their swing. Yes, Aaron is learning how to coach hitting.
Off the Field with Aaron
Off the field, Aaron is our unofficial traveling secretary. He figures out our flight plans, times when to buy tickets, helps us with emergency flights when they arise. He is also one of our primary drivers when we travel. Aaron just does it all and his experience and effort takes a ton of stress off the team. One thing that truly goes unnoticed by many is the fact Aaron often arrives early at our airport destinations. While he waits for the team, he often gets out and does some key shopping for the team to pick up drinks and food and paint.
Aaron Proctor with his van loaded to the roof with drinks and food while he awaits for the Renegades to arrive at the World Series in 2018
This is so critical to the stress on our volunteers. When the team lands, Aaron is usually there with a van full of goods saving the team from having to scramble to do this work. Some people think the World Series is a party. It’s far from that. For Volunteers who attend the World series, day one usually consists of the following: Arrive early evening, get rental cars and baggage, drive to location, check everyone into the hotel, get bats approved, get team welcome packages, locate fields, paint fields for the next days games, dinner and a team meeting. Aaron’s hard work in this area saves about two hours of sleep for all of the volunteers by grabbing this stuff early!
His work goes so far beyond that its near impossible to pen it all to paper. Bottom line. There is no singular person on the team who does more for this team when it travels than Aaron. He is always making runs to the market, getting supplies, picking people up from the airport, helping with meals, doling out drinks to keep the players hydrated, helping to get receipts, packing equipment, loading vans and lugging equipment all over the place.
We are thankful for Aaron’s help and are so grateful that Jet Blue has backed his hard work with 8 tickets to help the team travel! Aaron is an unsung hero on this team that deserves recognition for his dedication, drive and hard work!
To see Aaron at work, check him out on Fox 25 Sports Wrap and NESN