Fanatics converts PA factory to manufacture, donate masks and gowns

Michael Rubin, executive chairman of Fanatics, announced on Thursday that the company’s Pennsylvania factory will be converted from making official Major League Baseball jerseys into making masks and gowns. Those masks and gowns will be donated to help fight coronavirus (COVID-19). Fanatics manufactures and distributes official MLB uniforms as well as merchandise for fan consumption. It also operates MLB’s e-commerce, as well as that of many other major sports leagues.

In the full thread of tweets, Rubin says that Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and Attorney General Josh Shapiro each called him asking for help creating masks and gowns. MLB and Fanatics agreed to halt production of jerseys. With the help of approximately 100 associates, Fanatics plans to make one million masks and gowns to donate and distribute to hospitals and emergency personnel across the state of Pennsylvania with the goal of also extending into New Jersey and New York.

Based on the picture Rubin provided in his thread, it doesn’t appear that the masks being made form a seal around the nose and mouth, which the N95 respirators do. Additionally, the N95 respirators are made from polypropylene whereas MLB uniforms are made from polyester. Still, the additional masks and gowns from Fanatics should help and are certainly better than nothing.

It is also worth noting that Rubin and others were in a bit of hot water earlier in the week as he is also a co-owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils. The two organizations wanted to cut their employees’ salaries by up to 20 percent. After significant public pressure, that decision was reversed.

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SEATTLE (AP) Aaron Judge homered for the third time in two games, Anthony Volpe and Greg Allen also went deep and the New York Yankees stretched their winning streak to four with a 10-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.

Judge hit a towering fly ball on the first pitch of the seventh inning from reliever Darren McCaughan that carried just enough to clear the fence in left-center field, even if it would not have been a homer at Yankee Stadium.

It was the 18th of the season for Judge, who hit a pair of homers in the series opener on Monday night.

While Judge hitting another homer will get the headlines, it was Volpe’s long ball that broke open the game. With two outs in the third inning, Seattle starter Logan Gilbert caught too much of the plate with a 1-2 slider and Volpe drove the pitch 413 feet for a three-run shot and a 6-0 lead. It was Volpe’s eighth homer of the season and snapped a 2-for-22 slide for the rookie.

Allen, filling in for injured center fielder Harrison Bader, hit his first of the season leading off the fourth inning. Isiah Kiner-Falefa also had a key two-run single in the first inning as the Yankees took advantage of an error to give starter Nestor Cortes a 3-0 advantage before he took the mound.

Kiner-Falefa had another two-run single in the ninth. New York has scored at least 10 runs in three straight games for the first time since Sept. 15-17, 2020.

Cortes (5-2) mostly cruised through five innings, allowing two runs and five hits with six strikeouts. Ty France and Teoscar Hernández had RBI doubles in the fifth inning. Judge nearly stole another hit from Hernández after robbing him of a homer on Monday, but his diving attempt at Hernández’s liner fell for a double.

Gilbert (3-3) lasted just four innings for the second time this season. The five earned runs allowed were a season-high and the four strikeouts matched a season-low.

SEE YA LATER

Seattle catcher Tom Murphy and manager Scott Servais were both ejected by plate umpire Brian Walsh in the sixth inning. Murphy was ejected after yelling toward first base umpire C.B. Bucknor following a check-swing that was called a strike. Servais argued the decision to eject Murphy and was quickly tossed by Walsh. It was the second ejection this season for Servais.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: Bader (hamstring) was placed on the 10-day IL after leaving Monday’s game in the third inning injuring his right hamstring running out an infield single. OF Franchy Cordero was recalled.

Mariners: McCaughan was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma to add a long reliever to the bullpen. RHP Juan Then was optioned to Tacoma. It was Seattle’s first roster move in 24 days.

UP NEXT

Yankees: RHP Clarke Schmidt (2-5, 5.58) took the loss despite allowing only one earned run over five innings in his last start against Baltimore. Schmidt has gone at least five inning in five of his last seven starts.

Mariners: RHP George Kirby (5-4, 3.43) was knocked around for seven earned runs and four home runs allowed in his last start against Pittsburgh. Both matched career highs.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports