DJ LeMahieu has long been lauded as a quiet, humble player who says very little, even when he was turning in MVP-caliber seasons under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium in 2019 and 2020.
Turns out, while he was hitting his way to a batting title in 2020, he was also humbly keeping quiet a generous deal he made with his alma mater in suburban Detroit.
As told by Jon Morosi for NBC Sports, the Yankee infielder purchased the complex where his high school team, Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Hills, plays its home games. Stevens Family Baseball Complex, where Brother Rice has played since LeMahieu’s first year in the majors, was bought by LeMahieu to help his alma mater through the COVID-19 pandemic to help his high school through the financially strenuous times that hit million during the outbreak.
Now, LeMahieu’s high school team leases the field from a nonprofit organization that LeMahieu is a part of, charging a price of just $1 per year in rent.
“Since I’ve been in the league now for a little while, I’ve always tried to look for an opportunity to give back that I really felt passionate about,” LeMahieu said, via Morosi. “Certain things come up, and the timing wasn’t right. This, and the vision of everybody, it was the right time to give back and make the place special.”
Thanks to the money Brother Rice will save due to LeMahieu’s good deed, six indoor batting cages will be installed at the facility, and turf will be installed at the complex’s Little League field.
Of course, LeMahieu’s name can’t be found anywhere in the complex despite being the most famous Brother Rice baseball product, and now, its generous owner.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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