before signing a one-year deal with the Orioles this winter that’s worth a guaranteed $5 million and includes a 2024 option.The Tampa area, however, will always be his true home. It’s where his two young daughters live. It’s where many of his friends are. It’s where he vowed to make a difference if he ever had the chance. It’s where he hopes to remove the stigma surrounding the phrase “inner city.
That’s why Givens’ story of volunteerism is worth sharing. Aside from the money he funnels into the program from his own pocket and from donations, it’s the time he gives that’s so valuable. And the messages it sends. He was hanging out with friends at Pickles Pub on Sept. 6, 1995, the day Cal Ripken Jr. broke baseball’s consecutive-games-played record. With a little help from other fans doing the same thing, he scaled a fence and jumped into the ballpark right before police officers secured the area. Never apprehended, he watched baseball history unfold up close — and without a ticket.
“My son’s not the most athletic kid, but he has a little gift in pitching,” Calimano said. “And Mike gives them all the opportunity to get better if they want it.”A muscular guy in a bandana, a New Balance sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants strolled up to the fence along the first-base line to watch the U14 game.Then, one of the team’s assistants, who happens to be an Orioles fan, turned to the man and nonchalantly said, “Hey, Ced.
“It was funny watching him,” Mullins said. “On my way walking down to the field I was looking for him and I peeked him at third base, and he was in full-blown coach mode. I was impressed.”After the game — a 12-0, mercy-rule victory — Givens gathered his troops in foul territory. He spoke for a moment about the game.
“On a normal team, that’s not an everyday opportunity,” Cristian Calimano said. “We got to go to the spring training , and we got to tour all that stuff and then hear Cedric Mullins. That’s really cool.”Givens has always been no-nonsense. He’s not changing for youth ballplayers and their parents.While talking to Mullins in foul territory, the team’s first baseman misses a warmup throw and it almost hits his manager. The kid immediately points to his chest and says, “My bad.
“It’s very eye-opening seeing my son respond to a group of people that he really didn’t know,” Marks said. “It’s been incredible watching him willingly ask questions, willing to learn, willing to be coached. And literally just trust whatever comes out of Mychal’s mouth, which is not something he does from Dad.”