MLB Goes Green

By: Ryan Kostensky

It’s a well-known fact that baseball is America’s Pastime and favorite sport. To make things even better, franchises of Major League Baseball have continued to roll out green initiatives to lower their carbon footprint.

While most of the 30 teams have some shape or form of green initiative, the San Francisco Giants are leading the charge by way of recycling, winning the Green Glove Award presented by the MLB Sustainable Operations Committee of MLB Stadium Operations Directors nine straight years in a row, every year the award has been around. But the Giants aren’t the only franchise in Major League Baseball creating initiatives to go green.

The Cleveland Indians were the first of the 30 teams to install solar panels, doing so in the year 2007. The aforementioned Giants have too been a major player in the solar panel industry on the National League side of things, but it was the San Diego Padres in 2018 who hit a grand slam in the solar industry when they installed a 336,520-watt solar power system, more than any other club added together.

When baseball fans and spectators alike go to the ballpark, the most popular food items tend to be hot dogs, peanuts and beer. With that being said, there is still a need for fresh produce. Just under half of the MLB teams have a way to get fresh food sustainable, whether it be from in-stadium gardens or deliveries.

Finally, and most recently, the Yankees have done what just might be the most Yankee thing to do, by hiring an environmental advisor in January of 2019. The official title of the position for Allen Hershkowitz is Environmental Science Adviser. As the first team to do so in any of the professional sports, the Yankees are taking trailblazing steps that could possibly have big implications going forward.

While all teams have taken some step to go green, I believe there will be a day where we see green initiatives on every team in every league, not just Major League Baseball, but for now let’s just appreciate what the greatest sport is doing for the environment.