Anybody not familiar with Toles' story might wonder why somebody who likely made millions of dollars in his career needs free healthcare from the Dodgers, but this is a person who was homeless and destitute not even 3 years ago. His career got off to a hot start with a memorable postseason performance in his rookie year of 2016, but his life derailed from there. He would play in just 17 more games the remainder of his career while dealing with a series of health issues, both physical and - much more significantly - mental. He was a no-show to spring training 2019 and was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. He was in and out of mental institutions after that, eventually being arrested for trespassing while living outside of the Key West Airport, and was taken into guardianship by his father. Toles desperately needs this health insurance to treat his condition and to give himself even a semblance of a normal life.
This might seem like an insignificant gesture, but it would have been easy enough for the Dodgers to just cut ties with Toles years ago, as I'm sure many other teams would (and have) for players in similar circumstances. It's nice to hear once in awhile that money-grubbing sports owners do have a heart.
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
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