Dodgers chill at Manhattan Beach Polar Bear Swim [Updated]
Photos by Steve Zaw
A new Manhattan Beach community signature event, and a new Los Angeles Dodgers team building exercise were introduced Sunday morning, February 3, at the Manhattan pier with the advent of the First Annual CT3 Foundation Polar Bear Swim.
Nearly two dozen Dodgers players, and coaches, participated in the swim, organized by utility player Chris Taylor, a Manhattan Beach resident. They included Manager Dave Roberts, first baseman Freddie Freeman, catcher Will Smith, and outfielder Jason Heyward. Several hundred Dodger fans also participated in the swim.
The player turnout was a measure of the respect the players have for Taylor, one of the players observed. Sunday was the last Sunday off the Dodgers will have off before reporting to spring training this week in Phoenix.
Photos by Kevin Cody
It was also a menacing morning for a swim. Though the forecasted rain didn’t arrive until later in the day, the water was an icy 59 degrees, and the surf intimidatingly large. Lifeguard Rescue Boat Captain Danielle McMillon cautioned the swimmers to call for help if they saw anyone in danger. Lifeguards on personal watercraft watched over the swimmers.
“We’re looking forward to training camp. We made a few good trades in the off season,” Taylor told the swimmers. The understated reference to the trade for superstar Shoheini Ohtani elicited laughter and applause.
The CT3 Foundation was founded in 2020 by Taylor and his wife Mary to raise funds for children’s causes.
The swimmers contributed $200 each to participate. Some also contributed $1,000 to attend an after swim reception at the Strand House. Auction items at the reception included batting lessons with Taylor, an opportunity to throw out the first pitch at a Dodger game, and an Ohtani Dodger jersey.
Taylor said he and his wife were inspired to create the CT3 foundation following the death of his childhood friend Kyle Profilet.
“During the 2017 World Series against Houston, Kyle was among a group of my closest childhood friends from Virginia Beach who flew out to watch me play. I didn’t know it yet, but Kyle had recently been diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer in his right leg. He said he didn’t want to tell me about it while I was playing in the postseason. Kyle never wanted anyone’s sympathy,” Taylor recalled in an Easy Reader interview last year.
Proceeds, estimated at $250,000, will benefit the Friendship Foundation, a local program that pairs neurodivergent students with their classmates. The Friendship Foundation was founded by Rabbi Yossi Mintz, Skechers CEO Michael Greenberg, and students at Mira Costa High School. The Friendship Foundation is building a vocational training school in Redondo Beach to prepare its students to be self-sufficient after they finish high school.
For more about the CT3 Foundation, visit CT3Foundation.org. For more about the Friendship Foundation, visit FriendshipFoundation.com. ER