Win A Chance To Coach First Base: AppleSox Mental Health Fundraiser

The Wenatchee AppleSox are joining up with former head coach Ed Knaggs for Coach for a Day, a mental health initiative.

With every $50 donation to Only7Seconds, the donor is allotted an entry in the Coach for a Day sweepstakes. The winner gets to coach first base for exactly one inning this season.

"Only7Seconds is a nonprofit based out of Chelan," says AppleSox GM Allie Schank. "They work primarily with adolescents. Especially within youth communities, [mental health] is a pretty pressing issue."

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The nonprofit's stated goal is to eradicate loneliness, a major driver of adolescent suicide. The adolescent suicide rate in Washington is dwarfed by that of neighboring Idaho, but it's still worryingly high.

This promotion is unique for several reasons, not least of which is Knaggs himself, the star attraction of something called Opening Day Run. The sixtysomething Knaggs is indefatigable. He plans to run from Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium - the Sox's home turf - to Corvallis, Oregon. (Knaggs presently helps coach the Corvallis Knights, another ballclub in the West Coast League.) Click here for detailed route information.

"It's entirely Ed," says Schank. "It's him and his brother, actually, that are going to be maneuvering down from Wenatchee to Corvallis."

Knaggs is a giant of summer collegiate baseball - by far the winningest and longest-tenured manager in Sox history. Under his tutelage, the Sox won five WCL championships, including back-to-back titles in the mid-aughts. Since Knaggs' departure in 2014, the Sox have flourished only fitfully. Last year they advanced to the playoffs for just the third time in nine seasons.

Donations can be made here. If you'd like to be eligible for Coach for a Day, please say as much in a comment adjoining your donation.