Former Pro MLB Player + Players for the Planet Co-Founder Chris Dickerson Unites Athletes for Global Change

By KindhumansSeptember 12, 2022

Players for the Planet (PFTP) was founded by former Major League Baseball players Chris Dickerson and Jack Cassel with the goal of uniting professional athletes to create positive change for our environment. As an organization, PFTP works to connect professional athletes, sports teams, and organizations with actionable opportunities to serve and protect our natural world and the environment. It is their ultimate goal to support the professional sports industry in becoming a leading example of ecologically conscious, environmentally responsible, and sustainable practices worldwide.

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What are some valuable lessons you learned during your professional baseball career and playing in the MLB?

Most valuable lesson I learned playing in the MLB is emotional intelligence. Being on such a public stage at all times becomes a constant learning process on managing interactions both public, team personnel and teammates. Managing criticism from those elements becomes a true test, especially in an era of social media and an exponentially broadened media market.

I also learned that there is always something to learn. Whether it’s pursuing off-field endeavors, BODY (strength/conditioning/preparation/recovery/etc.), but also your teammates. Who they are, how they think, learning from their experiences both on the field and off. On a daily basis you’re dealing with so many different types of personalities, management and leadership styles, and it’s in your personal and professional interest to adapt and figure out how to best accommodate those variables for the greater good of a larger cohesive unit.. One thing that remained true that most people are afraid to do: ask questions. There’s no such thing as a dumb question… well sometimes there is, but there is a misconception that asking questions gives the impression that you’re uneducated. Ask questions to the players and people you admire, learn how to process that information, and most importantly, strategize and take action.

Tell us about Players for the Planet. What was the inspiration behind starting it?

We are dedicating our resources and the talents of the professional athletes who support our mission to educate all involved in youth, amateur and professional sports on how best to adopt environmental practices that will preserve the playing fields, and change the stadiums for the millions of fans that enjoy playing and watching sports.

I was fortunate to have grown up in California, one of the world’s most biodiverse places. Growing up, learning about the interconnectivity of all ecosystems gave me a good base for understanding the importance of how we affect the balance in nature… and — living in a city of 12 million people — of how we interact with nature and the effects of our irresponsibility concerning natural resources, pollution and waste. As a young athlete, I remember kids with asthma missing practice because of air quality. Friends becoming ill from water quality caused by toxic runoff from factories, refineries and coastal developments. When surfing or at the beach, I would find myself marveling at the amount of trash left behind by beach goers and how easily it makes its way into the water.

The real perspective shift came when I was sick over the holidays and stayed in on New Year’s Eve, 2007. I sat on the couch and watched movies all night and one of those films happened to be Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. That documentary changed everything for me and stretched my perspective from my own region to our global impacts. That is when I truly learned the vast consequences that lay before us if we don’t make a conscious effort to change.

I remember first noticing the appalling amount of waste a team can produce over the course of an inning — and then multiplying that by the amount of waste produced by spectators in the stands and the number was staggering. What started as a simple press inquiry to a water bottle company to start a clubhouse initiative to cut down on the amount of single use plastic in the clubhouse has now grown to what it is today.

What does kindness mean to you and what role does it play in your life?

Kindness takes many forms. It’s compassion. It’s empathy, the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Kindness is patience and understanding. Kindness is acts of service. When it’s all boiled down. Kindness is the Golden Rule. Treat those as you would want to be treated.

Can you share one of the biggest challenges you have come up against?

Knee surgery the summer of my junior year of high school. Three inch metal screw to reattach a piece of my knee joint (medial condyle of the femur). Due to the severity and the probability of not making full recovery in order to continue with organized sports, I was told that I would have limited time to pursue a life of sports. Needless to say, I overcame it and then proceeded to get even better despite the diagnosis.

Can you share a moment you are most proud of?

Besides the obvious of getting called up to the Major Leagues. Such a unique feeling that you want to bottle up. The frantic emotion. The extreme emotion of accomplishment and then the wild nerve racking excitement and anxiousness of playing in your first Major League game.

Name three kind humans in your life that have positively affected you.

My high school coach, Mr. Tom Dill
My mom, of course.
Curtis Granderson

What can we do to better ourselves?

Listen. I don’t think we do enough listening these days. Listen to learn. Don’t listen just to speak.

What is a message you want to spread and leave with the Kindhumans community?

We all have the power to make change. With all the problems in the world we often feel overwhelmed and with the sheer size of the issue, we often feel insignificant as we can not alone make a difference. That’s not true. Everyday we have the ability to make an impact on someone’s life. Speak from the heart and remain committed and with consistency, change can come.