Back in March of this year, the Dodgers re-signed former OF Andrew Toles. To the normal eye, this would seem like a familiar action seen all across baseball. Teams re-sign players all the time, no big deal right? Not in this case.
Andrew Toles is a career .286/.333/.300 hitter, who hit 8 home runs along with 35 RBIs in his three seasons with the club. Toles hasn't played a single game since 2018. What makes this such an amazing gesture by the Dodgers is Toles backstory.
Andrew Toles was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. To make sure he gets the proper treatment, the Dodgers make sure to sign him back with the team to recognize him as an official member of the ball club. Although he won't be paid by Los Angeles, he is fully covered under the team's health insurance plan. This marks the fifth consecutive year the franchise has done this for Andrew.
Toles never made it to spring training to start the 2019 baseball season as he said he was dealing with some personal issues. It was later on revealed that he was diagnosed with his health conditions.
As fans of baseball, everyone loves to see stories like this one. It gives us a deeper appreciation for America's pastime. We can only hope that Andrew Toles and his family are doing well and he is in the best possible mental condition that he can be. Stories like this one is vital to humanity and makes us appreciate the mental health coaches each MLB team has on staff just a little bit more.