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Dan Haren auctioning off bobblehead army for charity

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Retired major-league pitcher Dan Haren is looking to give back as the coronavirus spreads.

Haren and his family have already donated to charities like the Children's Action Alliance in Phoenix and Los Angeles' Hollywood Food Coalition. Now he's auctioning off his collection of 300-plus MLB player bobbleheads on eBay to raise more money.

"These charities need help right now and I want to get more people involved to raise awareness about the great work they do to help people who really need it," Haren said, according to Molly Knight of The Athletic. "I can’t imagine not having a home right now, or not knowing where my next meal was coming from."

Haren, who's now the Arizona Diamondbacks pitching coordinator, has personalized several of the bobbleheads with notes related to the players, and often how they fared against him in major-league games.

On the Manny Ramirez bobblehead, he wrote, "19-38, 3 HR, 4 Doubles (1.429 OPS) is that good?"

Of Mike Piazza (during his Oakland A's tenure) Haren wrote, "I remember he hated turbulence."

He occasionally sees Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson at the gym. "I'm certain he could still beat me up," the note reads.

Haren also provides anecdotes about Derek Jeter, Frank Thomas, Vladimir Guerrero, and many others.

While he possesses more than 300 bobbleheads, the 39-year-old only wrote notes for players he's interacted with. The winner of each auction will receive five additional bobbleheads.

Haren's other goal, in addition to continuing to raise money for his chosen causes, is to provide some levity during a dark time.

"If this auction makes just one person laugh during this horrible time, it will have been worth it," he said.

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