Just a reminder of what a great guy Sandy Leon is

Just a reminder of what a great guy Sandy Leon is

If you don't love Sandy Leon, then I don't know what to tell you--because he's pretty great.

In addition to his occasional bright spots on the baseball diamond, his character off the field seems impeccable, and this is just the latest example of it.

According to MassLive, Leon celebrated Christmas and winning the World Series last year by literally being Santa Claus in his hometown in Venezuela. Leon gave out 2,000 toys to children in a suburb of Maracaibo. He bought the toys in Miami and air mailed them to Venezuela. Down there, him and his wife gave the toys out to kids at a baseball field. It was the field him and his dad played at growing up.

Needless to say, there was a lot of people present at the event.

“Because I tell the security people and police, ‘Take everybody off the field so I can get there and they can get it (the toys) off my car’ because there was so many people," Leon told MassLive. “They were really excited for me.”

So yeah, he does good on and off the field. If anyone is following what is going on in Venezuela, this is especially meaningful for the people down there given the misery and suffering they have gone through over the past few years. Their country is in turmoil. Hyperinflation has left everyone broke. People are eating their pets, zoo animals and whatever animals they can find to fight off starvation. It's truly very sad but for a local hero like Leon to be able to give back to the people, that must mean a lot to them.

In all likelihood, the Red Sox will only carry two catchers this year, so he will compete with Blake Swihart for the backup role in spring training this time around.

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