Hottest Dodger Bracket is once again primed to raise thousands of dollars for victims of abuse.
It all started as a joke between friends on Twitter.
Makenna Martin, a senior in high school at the time, threw together a “hottest Dodger bracket”. She shared with friends, and it took on a life of its own. It went semi viral on Twitter and was even featured on ‘Intentional Talk’.
Over the years it grew, eventually reaching its current iteration, and what it seems it was destined for all along.
In 2021, multiple sexual abuse allegations were levied against Trevor Bauer. Bauer ended up being dismissed from the team and hasn’t pitched in MLB since. But the bracket took that terrible signing by the Dodgers organization and turned it into something good.
Makenna saw that she could draw some awareness with the bracket, to counteract having such a player on her favorite team. She instituted a minimum donation to enter, with all of the proceeds to be donated to local organizations that help abuse victims.
Dodgers Twitter bought in, literally. In 2021, the group raised over $5000 for the East Los Angeles Women’s Center. In the last three seasons, participants have raised over $8000, $9000, and $10,000 for Peace Over Violence, respectively.
I asked some participants what being involved in such phenomenon means to them, and here are some things they had to say-
“I think to me it means community, a real reminder of how big the socials fam was. Also it’s bigger than baseball because of the fundraising aspect.”
“It’s just always a nice fun slice of relief at the most stressful time of the season. It’s heartwarming to know that we are able to help people and personally for me I think how mad it would made a particular former pitcher to know that it exists in part to counteract his negative impact on the world. We can do incredible things through spite if we have to!”
“As a geographically distanced fan it’s a great opportunity to interact with new fans that I mightn’t yet know through something that is lighthearted and silly, yet benefits a great cause. It’s a true representation of what this fan base is capable of when we’re unified – even when the organization itself sucks.”
“It’s a fun way to raise money for a good cause. Plus, I wanna do what the cool kids do.”
“It’s a fun way to bond through social media over our shared fandom. The added donation aspect helps us feel like we’re doing collective good. I’ve had the same bracket winner every year but I’m sadly gonna have to find a new one this year and I don’t know what I’m gonna do!”
To that end, I asked Makenna who the most common winners have been. Early winners were Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager and Enrique Hernandez. Most recently, it has been Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, and Jack Flaherty who made a big impact on the bracket for his short amount of time here.
In the very first bracket, Makenna used a random number generator, which she said led to some brutal first round matchups. She has since learned to make much more intentional choices when seeding the players.
The bracket has caught the eye of some big wigs. Last season, broadcaster Stephen Nelson donated, posted his bracket, and gave it a shout-out on air. (cough cough Nelly if you’re reading this, feel free to do that again). In non-Dodger related people. director Rian Johnson and his wife Karina Longworth have donated and participated.
In addition to the monetary donations, participants who donate at least the minimum buy-in of $10 are automatically entered into a raffle. Past items have included bobbleheads, jerseys, gift cards and more.
“I’ve learned that a small idea can end up making a big difference,” said Makenna. “I am always afraid that people will eventually get bored of it and the turnout won’t be as good, but every year has defied my expectations and we have continued to raise the bar and raise more and more money. It makes me so happy when people tell me that they always look forward to it, and even though $33,000 is a hard number for me to fathom, I know that it has been used to make significant changes in many survivor’s lives.”
This year’s bracket drops at 5pm PST on Friday, September 26th. Links to the bracket and fundraiser can be found on Makenna’s X profile (@makenna_m19) or Bluesky (@makfmartin.bsky.social). Let’s make this year’s fundraiser the highest amount yet!
Category: General Sports
