For most of the Mets coaches and players, the coronavirus pandemic has been a time to stay at home and prepare however and whenever they can for what's to come with the upcoming MLB season.
For hitting coach Hensley Meulens, he has taken this time to work harder than he's ever had in his life.
Meulens lives in Curacao, the country that he grew up in. Despite having a very low number of confirmed cases of coronavirus within its population as of Monday (16), the economy has been hit hard with stay-at-home restrictions hurting many families.
So he has been doing what he can each and every day to help those less fortunate than him and his family at this time. Meulens has been waking up bright and early to help at the food bank to assist in preparing and delivering groceries to families around the island that's home to about 160,000 people.
"We can't cater to all of them," Meulens told USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale, "but we're helping out the best we can. The food bank is doing a great job. We just have to make sure people take care of their health.''
Meulens added that his country "never had a disaster or catastrophe that has wiped out the economy like this has." A lot of that has to do with tourism being non-existent at the moment. Cruises and direct flights to see the beautiful island have ceased, and those restaurants, hotels and other business that thrive from that are all shut down.
That's why Meulens is getting involved to help out his people. Of course, he's staying up with his at-home duties like home-schooling his kids as well as his Mets duties. He said he continues to video chat with the front office and and coaches once a week.
"We keep in touch with the players, making sure we care about their well-being, and that they're staying active.
"But the unknown is so tough on everyone."
MLB continues to work hard at salvaging a 2020 season. Until more clarity comes and things return to normal, Meulens will continue to work hard to help those around him survive these tough times.
"Just like baseball, we are going to get through this. I know we will. We just have to do everything we can to help each other so that when we do come back, this will make us stronger than ever before."
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