Maine baseball umpire sews masks for healthcare workers

With sports on hold during coronavirus lockdown, baseball umpire Daniel Labrie took the opportunity to start sewing masks for healthcare workers at his home in Auburn, Maine.

Video released by UMPS CARE Charities, a non-profit established by Major League Baseball (MLB) Umpires, shows Labrie hard at work at his sewing machine.

“Usually at this time of year, umpires are the ones wearing masks, but these days, Daniel is an umpire making surgical masks in the wake of the coronavirus crisis,” UMPS CARE Charities wrote on Facebook.

UMPS CARE Charities said Labries urged others to check their local shops for mask-making kits, saying he “hopes it inspires people.”

Labrie is a member of the Central Maine Board of Approved Baseball Umpires and umpires high school games, as well as games in the Maine Babe Ruth League and more, according to UMPS CARE Charities.