Giants' Affeldt Lends Name, Passion To Fight Against Human Trafficking
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - A man usually most recognizable on the pitcher's mound in his San Francisco Giants uniform is increasingly being identified with an international movement to end the epidemic of human trafficking.
Jeremy Affeldt has been promoting this month's release of his book, "To Stir a Movement," which talks about his life in and out of baseball. Affeldt describes himself as a devout Christian who has long volunteered to help the needy and initially took an interest in the human trafficking issue several years ago, just weeks after signing with the Giants.
"I was getting into different areas of poverty and every area where I saw there was poverty, there happened to be trafficking issues," said Affeldt. "And I didn't understand what that meant and I started looking around and when you start hearing about slavery you just don't get that this was still existing today."
"It's one of those things where for me, I was like most people at the time about four or five years ago, I was just kind of like, man, this happens? I thought this ended in the Civil War."
You just don't have a lot of understanding and wisdom and knowledge and then you start seeing all the areas where it's going on in the world and it's happening right here in the U.S. as much as it's happening and then you get frustrated because you don't understand how in this day and age we still look at a human being as a product to be sold and it just, it frustrated me to a point where I was almost borderline angry about it," said Affeldt.
At 33, he considers himself far too young to have a biography, and instead describes "To Stir a Movement" as a way of sharing with people his passion and his journey, which he admits included some rough teenage years.
"I'm very happy that I chose the course I'm on," he said. "I think there are different scenarios that just have to take place in life which brought me to the way I now think. I think for me, I look back on some of the hiccups in my journey and I wish I wouldn't have done it or it was a really painful experience or I was like, man, I don't wish that upon anybody."
"But there's times when you look at that and think I never would have gotten to where I am now and I have a lot of joy in what I do for a living because of how I use baseball to fight poverty, to fight justice, to talk about my spirituality," said Affeldt. "I was able to write this book with the understanding that I can write this book to give people my story."
"To Stir A Movement" can be found at BeaconHillbooks.com (each order placed will send $5 to Affeldt's foundation "Generation Alive"). Books are also available at Amazon.com, Giants Clubhouse Stores, Barnes & Noble and Costco.
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