Every Jack Flaherty strikeout this season will help provide clean water in Dominican Republic

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ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - If St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty matches his strikeout total from last year (182), then more than $5,000 will be donated to help provide clean drinking water to people in the Dominican Rebpulic. 

Flaherty has joined in a cause started by his teammate, Adam Wainwright and his Big League Impact foundation to help provide access to clean, drinkable water in impoverished areas of the world. Teammates like Miles Mikolas, Mike Mayers and Michael Wacha, plus former Cardinals such as Luke Weaver, Zach Duke, Sam Tuivailala and Tyler Lyons have all supported similar causes with Big League Impact.

Flaherty has started his own cause to provide water to the El Cercadillo community in the DR. 

"Part of being a Cardinal is being exposed to veterans who all live the Cardinal Way," Flaherty stated on Pledge.org. "There is a way to play the game on the field and there is a way to make an impact off of it. Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Adam Wainwright all won World Series championships while using their platforms to help others.

"One of the things that nags at me most is how easily accessible clean water is to us and how many people in the world don’t have that. This year, I’m dedicating every strikeout I throw to providing clean drinking water for people around the world."

The cost to provide to sustainable drinking water to one person is $27.48 and the town of El Cercadillo has a population of about 900 people. So unless Flaherty more than quadruples his strikeout total this season, he's likely going to need some help.

Every strikeout I have this year will bring clean water to one person inEl Cercadillo, Dominican Republic. Join me this season #strikeoutsforwater#dontthink@BigLeagueImpact https://t.co/1ZWbK8G8mh

— Jack Flaherty (@Jack9Flaherty) March 29, 2019

Donate to Flaherty's cause on PledgeIt.org and you can receive a t-shirt, autographed hats and baseballs, and even a seat at the annual Big League Impact’s Fantasy Football Draft in St. Louis, depending on how much you donate. Then as an added incentive to start your own cause to help provide clean drinking water, Flaherty says he'll host whoever raises the most funds at a Cardinals game this season and bring them down to the field at Busch Stadium.

"I am humbled to be a part of Cardinal Nation and to have the opportunity to do this," he states on the "Strikeouts for Water" pledge.

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