Grab a coffee, meet Sal Frelick and support a cause close to the red-hot Brewers outfielder's heart
PHILADELPHIA – Sal Frelick's game hasn't changed all that much since he starred at Lexington High School in suburban Boston: Scrappy at-bats, hustle on the bases and crashing into walls playing defense.
Sal Frelick poses with his friend Malachi, who he met through the Best Buddies program in high school, during a series at Fenway Park in 2024.
His passions off the field haven't, either.
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Beginning early in his high-school years when he was a standout three-sport athlete who held Division-I baseball offers as a freshman and started at quarterback on varsity as a sophomore, Frelick befriended a group of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, from eating lunch with them in the cafeteria to stopping to give them high fives in the hallways.
It didn't take long before he learned about Best Buddies, a nonprofit group that operates frequently in schools that connects individuals with disabilities to other students.
'I had just been friends with these kids in the hallways, so I was like, 'Sounds fun,'' the Milwaukee Brewers right fielder said. 'So me and my buddies decided to join the club. It was awesome.'
Involvement with Best Buddies carries over
As Frelick rose athletically, eventually committing to Boston College for baseball and becoming the Massachusetts Gatorade player of the year in football, he always had his supporters from Best Buddies in the crowd to watch.
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'I just think I found a connection with them,' he said. 'They would come cheer me on at baseball, football, hockey games, then you'd see them in the hallway and they'd be so excited to see you. I became close friends with some of them. It was awesome.'
Frelick met one of his best friends to this day, Malachi, through Best Buddies. The two go out to dinner – the tab's on the Gold Glove winner – each off-season in the Boston area, where Frelick still resides.
Frelick's passion for supporting individuals with disabilities hasn't gone anywhere, either.
His hometown partakes in Unified Basketball, a league where individuals both with and without intellectual disabilities play basketball together on the same team. Frelick has friends on the team and they face off against other towns from the area. At the league's big jamboree event, Frelick not only attends but, in conjunction with New Balance, comes armed with shoes and sweatshirts to give to all the athletes.
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"It's a pretty cool event," Frelick said.
Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick poses for a picture with friends from the Best Buddies program at the Unified Basketball jamboree.
An opportunity to support a good cause
Frelick's aim entering this season was to get involved with the cause of supporting intellectual disabled individuals in his second home, Milwaukee. So when there was a Best Buddies tailgate at a Brewers game in April, he wandered out to the parking lots in full uniform before the game and stopped by.
A couple weeks later, Frelick attended the Best Buddies friendship walk in Oconomowoc for conversation, autographs and pictures.
'I hadn't done anything here but I knew Wisconsin had a big chapter (of Best Buddies), so I wanted to see if I could get involved in some way,' Frelick said.
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There, Frelick met Mackenzie Edinger, owner of Inclusion Coffee Company. The Hartland coffee shop, opened in 2022, which was founded with the mission of giving individuals with disabilities the opportunity to work.
'My idea was to give our friends with disabilities a place to work after high school and at a job they wanted,' Edinger said. 'Not just at a place that hires you.'
Edinger heard that Frelick was coming to the walk but figured it would be for a brief speech or a few photos. Instead, he stuck around the whole time, including for a brief chat with Edinger in which she informed him of Inclusion and its mission. Frelick offered to stop by and meet the staff, which is largely made up of those with disabilities.
'He said, 'Absolutely, get in touch with me and I'll stop at the shop if you want me to,' Edinger said. 'Whatever's gonna help you the most.'
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What ended up being best for the shop has become a meet-and-greet, open to the public, at Inclusion on Saturday, June 7, from 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Located at 3152 Village Square Drive in Hartland, it's a chance to grab a coffee, get a photo with Frelick and see the mission of the shop up close. Edinger says pictures will be allowed but is asking fans to not seek autographs at the event, meant to support Best Buddies and Inclusion employees.
'We obviously both are very passionate about the same cause, so it will be a fun morning,' Edinger said. 'And he'll have time after to go to his game.'
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sal Frelick to appear at Milwaukee coffee shop to support Best Buddies
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