LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – From the diamond to the green, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and World Series champion Walker Buehler is making an impact.

His foundation, the Buehler Family Foundation, held its 5th annual celebrity charity golf outing at Keene Trace Golf Club Monday morning.

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Buehler says he and his wife’s foundation has a strong focus on bettering the lives of first responders both personally and professionally.

“I’ve had some really cool moments on the field, but for us, this is the thing that we have the most pride in,” Walker Buehler said.

The two-time world champion and lexington native is a hero in the eyes of many young baseball players. Now, he’s looking at some of the heroes in his life, and many of them, he says, wear badges.

“They’re about as important of people in the world to us and to our community,” Buehler said. “It’s been really cool to be able to give back to them.”

Over the years, the Buehler Family Foundation’ has honed in on ensuring first responders are at their best to best serve us.

“I think it’s kind of undervalued like the physical toll of what they do takes on them,” he said.

Buehler says after undergoing two Tommy John surgeries, he grew an appreciation for the people and equipment that helped nurse him back to getting on the mound.

“Sometimes you gotta treat them like athletes and give them the stuff we use,” he said.

The money raised from the golf outing, Buehler says, will go toward buying things like massage guns and Normatec Compression Sleeves for first responders. he says supporting their physical, mental and emotional well-being is what his foundation stands for.

“This is probably the most fun day out of the year for us. I think they’re excited about it, and hopefully, there’s a lot more stuff we can do as well,” he said.

Buehler says with the support of his family, friends and fellow celebrity MLB players, the golf outing is made possible. He says he also wanted to take this opportunity to thank his hometown community for helping turn his childhood dream into a reality.

“It’s been really cool seeing some of the stuff people are doing, signs and whatnot. You think, ‘Oh, I could go make it somewhere.’ then, it happens, and so it’s just been really cool,” Buehler said.

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