OAKLAND -- For much of September, Jharel Cotton's thoughts drifted home. The Virgin Islands, braving two hurricanes in two weeks, were in shambles, and Cotton could only watch from afar as the scale of devastation became clear.
Photos poured in on his Facebook feed, and the A's pitcher heard horror stories from home. Cotton's father had lost the roof to his house, which was otherwise intact, and the majority of his belongings. Others lost everything, including jobs.
His heart aching for home, walloped first by Irma and then Maria, Cotton pitched on in Oakland, all the while doing his best to support the people of the Caribbean.