Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association are helping with the Hurricane Sandy relief effort by donating money to the Red Cross, Feeding America, and the Salvation Army. Between the two organizations, they’re donating $1 million.

You don’t have to come up with that much, but if just 10 of you baseball fans donate $100,000 apiece, you’ll match that amount!

They’re not turning away smaller donations either. You can see MLB’s website about hurricane relief and get links to the organization they’re supporting.

For two seasons now, Major League Baseball has been running this Fan Cave concept where a few big fans have to move in to their facility in New York where they are required to watch every major league baseball game. They’re also required to share their thoughts and feelings about the games through blog posts and social media. Occasionally, Bronson Arroyo shows up to sing about outerwear.

It sounds like some progressive type of therapy or possibly a persuasion technique dreamed up by Dick Cheney, but it’s actually a job that you have to apply for. You can apply now on MLB.com. Even if you’re shy, you probably don’t really need to worry. Speaking for myself, at least, I’ve seen a couple good things come out of the Fan Cave but none of them involved any actual Fan Cave residents.

The application requires your general demographic information, a short essay, a few writing samples, and a resume. Oh, and a photo. They don’t want people who look like they actually live in a cave.

We all knew it was going to happen, but yesterday Ryan Ludwick made it official. He declined his option for next year and became a free agent.

Had he elected to take the option, he would have had another year and $5 million. On the open market he can probably get a 2-year deal and somewhat more millions, having hit .275 with 26 home runs in 125 games.

General Manager Walt Jocketty says that the team is looking to bring him back, which is cool. If you were going to complain about anyone in the outfield, it wouldn’t have been him. And if they didn’t bring Ludwick back, they’d had to go find someone new, since there isn’t an obvious left fielder waiting in the wings to take over.

I didn’t realize this, but Jocketty is also looking to bring back Ryan Madson. Remember Madson? The guy who got freakishly injured in spring training and then missed the whole season with surgery? Apparently he declined his option, which seems surprising to me. Can his just-missed-a-whole-year self command more than $11 million on the open market? Or, since it was a mutual option, did he just decline it to prevent being declined himself?

Either way, Madson really seemed promising in those early days this year. It might not be so bad to find out what we were missing. If they do bring him back, though, I bet they’ll get insurance on his contract this time.