Joe Maddon hosts Thanksmass celebrity bartender fundraiser

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Imagine walking up to a bar to order your favorite drink and having a big league ballplayer make your cocktail.

In south Tampa Friday night, current and former Tampa Bay Rays suited up as celebrity bartenders for Joe Maddon's "Thanksmass" - a charity fundraiser.

Attendees enjoy drinks and a traditional Polish-Italian dinner of pierogi, spaghetti, sausage, and meatballs from Ava and 717 South.

Behind the bar this year, a six-year veteran of the Rays, Matt Joyce, who was born and raised in Tampa.

"You get a chance to shake hands and rub elbows," Maddon, the former Rays manager said. "We're here to raise money for the Respect 90 Foundation. Once we receive the money, Respect 90, we disperse it between the cities of Tampa, St. Pete, Chicago and also my hometown of Hazelton."

"He does a lot to help the community, even as the Cubs manager, down here helping the Tampa area. I just think that's a class act," Rays fan Fredrick Mayo said.