Rafu Staff and Wire Service Reports
Major League Baseball again teamed up with Susan G. Komen, the world’s leading breast cancer organization, on Mother’s Day to honor moms and offer support to those facing breast cancer, especially highlighting efforts to eliminate disparities in diverse communities.
A tribute video was shown before all of Sunday’s MLB games featuring major league players with the their mothers, including Angels stars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout.
All uniformed personnel wore caps featuring pink club logos. Jerseys included the pink special breast cancer awareness silhouetted batter decal.
A matching pair of pink socks was optional for every player. Many players used pink bats. The pink ribbon also appeared on the bases at each stadium and the official dugout lineup cards.
MLB will direct 100% of its royalties from on-field Mother’s Day socks and caps to MLB Charities, a nonprofit organization that will then donate those funds to Susan G. Komen to support its mission in the fight against breast cancer.
The Dodgers marked Mother’s Day by placing a photo booth and card-making station in the Centerfield Plaza for the monthly Viva Los Dodgers family-friendly festival, having wives of Dodger players throwing the ceremonial first pitch and making the announcement that precedes every game at Dodger Stadium, “It’s time for Dodger baseball.”
Pitchers Dustin May, Shelby Miller and Yency Almonte surprised fans by handing out flowers and taking photos.
Following the 4-0 victory over the San Diego Padres, the Dodgers expanded their customary Sunday Kids Run the Bases to also include their mothers.
The Sunday night game in Boston between the Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals also showcased mothers of players and coaches, and the broadcast included an emotional surprise for Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar.
In a pregame interview, he described his mother, Kumi, as “My rock, she’s my everything. She’s my best friend,” while images of him and his mom were presented on a split-screen.
Shortly into the montage, Nootbaar realized the video he was watching was not pre-recorded, but a live feed to Kumi at home in El Segundo.
Nootbaar held back tears while his mother thanked him for sending flowers.
“He cries a lot,” Kumi said. “He’s a crier.”
In 1980, Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan, that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became the Susan G. Komen organization, which has gone from having $200 and a shoebox full of potential donor names to the world’s largest nonprofit source of funding for the fight against breast cancer, according to the organization.
Susan G. Komen bills itself as the only organization that addresses breast cancer on multiple fronts including research, community health, global outreach and public policy initiatives.