MLB raising awareness for childhood cancer

Saturday marks the fifth annual Childhood Cancer Awareness Day, as Major League Baseball and its clubs come together in collaboration with Stand Up To Cancer to show support for the cause through demonstrations at the park and outreach to local hospitals.

In collaboration with MLB and Starlight Children’s Foundation, each hospital selected by 15 clubs will receive 100 baseball-themed hospital gowns for children undergoing treatment.

During Saturday’s games, all on-field personnel, including players, coaches and umpires, will wear gold ribbon decals and wristbands, and teams will hold their own ceremonial demonstrations to raise awareness for childhood cancer, the leading cause of death by disease among children in the United States and Canada.

As part of the day’s events, several clubs are holding virtual meet and greets between players and childhood cancer patients. This includes Indians right-hander and cancer survivor Carlos Carrasco, who will meet virtually with patients from the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital.

Some clubs, like the Royals, are putting cardboard cutouts of pediatric cancer patients in the stands. Meanwhile, the Orioles will host a young patient for a virtual first pitch, and the Braves will have a childhood cancer survivor sing the national anthem.

Childhood cancer awareness efforts in previous seasons have included special pediatric cancer awareness batting-practice T-shirts, online campaigns to empower fans to become fundraisers for pediatric cancer research and donations to local children’s hospitals.

MLB and its clubs have supported the fight against cancer through a variety of initiatives for many years. As Stand Up To Cancer’s founding donor, MLB has pledged more than $50 million to SU2C’s collaborative cancer research programs, providing invaluable support. Launched in 2013, the work of the Stand Up To Cancer-St. Baldrick’s Foundation Pediatric Cancer Dream Team has helped develop new immunotherapy approaches and contributed to the development of two new treatments for difficult to treat pediatric leukemias which have been approved by the FDA.

MLB has recognized SU2C at its jewel events since the 2009 World Series.