Newspaper Page Text
Going to bat
AGAINST
breast cancer
Starting today, Good Morning America,
the New York Yankees and USA WEEKEND
team up to promote the quest for a cure.
BY CRAIGH BARBOZA
IT TOOK A mighty cause to get
USA WEEKEND, Good Morning
America and two of baseball’s best
Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez,
together on this nippy April afternoon
in the Bronx. No, it’s not the fact that
the storied “House That Ruth Built’’
will be torn down after this, its final
season. It’s even bigger than that: It’s
a Mother’s Day promotion to fight
breast cancer.
We were invited to Yankee Stadium
to watch the team’s batting practice.
GMA co-anchor Robin Roberts shows
up with a camera crew to film a seg
ment for Going to Bat Against Breast
Cancer, a special program started by
Major League Baseball and Susan G.
Komen for the Cure that generates
awareness about breast cancer and will
raise funds at baseball games on Sun
day, May 11. Standing in the on-deck
circle, Roberts tries not to shiver. Jeter
walks over and hugs her. “It’s cold out
here,” she tells the Yankees captain.
“How do you play in this weather?”
“This is football weather,”
Jeter says, with a smile. He
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“It’s fantastic that these world-class athletes are
involved in an initiative like this. It helps bring
attention to the problem
22
USA WEEKEND • May 2-4,2008
calls over Rodriguez. I
“A-Rod,” like many of I
his teammates, has fond I
memories of Roberts I
from her days at ESPN. I
Roberts was diag- I
nosed with breast can- I
cer less than a year ago,
and she is dressed in
pink: sweater, sneakers
and baseball cap. The
wig she normally wears
on air is left behind. “I
really appreciate your
time like this.... It’s not
like you’re busy or any
thing,” she says, kid
ding the guvs.
It has been an emotional
journey for Roberts, 47, who re
cently finished chemotherapy treat
ments and radiation. She says she feels
great and is excited to be involved in
Going to Bat. “It’s fantastic that these
world-class athletes are involved in an
initiative like this,” she says. “It helps
bring attention to the problem.”
Jeter, too, has his own reason to be
here. He thought cancer only affected
Robin Roberts and Yankees
stars Derek Jeter and
. "A-Rod* autographed these
pink bats to benefit breast
M BSBHHh cancer. To bid on them, go
usaweekftnd.oNii/
Bid now: You could
get the signed bats in this photo^™
Just for our readers, Yankees stars Derek Jeter
and Alex Rodriguez, along with ABCs
Good Morning America anchors Robin Roberts,
Diane Sawyer, Chris Cuomo and Sam Champion,
have signed bats and put them up for auction.
Why? For a good cause, of course. All the
proceeds will be donated to Susan G.
Komen for the Cure, a non-profit
“someone really old” until his sister
was diagnosed in 2000, just before her
21st birthday. “She’s doing well,” he
says. “She battled, she’s cancer-free
right now, and I’m happy to say that.”
To raise money for Going to Bat,
Jeter, Rodriguez and Roberts each
have signed pink Louisville Slugger
bats, like the ones hundreds of players
will use this Mother’s Day, to be auc
tioned off for the cause ( see above).
Says Rodriguez: “We’re all very fortu
nate to play this game, and we realize
how important baseball is, yet how triv
AUCTION 5
f foundation dedicated to fighting
breast cancer. Roberts' stake is
personal: She recently finished
undergoing treatment for the disease.
These bats are not your typical Louisville
Sluggers. Next Sunday, on Mother's Day, Jeter
and Rodriguez will be among hundreds of
baseball players using pink bats like these to
help raise awareness and money for the
cause. To learn more about the auction, watch
GMA on May 5 (air date at press time). To bid,
go to usaweekend.com/pinkbats.
ial it really is in the scope of things.”
This year, Going to Bat known as
“Pink Bat Day” hopes to raise at
least $250,000 to cure breast cancer,
which will claim the lives of an esti
mated 40,000 women and 450 men in
2008. “Most people wouldn’t put breast
cancer and baseball together, but it’s
a natural fit,” says Komen founder
Nancy Brinker, noting that almost half
of baseball’s fans are female. “It’s es
pecially true on Mother’s Day, when
we reflect on how much the women in
our lives have affected us.” ca
PETER GREGOIRE FOR USA WEEKEND