Major League Baseball announced the winners of the 2016 Honorary Bat Girl contest last week, which recognizes baseball fans who have been affected by breast cancer and who demonstrate a commitment to supporting the fight against the disease. The Honorary Bat Girl for the Washington Nationals is Corinne Irwin of Washington, D.C. She will be recognized on NatsHD and will be announcing play ball before the team plays the Miami Marlins on Saturday, May 14 at 7:05 p.m.
Corinne was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2012, and endured five surgeries, 18 weeks of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation. Throughout treatment, Corinne and her husband watched the Nationals' 2012 postseason run. Corinne is a four-year cancer survivor and is now an advocate dedicated to providing support for other women battling the disease. During her treatment, she set up a blog to let her family and friends know about her progress and how she was doing physically, emotionally and spiritually, which she now shares with newly-diagnosed women. In addition, Corinne now works to raise awareness of Lymphedema and how it affects many survivors, and makes chemo caps for Knots of Love, a charity that distributes caps to cancer treatment centers throughout the country.
During the 2016 Honorary Bat Girl contest, fans from across the United States and Canada shared inspirational stories that provide hope and motivation in the fight against breast cancer, as well as the reasons they or their nominees should represent their favorite team. The complete list of winners can be found at HonoraryBatGirl.com.
The Honorary Bat Girl program was introduced in 2009 to raise additional awareness and support for the annual "Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer" initiative celebrated on Mother's Day. In eight years, thousands of unique testimonials have been submitted and more than 3 million fan votes have been cast. Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer is a Major League Baseball initiative supported by MLB charitable partners, Stand Up To Cancer and Susan G. Komen. This initiative raises awareness about the breast cancer cause, while also raising funds to support breast cancer research.