Major League Baseball has announced the 2018 Honorary Bat Girls for each MLB Club in support of the annual "Going To Bat Against Breast Cancer" initiative, which is traditionally commemorated each Mother's Day. For the first time since the Honorary Bat Girl program's start in 2009, Clubs had the opportunity to hand-select their respective honorees, each of whom have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to battling breast cancer. The Honorary Bat Girl for the Padres is Sandra Lopez from Chula Vista, CA. A mother of three, Sandra was originally diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in 2008. After receiving a clean bill of health and being in remission for a year and a half, Sandra was re-diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012. Doctors initially gave Sandra five years to live, but despite the odds, she continues to thrive and live her life as if she wasn't sick. In November she will participate in her tenth Susan G. Komen San Diego's Race for the Cure event with over 100 teammates. Team Lopez has grown to be the largest non-corporate team in the Race for the Cure event with Team Lopez contributing over $50,000 towards the fight against cancer.
The Padres will recognize Lopez's strength and commitment to helping others in the fight against this disease by honoring her during a pregame Homeplate Ceremony on Sunday, May 13 prior to the Padres taking on the St. Louis Cardinals. She will be joined by 100 survivors and co-survivors as they line the baselines during the ceremony. Lopez will also be receiving a custom pink Padres jersey, a personalized pink Louisville Slugger bat and a goodie bag from Major League Baseball.
During games on Mother's Day, players will wear newly designed caps highlighted by a pink crown and team color brim, while Club uniforms will feature a pink ribbon on the left chest. A matching pair of pink socks is optional for every player. During batting practice and in the dugouts throughout Sunday's games, players and managers can also wear new, grey, lightweight hoodies emblazoned with their Club's wordmark and the MLB logo in a matching pink design. MLB players will continue to have the opportunity to use pink bats during Mother's Day games. Louisville Slugger, the Official Bat of Major League Baseball, will donate proceeds from the sale of their pink bats, which will be stamped with the MLB breast cancer awareness logo, to Susan G. Komen and Stand Up To Cancer. In addition to the pink bats on Mother's Day, the following game equipment can be used for breast cancer awareness: pink compression sleeves, pink batting gloves, pink footwear, pink wrist/elbow/leg guards and catcher's equipment. Since 2006, players have swung pink bats, worn pink ribbon decals and sported pink wristbands through the "Going To Bat Against Breast Cancer" initiative, which is intended to raise awareness and, through donations and auction proceeds, funds to fight breast cancer. MLB will again donate its licensed uniform royalties through Mother's Day apparel to Susan G. Komen and Stand Up To Cancer.
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. 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. For more information, please visit HonoraryBatGirl.com.