AbbVie on Tuesday announced a multi-year partnership with Major League Baseball, naming AbbVie the Official Pharmaceutical Partner of MLB beginning with the 2026 season. This partnership, a first-of-its-kind for the company, marks the national expansion of Striking Out Cancer -- first introduced during the 2025 MLB season through AbbVie’s collaboration with the Chicago Cubs, which enters its second year in the 2026 season. This new partnership extends Striking Out Cancer beyond AbbVie’s hometown of Chicago to become a league-wide initiative.
Throughout the MLB season, AbbVie will donate $20 for every strikeout, up to a maximum donation of $1 million per season. This per-strikeout contribution reflects the 20% of the population worldwide who will be diagnosed with cancer before age 75, according to the World Health Organization’s Global Cancer Observatory. Striking Out Cancer is integrated into every game, across every market, all season long. The campaign also includes additional increased donation enhancements around key MLB events and a special contribution in the event of a perfect game or no-hitter. With an average of 40,000 strikeouts recorded across MLB each season, the partnership offers season-long opportunities to support cancer awareness, advocacy and the importance of making advances in cancer research on a national stage.
By uniting under a shared mission, Striking Out Cancer will become a unifying force across the league. Donations will benefit Stand Up To Cancer, a transformational organization created to raise awareness and accelerate impactful cancer research.
“Cancer impacts millions of families, and partnerships like this allow us to meet people where they are and spark meaningful conversations around awareness and action,” said Tracie Haas, senior vice president, corporate affairs, AbbVie. “By expanding Striking Out Cancer across Major League Baseball, we can elevate awareness and reinforce our commitment to helping make a real difference for patients, their families and communities.”
Throughout the season, Striking Out Cancer will be featured across MLB platforms, including MLB Network, MLB digital and social channels. Striking Out Cancer and its impact will also be spotlighted during some of the League’s most visible moments, including the All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, MLB at Field of Dreams and the MLB Wild Card Series. The Wild Card Series will be presented by AbbVie beginning with the 2026 Postseason. With baseball’s massive platform and AbbVie’s leadership in oncology, Striking Out Cancer creates a rare intersection of science, sport, and story by turning strikeouts into symbols of awareness and hope.
“We’re proud to partner with AbbVie and expand this important initiative across the league,” said April Brown, MLB senior vice president, social responsibility. “The partnership with AbbVie exemplifies the transformative potential of sports-driven advocacy. By channeling the excitement and energy of every strikeout, the partnership delivers more than just a statistic on the field. Each “K” recorded during the season offers another opportunity in the fight against a disease that impacts the lives of so many.”
“We are tremendously grateful to AbbVie for selecting Stand Up To Cancer as the beneficiary of Striking Out Cancer,” said Rusty Robertson, co-founder, Stand Up To Cancer. “Collaborations like these help accelerate our mission to raise awareness and to bring new cancer treatments to patients. We are equally thankful to Major League Baseball, our founding donor, whose longstanding support has been instrumental in advancing groundbreaking cancer research. Together with the support of AbbVie and MLB, we continue to drive progress and offer hope to patients and families everywhere.”
Striking Out Cancer launches on March 25th coinciding with Opening Day presented by Adobe and will continue through the MLB Postseason. For more information, please visit: www.abbvie.com/MLB.