Blue Jays wear pink to pay tribute to moms
Club does its part on Mother's Day to raise awareness for breast cancer
TORONTO -- The Blue Jays paid tribute to their mothers while at the same time raising awareness for breast cancer by wearing pink during Sunday afternoon's 6-3 loss to the Red Sox.
Toronto's players and coaching staff wore pink undershirts and wristbands during the game, while several Blue Jays also used pink cleats. Devon Travis and Kevin Pillar were among those who used a pink bat for all nine innings, while Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion also made one plate appearance with the unique game color.
The goal was to not only pay respect to their mothers, but also to support Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer, which is a Major League Baseball initiative designed to raise awareness for the breast cancer cause while also raising funds to support research.
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"There's always something special about Mother's Day," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "At any sporting event, everybody's always saying, 'Hi, Mom.' They don't always say, 'Hi, Dad,' but they always say, 'Hi, Mom,' so that'll tell you something.
"Personally, I have a wonderful mother. She raised me right -- that may be debatable -- but I think she raised me right and kept me in line. ... It's a big day for everybody."
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Players and on-field personnel wore symbolic pink ribbons on their uniforms as part of the special day. Commemorative base jewels were used and the dugout lineup cards were also in pink. The Blue Jays also placed pink banners throughout the WestJet Flight Deck in straightaway center field and gave away replica Josh Donaldson uniforms to the first 20,000 fans in attendance.
Authenticated game-used Louisville Slugger pink bats from various Mother's Day games across the league also will be auctioned off on MLB.com to benefit the fight against cancer.