Standing up to cancer near, dear to Bosio's heart

CHICAGO -- Want to get a pitching lesson from Cubs coach Chris Bosio? Or watch the Cubs radio and television broadcasts from the press box?

You can bid on those items and a "Dream Day" at Wrigley Field as well as part of Major League Baseball's efforts to stand up to cancer.

Baseball's Winter Meetings include a MLB.com Auction to benefit Stand Up To Cancer, which MLB has supported since 2008 as founding sponsor. Public relations representatives from all 30 clubs were inspired to act based on individual club members impacted by the disease, and they jointly organized the auction, which will be officially announced at a news conference on Monday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., with MLB staff.

Bidding closes at 9 p.m. CT Thursday, with 80 baseball-related experiences ranging from private pitching and batting lessons with players to lunches with general managers to team bus rides and meet-and-greets with Hall of Fame players.

The Cubs' items include a "Dream Day" at Wrigley Field, a 30-minute private lesson from Bosio, and also a broadcast experience at a home game. All have opening bids of $500.

The "Dream Day" includes four field box tickets to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field, four pregame passes to watch batting practice from the field, and the opportunity to have your photo taken on the field.

The session with Bosio, who is entering his third season as the Cubs' pitching coach, will be prior to an April, May or June night game. The winner also will receive four tickets to that night's game.

The winning bidder for the broadcast experience will receive four field box tickets to a Cubs game, and spend one inning on the press level to visit the WGN Radio booth and the Cubs home television booth in action.

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is a groundbreaking initiative created to accelerate innovative cancer research that will get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. To learn more, visit www.SU2C.org.

For Bosio, the effort is personal. His mother died three years ago at Christmas after a long battle with cancer. His father had cancer. Bosio lost his brother to lung cancer. Bosio created a foundation to raise money to help families dealing with cancer.

"We all have people we know and loved ones affected by it," Bosio said. "It's something near and dear to my heart."

During the season, Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo visits patients at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago. His message? You can beat cancer. Rizzo would know. He's a survivor himself, and will celebrate five years of being cancer-free at his second "Walk Off for Cancer" on Sunday in Parkland, Fla.

You can help, too, by joining the Cubs and MLB, and stand up to cancer.