Lunch with Williams among Nats' charity auctions

SAN DIEGO -- Imagine hanging out with manager Matt Williams and his coaching staff or spending time with the Nationals' grounds crew.

In what could be the greatest version of Show and Tell in history, the Nats are offering just that -- talking baseball with the skipper over lunch or seeing how the grounds crew operates at Nationals Park, all in the name of charity.

The packages are part of MLB.com's Auction to benefit LUNGevity, which is the United States' largest national lung cancer-focused nonprofit.

The winner of the grounds crew auction will join the crew one hour prior to first pitch and will remain with them until the fourth inning. The winner must be 12 or older.

Baseball is again promoting its Stand Up To Cancer campaign during the Winter Meetings this week. 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 LUNGevity Auction announced on Monday.

Among the 30 teams, 80 baseball-related experiences have been donated, 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.

Last year, the auction raised more than $150,000. Major League Baseball and its 30 clubs are the founding partners of Stand Up To Cancer and a lead donor since 2008, committing more than $40 million. As the initiative's founding donor, MLB has collaborated with Stand Up To Cancer on significant awareness-building efforts, including public service announcements, in-stadium promotion and fundraising events, and a World Series game has been dedicated to the initiative for each of the past three years.

Every team has donated at least one item or experience, with most teams offering up multiple donations.