Honorary Giants 'Bat Girl' named

Major League Baseball and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world's largest breast cancer organization, announced the winners of the 2011 Honorary Bat Girl Contest, a campaign to recognize baseball fans who have been affected by breast cancer and demonstrated a commitment to fighting the disease. The winner of the Honorary Bat Girl Contest for the San Francisco Giants is Jennifer Solorio. Solorio is a one-year breast cancer survivor. She is an active volunteer with the Sacramento affiliate of Komen and serves as a co-chair for the Survivors Committee Race for the Cure 2011.

Solorio will be honored in a pregame, on-field ceremony this Sunday, May 8, when the Giants face the Colorado Rockies at AT&T Park. The game starts at 1:05 p.m. "We are proud to honor all breast cancer survivors on this special day when we pay tribute to the women who have had an impact on our lives -- whether a mother, grandmother, aunt, sister or friend," said Larry Baer, San Francisco Giants president and chief operating officer.

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. In three years, nearly 4,000 testimonials have been submitted and more than six million fan votes have been cast. Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer is a joint partnership between MLB, its licensed partners and Susan G. Komen for the Cure to raise awareness about the breast cancer cause, while also raising funds to support breast cancer research.

Solorio is one of the thirty winners, one for each MLB Club. She was among more than 1,500 entrants that were selected by more than a half-million fan votes on www.HonoraryBatGirl.com, a Web site powered by MLB.com, and a panel of celebrity judges that included Mrs. Billye Aaron, breast cancer survivor, Komen Global Ambassador for breast cancer and wife of Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron; Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, breast cancer survivor and Founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure; Gabrielle Union, actress, co-survivor and supporter of the cause; Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox All-Star Pitcher and lymphoma survivor; Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim All-Star Pitcher whose mother is a breast cancer survivor; Jim Thome, five-time All-Star and Minnesota Twins designated hitter whose mother passed away from lung cancer; Suzyn Waldman, New York Yankees radio broadcaster and breast cancer survivor; and Mitch Williams, MLB Network analyst whose late mother had breast cancer.

On Mother's Day (May 8), hundreds of MLB players are expected to use pink bats by Louisville Slugger, the Official Bat of Major League Baseball, stamped with the MLB breast cancer awareness logo. To further demonstrate their support for the breast cancer cause, players and on-field personnel will wear the symbolic pink ribbon on their uniforms along with pink wrist bands. Commemorative dugout lineup cards also will be pink. Game-used Louisville Slugger pink bats from Mother's Day games that have been authenticated by MLB will be auctioned exclusively on MLB.com at a later date to raise additional funds for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Major League Baseball Health Initiatives

The Mother's Day Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer program is one of several cancer-related initiatives supported by Major League Baseball. Other initiatives include Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), whose mission is to support the groundbreaking scientific research aimed at getting new cancer treatments to patients in an accelerated timeframe; the annual Father's Day celebration, in support of Prostate Cancer Foundation, which helps increase awareness of prostate cancer and raise money for the search for a cure; and Play Sun Smart, a league-wide, skin cancer awareness program in conjunction with the Major League Baseball Players Association and the American Academy of Dermatology.

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which is now the world's largest breast cancer organization and the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer with more than $1.9 billion invested to date. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.