NEW YORK -- Two-time breast cancer survivor Allison Carney will serve as the Mets' Honorary Bat Girl during a game later this month, Major League Baseball announced Monday as part of its annual Mother's Day initiative. A lifelong Mets fan and Woodside, Queens, native, Carney has helped raise over $32,000 for the Avon39 Walk to End Breast Cancer.
"I think loving the Mets for the past 40 years has given me the strength, determination and character to get through anything," Carney wrote in an MLB release announcing the competition's winners. "You gotta believe!"
The Honorary Bat Girl program each year recognizes baseball fans who have been affected by breast cancer and who have demonstrated a commitment to help support the fight against the disease. Winners for all 30 clubs will serve as bat girls for a day, with half of them on field at Major League ballparks this Sunday. Because the Mets are on the road for the event, they will honor Carney after they return home.
Among the program's special guest judges were several big league ballplayers, including Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson.