NJ native & cancer survivor announced as 2014 Phillies Honorary Bat Girl

Major League Baseball announced the 31 winners of the 2014 Honorary Bat Girl Contest that recognizes baseball fans who have been affected by breast cancer and demonstrate a commitment to eradicating the disease. 

The Phillies winner of the Honorary Bat Girl Contest is Terry Moser, of Toms River, NJ, who will be recognized on Saturday, May 24, prior to the 3:05 p.m. Phillies vs Los Angeles Dodgers game. As part of her experience, Moser will take part in pre-game activities and ballpark tour, be honored during an on-field ceremony and will receive pink MLB merchandise and tickets to the game for her and her family.

Moser was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer in 2007. In 2008, during her treatment, she started the Moser's Miles 5K Walk & Gift Auction to raise money for cancer research. Since then, Moser has raised over $100,000 for the cause and for families affected by cancer. Moser, a life-long Phillies fan, was nominated for the honorary award by her best friend since second grade, Donna Grocki. Grocki, who was by Moser's side throughout her treatments, attends the Phillies Mother's Appreciation Day with Moser annually.

"I am beyond excited to be honored as the Phillies Honorary Bat Girl to show my commitment to breast cancer awareness," said Moser. "It is such a special thing to share this day with my longtime friend Donna. As Phillies fans, being honored on-field is a dream come true."   

Fans from across the country and Canada shared inspirational stories that provide hope and motivation in the fight against breast cancer, as well as the reasons they or their nominees should represent their favorite team. The Honorary Bat Girl winners were selected by fan votes on HonoraryBatGirl.com along with feedback from a Guest Judging Panel that included Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays, Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves, Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants, country music superstar and Atlanta Braves fan Jason Aldean, and Sam Ryan, MLB Network host and reporter.

On Mother's Day, Sunday, May 11, Phillies players and on-field personnel will wear the symbolic pink ribbon on their uniforms along with pink wrist bands while on the road against the New York Mets. Commemorative base jewels and dugout lineup cards will also be pink. Games will use a pink stitched Rawlings baseball, the official ball of MLB, as the official game day baseball. Numerous MLB players will use pink bats and pink Louisville Slugger bats, the Official Bat of Major League Baseball, will be stamped with the MLB breast cancer awareness logo. Many of the game-used Louisville Slugger pink bats from Mother's Day games that have been authenticated by MLB will be auctioned exclusively on MLB.com to benefit the fight against breast cancer.

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 five years, thousands of unique testimonials have been submitted and more than 4 million fan votes have been cast. Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer is a Major League Baseball initiative supported by its charitable partners Stand Up To Cancer and Susan G. Komen. This initiative raises awareness about the breast cancer cause, while also raising funds to support breast cancer research.