Rays go pink on Mother's Day for great cause

May 9th, 2016

ANAHEIM -- The Rays went pink on Sunday to support breast cancer awareness on Mother's Day.
Rays players donned pink cleats, pink wristbands, uniforms trimmed in pink, pink catcher's equipment, pink sleeves, pink shoes and the familiar pink bats.
"I think it is cool how a couple of years ago it was just a little pink here and there," said Brad Miller, who used a pink bat for the first time on Sunday and hit a two-run homer in the second. "Now we have shirts and sleeves and bats. And it is a great day to kind of remind us about breast cancer awareness."

Evan Longoria has seen the pink initiative spread since the beginning of his career and noted that Major League players need "to continue to evolve."
"Stay with the trends and stay with what's important to the public now," Longoria said. "Especially because we have this platform. We're on TV every day and we have the chance to kind of spread that through the game we play. So that's important.
"The main point of it is to raise awareness of breast cancer and breast cancer research. We have the ribbons on the cleats this year, too. I think any time you can raise awareness for a great cause, it's something that should be done."

Players who had pink bats included Longoria, Brandon Guyer, Kevin Kiermaier, Logan Morrison, Logan Forsythe, Steven Souza Jr., Tim Beckham, Curt Casali, Miller, Steve Pearce, Corey Dickerson, and Hank Conger.
Authentic game-used Louisville Slugger pink bats and other gear from Mother's Day games will be auctioned exclusively at MLB.com, with proceeds benefiting the fight against breast cancer. The complete Mother's Day collection -- which includes the special caps and jerseys being worn by players on Sunday -- is available at the MLB.com Shop.
All of the shoes had a different look. Under Armour might have had the most unique look with flowers mixed amid the pink color scheme.
One thing was for certain, the players enjoyed doing what they could for the cause.
"I'll sacrifice my everyday bat any day foor a good cause," Pearce said. "They're good bats, anyway. They're just a different color."