With the RubberDucks fighting for playoff positioning, the team took a timeout Friday to honor those battling a much bigger opponent.
The Ducks held a Showers Family Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders Celebration before and during their game against the Richmond Flying Squirrels Friday night at Canal Park.
The name is long, but the goal is simple: Raise awareness, celebrate those who have beaten the illnesses and honor those currently struggling to get well again.
“A lot of times we walk away from this night with people saying we did a great thing for those kids,” RubberDucks manager Dave Wallace said. “I’m not so sure we don’t get more out of it because of the gratitude and how special it is. It’s being able to bring some joy and put a smile on a kid’s face that doesn’t get to come out and do something like this every day.”
From a parade around the field before the game to New Philadelphia’s Bailey McGinnis throwing out the first pitch, pregame was covered.
Akron’s Xavier Bennett got a chance to run the bases after the third inning, and Creston’s Katelin Magyar designed the very uniforms the Ducks wore.
Each one either fought or is fighting a life-threatening disorder and was there to be honored by the organization.
“It’s nice to see a little slice of goodness in the world when all you see lately on the news is how horrible everything is,” said Katelin Magyar’s mom, Kelly. “It seems like the news is always sad stories.
“To hear an entire baseball team is taking time out to honor some kids that have had it tough, it’s just amazing. It’s nice to see some thoughtfulness and nice things coming from players. Most people don’t know about pediatric cancer unless they have a child or are related to someone, so for these guys to do that is really just top-notch in my book.”
For Katelin, 12, the night was big after knocking out leukemia. The uniform she designed is part awareness and part celebration as it depicts the view she used to see from her room at Akron Children’s Hospital.
With the name of the team and the hospital on the sleeves and the Akron skyline across the bottom, the jerseys are full of color. Trimmed in gold, which is the color for childhood cancer, there are splashes of blue on the uniform with fireworks on the front and back. The “A” in Akron is a ribbon with the team’s name and logo underneath.
“On scale of 1-10, this is 100,” she said. “I’m so excited. It’s amazing. It’s just the best thing ever.”
Complete with superhero cape, Xavier ran the bases and drew smiles and high-fives as players and coaches from both teams lined the basepaths after the third inning to cheer him on.
It ended at home plate with a hug from mom as those in attendance erupted with cheers for the 5-year-old battling neuroblastoma, which is a cancer that develops from immature nerve cells found in several areas of the body.
“It’s absolutely amazing that they’re doing something,” his mother, Raven Huron, said. “He’s excited because he doesn’t get to play sports. It’s really a fun event and it’s about him.
“It’s a memory that I’ll keep forever. Hopefully, he’ll be able to remember it, too.”
Bailey couldn’t have been more pumped for his first pitch as the 13-year-old lives and breathes the sport.
Fighting hemophilia A, a genetic disorder caused by missing or defective factor VIII, a clotting protein, he practiced countless times on a baseball field in his backyard.
When it came time to throw the first pitch, he delivered a strike to Wallace.
“Baseball is basically my life, so this meant a lot,” Bailey said. “It means everything to me to throw out the first pitch. It meant a lot to do it in Akron because it’s somewhat my hometown.”
The event wasn’t lost on the players. They all smiled, knowing for at least one night it was more than just a game.
“We tend to forget sometimes how fortunate we are,” RubberDucks catcher Jeremy Lucas said. “For as little as we’re doing for them, it means so much. It’s an awesome experience for us. Some of us are almost brought to tears.”