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DETROIT -- The Yankees arrived at Comerica Park on Sunday with a special shipment of new equipment waiting for them, opening boxes to discover pink-colored bats, wrist bands and even titanium necklaces to celebrate Mother's Day and raise breast cancer awareness.
Unfortunately for those Bombers hoping to get in the spirit, New York's 1:05 p.m. ET game against Detroit was postponed, so the numerous Yankees players who were hoping to take part were not able to actually use them on Sunday.
But the spirit of the message was prevalent in Major League stadiums across the league, and Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon said that it was an important one. "We're starting to get to the age where more and more friends are being diagnosed with breast cancer," Damon said. "You want to bring awareness to anybody. If it's one person who goes in and gets checked to discover something, it's worth it. I think this is great what Major League Baseball does."
Pink bats have become an annual Mother's Day symbol as part of an overall "Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer" initiative by Major League Baseball that raises awareness about breast cancer and directs massive proceeds to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Fans play the next big role in this process, because attention will move now to the MLB.com, where the gradual arrival of those pink bats that were used in games and then signed or just signed by an entire team will be auctioned off.
Signed home plates and bases with the pink-ribbon logo will also be among the auction items that will draw a frenzy, and all proceeds will go to Komen.
It is a "rolling auction," so if you don't see a player's bat in the next few weeks, keep coming back, because eventually, most or all of them will appear on the auction site. Fans also can purchase their own personalized "Mother's Day 2008" pink bats right now for $79 apiece at the MLB.com Shop, with $10 from the sale of each one going to Komen.
In conjunction with the "Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer" program, eight Yankees were set to use pink bats in Sunday's game -- Bobby Abreu, Melky Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Morgan Ensberg, Jason Giambi, Derek Jeter, Chad Moeller and Jose Molina. Injured players Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez also elected to participate, but they are not on the club's active roster.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that if it were up to him, the team would be able to use the pink bats for their next game against the Rays in St. Petersburg on Monday, but attempting to do so might create some logistic problems.
"I would like to do it," Girardi said. "It would be nice, but I don't know how you do it. It would have been nice to use them. It's a special thing."
Cano stood in the Yankees' clubhouse hours before the scheduled start time, with a toothpick dangling from his lip as he whipped his new lumber through an imaginary strike zone. Molina was among the players who excitedly ripped open large brown boxes to examine the pink bats.
"Hopefully, I'm going to hit one for Mother's Day," Molina said before the postponement. "If I get a couple of hits, I'll use a pink bat for the rest of the year."
After the game was rained out, Molina sat at his locker and shrugged.
"No pink bat today," he said. "Maybe I can still use it. Definitely for [batting practice]."
Unfortunately for those Bombers hoping to get in the spirit, New York's 1:05 p.m. ET game against Detroit was postponed, so the numerous Yankees players who were hoping to take part were not able to actually use them on Sunday.
But the spirit of the message was prevalent in Major League stadiums across the league, and Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon said that it was an important one. "We're starting to get to the age where more and more friends are being diagnosed with breast cancer," Damon said. "You want to bring awareness to anybody. If it's one person who goes in and gets checked to discover something, it's worth it. I think this is great what Major League Baseball does."
Pink bats have become an annual Mother's Day symbol as part of an overall "Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer" initiative by Major League Baseball that raises awareness about breast cancer and directs massive proceeds to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Fans play the next big role in this process, because attention will move now to the MLB.com, where the gradual arrival of those pink bats that were used in games and then signed or just signed by an entire team will be auctioned off.
Signed home plates and bases with the pink-ribbon logo will also be among the auction items that will draw a frenzy, and all proceeds will go to Komen.
It is a "rolling auction," so if you don't see a player's bat in the next few weeks, keep coming back, because eventually, most or all of them will appear on the auction site. Fans also can purchase their own personalized "Mother's Day 2008" pink bats right now for $79 apiece at the MLB.com Shop, with $10 from the sale of each one going to Komen.
In conjunction with the "Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer" program, eight Yankees were set to use pink bats in Sunday's game -- Bobby Abreu, Melky Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Morgan Ensberg, Jason Giambi, Derek Jeter, Chad Moeller and Jose Molina. Injured players Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez also elected to participate, but they are not on the club's active roster.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that if it were up to him, the team would be able to use the pink bats for their next game against the Rays in St. Petersburg on Monday, but attempting to do so might create some logistic problems.
"I would like to do it," Girardi said. "It would be nice, but I don't know how you do it. It would have been nice to use them. It's a special thing."
Cano stood in the Yankees' clubhouse hours before the scheduled start time, with a toothpick dangling from his lip as he whipped his new lumber through an imaginary strike zone. Molina was among the players who excitedly ripped open large brown boxes to examine the pink bats.
"Hopefully, I'm going to hit one for Mother's Day," Molina said before the postponement. "If I get a couple of hits, I'll use a pink bat for the rest of the year."
After the game was rained out, Molina sat at his locker and shrugged.
"No pink bat today," he said. "Maybe I can still use it. Definitely for [batting practice]."
