LEGENDARY CARDINALS PITCHER AND HALL OF FAMER BOB GIBSON TO THROW GAME FOUR’S CEREMONIAL FIRST PITCH
MLB and the Cardinals to Honor the 1967 World Series Champion Cardinals
Game Four is Dedicated to Advancing the Fight Against Cancer Through Stand Up To Cancer
Rascal Flatts to Perform National Anthem
The Winners of the 2013 Hank Aaron Award Will be Announced in a Pre-Game Press Conference
Hall of Famer and Cardinals Legend Bob Gibson will throw Game Four’s ceremonial first pitch as part of a pre-game ceremony that will honor the 1967 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals. Members of that team who will join Gibson on the field include Mike Shannon, Dal Maxvill, and Hall of Famers Lou Brock and Red Schoendienst. Also joining the ceremony will be two-time All-Star and Hall of Fame broadcaster Tim McCarver, who is stepping down from his lead analyst position with FOX Sports after calling his 24th World Series, an all-time high among broadcasters. Game Four airs on Sunday, October 27th at 8:00 p.m. ET on FOX.
DEDICATION TO STAND UP TO CANCER (SU2C): Game Four of the 2013 World Series is dedicated to advancing the fight against cancer and will highlight Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), which focuses on getting innovative therapies to patients quickly. There will be a special in-game moment leading into the top of the 6th inning when fans, players and all on-field personnel will hold up placards with the names of loved ones affected by the disease. In 2008, Major League Baseball became a founding donor of Stand Up To Cancer. Stand Up To Cancer has funded ten research Dream Teams with 500 scientists from more than 100 institutions. More than 3,000 patients have participated in clinical trials facilitated by SU2C. Since its launch, SU2C has received significant support from players, fans and all 30 MLB Clubs. Major League Baseball has committed more than $35 million to the initiative since its inception.
In the lead up to Game Four, SU2C released a smart phone app, created by MLB.com, which enables users to create custom photo placards that name their loved ones in whose honor they are taking a stand against cancer. During FOX’s broadcast of Game Four, SU2C will debut a new Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign entitled, “Stand Up, Anytime, Anywhere.” Two PSAs will air in connection with the in-stadium moment leading into the 6th inning. Boston Red Sox second basemanDustin Pedroia appears in one PSA, and is shown using the app to create a placard for his wife, Kelli, who is a melanoma survivor. San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval appears in another PSA, and is shown creating a placard and declaring that he stands up for his friend Donna Musgrave, also a cancer survivor.
MASTERCARD SUPPORT OF SU2C: MasterCard, the preferred card of Major League Baseball, will present SU2C with a donation of $4 million as part of its “Dig In & Do Good” campaign, which launched at the 2013 MLB All-Star Game in New York. This amount was raised with the help of fans, whose purchases on their Mastercards of $10 or more when dining out or ordering in resulted in donations to SU2C. SU2C ambassador and two-time Emmy-winning actor Eric Stonestreet will be on-hand for the pre-game check presentation, which will also include Sue Selig, the wife of Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. This year’s “Dig In & Do Good” campaign included a public awareness television spot featuring Stonestreet and an in-stadium spot featuring iconic MLB mascots the Phillie Phanatic of the Philadelphia Phillies and Mr. Met of the New York Mets. To learn more about how you can do some good, visit mastercard.com/dogood.
MAKE-A-WISH/“PLAY BALL!”: Two young fans with life-threatening medical conditions, whose wish it was to attend a World Series game, will be yelling “Play Ball!” to ceremoniously begin Game Four. Michael “Austin” Summerbell, 15, is from Lynn Haven, FL, and Micah Reed, 10, is from Sulphur Spring, TX.
NATIONAL ANTHEM & GOD BLESS AMERICA: Multi-platinum country vocal group Rascal Flatts is the best-selling country vocal group of the past decade and with the No. 1 debut of their album, CHANGED, they have the distinction of being one of only four acts to have seven consecutive studio albums debut in the top spot on the Billboard Country Albums chart during the Soundscan era. Since their musical debut in 2000, the band has sold over 21 million albums, 25 million digital downloads and delivered 14 #1 singles to the top of the charts. Rascal Flatts is the most awarded country group of the past decade, earning over 40 trophies from the ACAs, ACMs, AMAs, CMAs, People’s Choice Awards and more. They are currently on their sold-out world tour titled LIVE & LOUD. “God Bless America” will be performed by SergeantChristine Permenter, vocalist with the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood 399th Army Band.
2013 HANK AARON AWARD: The winners of the 2013 Hank Aaron Award will be announced at a press conference prior to Game Four on Sunday at Busch Stadium. The Hank Aaron Award was introduced in 1999 to honor the 25th anniversary of Aaron breaking Babe Ruth‘s all-time home run record and recognizes the most outstanding offensive performer in each League. For the fourth year, a special panel of Hall of Fame players comprised of some of the greatest offensive players of all-time – Roberto Alomar, Johnny Bench, Tony Gwynn, Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray and Robin Yount – joined Hank Aaron and the fans in voting for the award.
FIRST-BALL DELIVERY: Amanda Richardson, 18, will deliver the first-ball to the mound with So Taguchi, a member of the 2006 World Series Champion Cardinals. Richardson, who is a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis – Herbert Hoover Club, is a freshman at Harris Stow State University in St. Louis.
