This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat publication. To learn the total publication, click on right here. And subscribe to get it frequently in your inbox.
It was heartwarming to see Joshua, a 14-year-old fan, spend a day on the ballpark with Tyler Matzek. The 2 met final yr, whereas Joshua spent 100-plus days at CHOA coping with the a number of completely different genetic problems that have been recognized at a younger age. Matzek supplied a tour of the bullpen and stayed with the household throughout batting follow.
Among the different occasions included:
March 11Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies have been among the many Braves who welcomed James, a 7-year-old cystic fibrosis affected person, to the crew’s Spring Coaching facility. James obtained a personalised Braves jersey and skilled the joys of enjoying catch with Acuña, who’s his favourite participant. Albies, Orlando Arcia and Travis d’Arnaud additionally visited with the younger fan earlier than that day’s recreation in opposition to the Twins.
Could 29Charlie, an 11-year-old leukemia survivor, skilled his want when he bought a behind-the-scenes tour of the Braves clubhouse earlier than seeing the Braves play the Nationals. He met Michael Harris II within the clubhouse, performed catch with Austin Riley on the sector and remained on the sector throughout batting follow.
July 23Chipper Jones created some smiles when he supplied a shock VIP meet-and-greet to Baylor, an 8-year-old with cystic fibrosis. Baylor toured the clubhouse and had an opportunity to spend time with the long-lasting Corridor of Famer.
Sept. 3-5The Braves highlighted their partnership with CHOA with the Braves Children Marketing campaign. Because of the 50/50 raffle held on recreation nights and a thriller baseball sale, greater than $236,000 was raised to assist the kids who depend upon CHOA.
Sept. 8The Braves celebrated Childhood Most cancers Consciousness Day by bringing greater than 200 younger most cancers survivors and fighters to Truist Park, the place they obtained complimentary admission, a T-shirt and a pregame celebration within the Kids’s Hospital of Atlanta Hope & Will’s Sandlot. Caleb, a 14-year-old lymphoblastic leukemia affected person, threw the ceremonial first pitch earlier than that day’s recreation in opposition to the Blue Jays.
Spencer Strider and A.J. Minter visited CHOA’s Northside Hospital location that very same week to donate a Nintendo Swap to the younger sufferers.
Earlier this month, the Braves introduced plans for Kids’s Healthcare of Atlanta Park. The devoted household area, set to open earlier than the 2025 season, might be relocated to the left-field plaza between Truist Park’s left-field gate and third-base gate.
This space will accommodate greater than twice as many households as the present Hope & Will’s Sandlot, which is the place youngsters beforehand had the prospect to get pleasure from batting machines, zip traces and different carnival-like video games.
“A day on the ballpark is among the most enjoyable and significant experiences households share, and we have been very cognizant of that after we designed Truist Park,” Braves president and CEO Derek Schiller mentioned. “Hope & Will’s Sandlot has been one of the vital well-liked points of interest at Truist Park from the primary day we opened our doorways. As demand within the area elevated, we went again to the drafting board with our companions at Kids’s Healthcare of Atlanta, who’re the foremost consultants in pediatric well being, to create a brand new and enhanced area that can accommodate much more households and assist them construct a lifetime of recollections.”
Options of the brand new Kids’s Healthcare of Atlanta Park will embrace:
“Kids’s Healthcare of Atlanta is worked up to resume our partnership with the Braves and proceed our assist for households all through Braves Nation,” CHOA chief administrative officer Linda Matzigkeit mentioned. “Kids’s isn’t solely the main place for pediatric care, however we’re additionally totally devoted to bettering the lives of youngsters in our neighborhood. The brand new Kids’s Healthcare of Atlanta Park supplies an important alternative for us to ship on that dedication to be part of youngsters’ lives — each when they’re sick, and when they’re wholesome.”
