Judy Beardslee: Our Mother's Day Hero

From a press release. BTW, you can get your own pink Mother's Day bat by clicking right here.

Major League Baseball and Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced the winners of the 2010 Honorary Bat Girl Contest, a campaign to recognize inspirational MLB fans who have been affected by breast cancer and demonstrated a commitment to the cause. The winner of the Honorary Bat Girl Contest for the Los Angeles Dodgers is Judy Beardslee. Beardslee is a breast cancer survivor from Pennsylvania whose mother lost her battle with the disease and who is very involved with fundraising to find a cure. Beardslee and her family will be guests of the Dodgers at Sunday’s game against the Colorado Rockies and she will be honored on the field before the game. The program was developed to raise additional awareness and support for the annual Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer® initiative, a joint partnership between MLB, its licensed partners and Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest breast cancer organization, taking place on Mother’s Day.

Hundreds of Major League Baseball players will use pink bats produced by Louisville Slugger, the Official Bat of Major League Baseball, stamped with the MLB breast cancer logo on Mother’s Day. Dodgers using pink bats on Mother’s Day include Andre Ethier, Casey Blake and Russell Martin. Many players also will wear pink wristbands and the symbolic pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness will be displayed on player uniforms, as well as on all on-field personnel.

“The support from the Clubs, players and fans for the Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer initiative each year has been remarkable,” said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. “Mother’s Day is a special celebration and I am pleased we continue to observe it by raising awareness and funds for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I want to thank all of the incredible Honorary Bat Girl contest winners for their courage, determination and inspiration as they join us on the field to help in our efforts to fight breast cancer.”

For the second consecutive year, MLB and Susan G. Komen for the Cure launched an online search to find an Honorary Bat Girl for each of the 30 MLB Clubs. Since February, fans from across the country have been sharing their stories of inspiration and hope, and how they are supporting the fight against breast cancer. Nearly 1,000 testimonials were submitted online at MLB.com, the official web site of Major League Baseball, by breast cancer survivors, advocates and supporters of the cause, and one winner per Club was selected by a celebrity panel of judges and over 4 million fan votes.

An All-Star cast served as celebrity judges on a blue ribbon panel for the 2010 Honorary Bat Girl Contest including Access Hollywood’s Maria Menounos; Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure; MLB All-Star Pitchers Brian Wilson, CC Sabathia, John Lackey and Jake Peavy; and MLB Network’s Trenni Kusnierek and Mitch Williams.

Each Honorary Bat Girl will have an opportunity to take part in pre-game activities, be honored during an on-field ceremony and receive pink MLB merchandise and two tickets to their Club’s Mother’s Day celebration game or another home game in May.