This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat publication. To learn the complete publication, click on right here. And subscribe to get it repeatedly 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 totally different genetic issues that had been recognized at a younger age. Matzek supplied a tour of the bullpen and stayed with the household throughout batting observe.
A number of the different occasions included:
March 11Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies had been among the many Braves who welcomed James, a 7-year-old cystic fibrosis affected person, to the crew’s Spring Coaching facility. James acquired a personalised Braves jersey and skilled the joys of taking part in 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 sport towards the Twins.
Might 29Charlie, an 11-year-old leukemia survivor, skilled his want when he received 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 sphere and remained on the sphere throughout batting observe.
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 Youngsters Marketing campaign. Because of the 50/50 raffle held on sport nights and a thriller baseball sale, greater than $236,000 was raised to assist the youngsters who rely 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 acquired complimentary admission, a T-shirt and a pregame celebration within the Youngsters’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 sport towards the Blue Jays.
Spencer Strider and A.J. Minter visited CHOA’s Northside Hospital location that very same week to donate a Nintendo Change to the younger sufferers.
Earlier this month, the Braves introduced plans for Youngsters’s Healthcare of Atlanta Park. The devoted household area, set to open earlier than the 2025 season, will likely 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 prevailing Hope & Will’s Sandlot, which is the place youngsters beforehand had the possibility to take pleasure in batting machines, zip traces and different carnival-like video games.
“A day on the ballpark is without doubt one of the most enjoyable and significant experiences households share, and we had been very cognizant of that once we designed Truist Park,” Braves president and CEO Derek Schiller stated. “Hope & Will’s Sandlot has been one of the 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 Youngsters’s Healthcare of Atlanta, who’re the foremost consultants in pediatric well being, to create a brand new and enhanced area that may accommodate much more households and assist them construct a lifetime of recollections.”
Options of the brand new Youngsters’s Healthcare of Atlanta Park will embody:
“Youngsters’s Healthcare of Atlanta is worked up to resume our partnership with the Braves and proceed our help for households all through Braves Nation,” CHOA chief administrative officer Linda Matzigkeit stated. “Youngsters’s will not be solely the main place for pediatric care, however we’re additionally totally devoted to enhancing the lives of kids in our neighborhood. The brand new Youngsters’s Healthcare of Atlanta Park supplies a fantastic alternative for us to ship on that dedication to be part of children’ lives — each when they’re sick, and when they’re wholesome.”
