Community Corner
Goodman Meets the Mets as Honorary Bat Girl
Cancer survivor is one of 30 winners across Major League Baseball.
Lainie Goodman posed for pictures, pushed the button to raise the apple, spoke with umpires and was the cats meow of Citi Field last Sunday.
The Holtsville resident and Sachem graduate was one of 30 winners of the 2010 Honorary Bat Girl Contest sponsored by the New York Mets, Major League Baseball and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Goodman, 41, was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of cancer in three places and her lymph nodes three years ago. The third-grade teacher underwent intravenous treatments, chemotherapy and radiation for two years and is now cancer free.
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"It was so cool," said Goodman, a lifelong Mets fan. "I did a lot of things behind the scenes. I spoke with Gary Cohen, Howie Rose. The most exciting part was going on the field and giving the umps the lineup card."
Goodman spoke with the umps longer than expected and even tried to use her fan persuasion, telling them to, "make sure the calls go our way today," she said. "They were laughing. It was nice that they were also interested in my story and why I was there."
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Originally scrolling around the Mets website for something, Goodman stumbled upon an add for the Bat Girl Contest. She wrote an essay titled "One Pink Warrior," describing her battle with cancer.
"It revolved around the positive," she said, "how I tried to be positive through the whole thing. I embraced my journey."
Thirty people wearing "One Pink Warrior" tee shirts accompanied Goodman, who started her day off with a visit to CBS's Morning Show. She posed for a photo with David Write and Jeff Francoeur, sat in the dugout, and was interviewed by SNY roving broadcaster Kevin Burkhardt during the third inning.
In the days before Sunday, Goodman was featured on NBC's Today Show, along with San Francisco Giants pitcher Brian Wilson, who she said was very nice.
"He calmed me down," she said. "I didn't know how I was going to be."
Goodman told Wilson she didn't expect to see him in the Sunday's game since he's a closer and would only pitch during a save opportunity, meaning the Mets would be losing. Wilson did pitch and the Giants won, 6-5.
"It's great, whoever came up with the idea to raise awareness for breast cancer. It's unreal, and all the money we raise -- it's outstanding," Alex Cora told Mets.com. "If they decided to use the bat 162 games just for the cause, I'd do it."
Pink bats have become Mother's Day symbols as part of an overall "Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer" initiative. Fans can bid on game-used pink bats, home plates and logo bases and lineup cards. They can also can purchase their own personalized "Mother's Day 2009" pink bats right now for $79.99 apiece at the MLB.com Shop, with $10 from the sale of each one going to Komen.
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