CHICAGO, IL (April 30, 2008)—On May 7, Major League Baseball (MLB) Umpires Ted Barrett and Lance Barksdale visited with pediatric patients at University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital. Organized by BLUE for Kids, they offered words of encouragement and distributed Build-A-Bear Workshop® stuffed animals to children coping with serious illness. The visit to Phoenix Children’s Hospital was the second of twelve hospital events scheduled by MLB umpires in 2008.

Media Coverage
Umpires bring smiles to sick children
MLB.com


2008 Big League BLUE Reach Photos
Click for photos on our Flickr page

Special thanks from the Umpires to:

• Wendy Pauker and Allison Bell of Phoenix Children's Hospital. You both were incredibly helpful in creating a wonderful experience for everyone.


• Troy Hansen of Bristol-Myers Squibb for taking time out of your day to help create a memorable experience for children coping with serious illness and injury. Big League BLUE Reach presented by Bristol-Myers Squibb. As always, a huge thanks to Peggy Carroll for your role in identifying BMS representatives to assist at each event.


• Participants of the Get Stuffed and Pass It On program who raise donations for stuffed animals distributed at each of the hospital events.