MLB Umpires Fieldin Culbreth, Gary Cederstrom, Jim Reynolds, and Tim Timmons welcome Thomas, Ryan, Daniel, and James to Chase Field for a Diamondbacks game. Through the UMPS CARE Charities BLUE Crew Tickets program, umpires provide VIP game experiences for children awaiting adoption and at-risk youth in mentoring programs.

MLB Umpires recognize the direct and lasting impact that adult mentors have in the lives of young people. Big Brothers Big Sisters is one of the most effective youth mentoring organizations in the United States. About Big Brothers Big Sisters

A special thanks to Tara Trzyniski, Amy Buchan and the entire Diamondbacks community relations staff for support of BLUE Crew Tickets. See how the Diamondbacks are making a difference in the community. Diamondbacks Community Overview

GUEST COMMENT (Daniel and James)

We want to thank Major League umpires for the chance to participate at the Dodgers/D-Backs baseball game on 07/19/2008. Thank you to Tara Trzinski for the meet-and-greet. It was really cool.

Attached is a photo of James and I with our host umpire, Fieldin Culbreth. Thank you Mr. Culbreth for being a wonderful host. It was very nice to meet you in person after watching so many umpires do their job on the field.

Labels: ari, bbbs, cederstrom, crew, culbreth, mlb, reynolds, timmons

MLB Umpires Fieldin Culbreth, Gary Cederstrom, Jim Reynolds, and Tim Timmons welcome Thomas, Ryan, Daniel, and James to Chase Field for a Diamondbacks game. Through the UMPS CARE Charities BLUE Crew Tickets program, umpires provide VIP game experiences for children awaiting adoption and at-risk youth in mentoring programs.

MLB Umpires recognize the direct and lasting impact that adult mentors have in the lives of young people. Big Brothers Big Sisters is one of the most effective youth mentoring organizations in the United States. About Big Brothers Big Sisters

A special thanks to Tara Trzyniski, Amy Buchan and the entire Diamondbacks community relations staff for support of BLUE Crew Tickets. See how the Diamondbacks are making a difference in the community. Diamondbacks Community Overview

GUEST COMMENT (Thomas)

I just wanted to take a moment to thank Fieldin Culbreth and the Arizona Diamondbacks for making BLUE Crew Tickets possible here in Arizona. My 'Little Brother' (Ryan) was thrilled with the opportunity to go 'behind-the-scenes' for a meeting with Mr. Culbreth and to sit in the great location you had picked out for us.

Your program is an incredible asset for Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Ryan and I were both extremely honored to be one of the first matches to benefit from the program in Arizona. Ryan is a huge fan of MLB, and it was great for him to meet the 'men in blue' on a personal level. To top it off, the D-Backs won a close one in the 9th!!

Labels: ari, bbbs, cederstrom, crew, culbreth, mlb, reynolds, timmons

PHOENIX, AZ (April 22, 2008)-On April 29, Major League Baseball (MLB) Umpires Laz Diaz, Wally Bell, and Mike Winters visited with pediatric patients at Phoenix 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 first of twelve hospital events scheduled by MLB umpires in 2008.

Media Coverage
Umpires give kids a 'bear'-y happy day
By Mark Thoma / MLB.com


Event Photos
Click for photos on our Flickr page

Comments
Comments from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) employee Troy Hansen who participated with the umpires. Troy shared these words in a letter to fellow BMS representatives and we think it summarizes the event rather well.

Hello John and Peggy:

I wanted to tell you of my experience this past Tuesday at the Phoenix Children's Hospital. I was able to join Samuel Dearth who represents BLUE for Kids, as well as three Major League umpires. With the help, in part from a BMS grant, BLUE for Kids secured Build-a-Bear stuffed animals for children who were residents at the hospital.

MLB Umpires Laz Diaz, Mike Winters, Wally Bell and I were able to visit several floors of the hospital and bring some smiles to the children. It was really an awesome experience to see these kids light up when they were handed a stuffed animal. They then got to select from several choices an outfit to go on the animal. If even for just a brief moment, these children felt good and whatever illness or pain they were subjected to, drifted away in the softness of a new friend. Their eyes told the story and the expressions on their faces will be engraved upon my mind for a very long time. The umpires were very compassionate and caring with the children. And although in their profession these umpires need to be tough and firm, they were truly gentle giants.

I am so grateful for this opportunity. It makes me count my blessings every day. Thanks for allowing me to participate. I had a great time. Thanks Peggy and John. And my thanks go out to Samuel. He did an outstanding job and kept us organized and on track. - Troy Hansen

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.


• John Ralph, Christie Cowles, and Mark Thoma of MLB.com for your time and interest in sharing such a wonderful story with MLB.com viewers.


• Mark McClune of FSN Arizona for your time and interest in sharing this story with Fox Sports Net viewers.

Labels: ari, bell, bms, comer, diaz, mlb, reach, winters