MLB observes Mother’s Day every year with an outburst of pink gear and a campaign to raise awareness and funding for breast cancer initiatives.

The celebration of Mother’s Day by MLB teams has been taking place since 2006. At first, not all players embraced the pink bats, including former Padre Geoff Blum who was quoted as saying “I love my mother but I will never swing a pink bat, and she understands.”

Fortunately, attitudes have evolved over the years, and we now have superstars such as Fernando Tatis Jr. wearing something pink in almost every game as a nod to his mother’s favorite color.

Pitching: Joe Musgrove

Diane Musgrove has been described as the emotional rock of the Musgrove family. In 2008, when Joe was 15 years old, his father Mark was stricken with Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune disorder. Mark, a former police officer and private detective, was essentially paralyzed from the neck down for nearly two years (he has since mostly recovered).

My mom was trying to run the coffeeshop, play taxi for me, get me to and from school and practice, still be home every night to cook dinner for us kids, then bring the whole pot down to the hospital, and we’d sit in the hospital and would eat with my dad … I can’t explain how much she did for us and continues to do for us.

_{Joe Musgrove interview, 5/8/20}

Catching: Victor Caratini

Victor Caratini grew up in Coamo, Puerto Rico. He went to the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy as a youth but somehow eluded the attention of MLB scouts.

I made the tough decision to leave my motherland of Puerto Rico by myself to chase my lifelong dream of studying and playing baseball in the United States.

_{Victor Caratini interview, 3/26/13}

Caratini’s decision to leave Puerto Rico for an unknown future in baseball was all the more difficult because of his close family. He said he could always spot his mother in the bleachers cheering for him and missed her presence once he left. On his Instagram post, Caratini captioned the above picture: con la mejor (with the best).

1B: Eric Hosmer

Ileana Hosmer was born in Havana, Cuba. Her family came to the United States to escape Fidel Castro’s regime. They settled in Pittsburgh, and Ileana became a nurse.

As I’ve gotten older, I understand more about what she went through in Cuba. When we were kids, we didn’t understand.

I understand better the adversity she went through, what life was like back then in Havana. But every day, her demeanor was the same, whether her day was good or bad, she’s always happy to see us. She made it like it was the best day of her life.

_{Eric Hosmer interview, 3/11/17}

2B: Jake Cronenworth

Jake Cronenworth hails from St. Clair, Michigan. He was raised by his father Charles and his grandparents after his mother Anne died from an aggressive brain tumor when Jake was just four years old.

His grandmother Lorraine’s dedication to Jake’s baseball journey was unmatched. He remembers brutally cold weather games played in snow flurries during his college ball days at the University of Michigan.

I’d look up, and she’d be the only one in the stands with blankets on and in the front row like it was 70 degrees and sunny out.

My grandmother was basically mine and my brother’s mom our whole life. If anybody lived one of the most selfless lives that I’ve ever seen, it was her.

_{Jake Cronenworth interview, 9/1/20}

Lorraine (pictured above with Jake) passed away in 2018.

3B: Manny Machado

Manny’s mother, Rosa Nunez, raised him in Miami as a single parent along with help from his grandfather and uncle.

In 2018, ESPN arranged for Manny to write a Mother’s Day letter to Rosa.

Mom.

I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me. Not only were you the best mother but you were the father all at the same time.

I can never repay you for all of the sacrifices you made and for working multiple jobs to help support my dreams and to support our family.

I am thankful for who you are.

_{Manny Machado on ESPN (excerpts), 5/9/18}

When Manny got his signing bonus with the Orioles in 2010, one of the first things he did was to buy his mother a house.

SS: Fernando Tatis Jr.

Fernando and his mother Maria share a special bond. She was the first person he called when he found out that he made the Padres’ opening day roster in 2019 instead of starting the year in Triple-A.

He’s told me that when he wears pink, he knows I’m right by his side.

He has loved baseball since he was a little boy. That was not something that was pushed on him. He has always known that baseball is what he wanted to do.

For me to to be able to see my son do the thing he loves most is amazing and makes me happy.

_{Interview with Maria Tatis, 5/14/19}

LF: Tommy Pham

Tommy Pham was born in Las Vegas on March 8, 1988, to Tawana, aged 17, and Anhtuan, aged 19. His father was incarcerated at the time and for most of Tommy’s life. Tawana’s parents assisted in raising Tommy and his twin sister Brittney.

I’m not your typical baseball player. Most of these baseball players, they grew up in a two-parent household where their dad went out and played catch with ‘em, and stuff like that. I’m the complete opposite. My dad’s been in prison my whole life. If I wanted to play catch, I had to play catch with a brick wall with a tennis ball. If I wanted to work on my hitting, I had to throw a whiffle ball up and hit by myself.

My mom told me: “The odds are against you.” And I’ll never forget this, she said: “You’re a black man, your father is in prison, the odds say you’re going to be in prison.“

So, she goes, “what are you going to do about it?“

_{Tommy Pham interview, 3/2/19}

CF: Trent Grisham

As a top prospect in high school and a first round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015, he was known as Trent Clark. But in 2017, Trent legally changed his last name to Grisham to honor the single mom, Michelle, who raised him in a suburb of Forth Worth, Texas.

The name has always been a big deal to me.

My mom raised me and has been there for me through everything.

She’s the greatest person on earth, and I wanted to honor her for all that she’s done for me.

_{Trent Grisham interview, 11/30/17}

RF: Wil Myers

Wil Myers was raised in Thomasville, North Carolina. His father Eric is a former Marine and car salesman. His mother Pam is an accountant.

Wil credits his mother for his natural athleticism (she played four sports in high school). Pam also insisted on good sportsmanship from Wil. During a game in middle school, Wil slammed his helmet to the ground after making an out. He returned to the dugout to find his mother removing his bag from the hook on the fence.

“Wil said, ‘Momma, what are you doing?’

I said ‘Wil, you don’t throw your helmet. You’re not playing like that. You represent me and your daddy. You represent this family. We don’t do that.’“

A decade later, after being ejected for arguing balls and strikes in a minor league game, Wil knew exactly what the post-game text from his mother meant: “I can be on the next plane and take your bag off the fence.”

_{Pam Myers interview, 2/11/17}