Shohei Ohtani may be the Dodgers’ biggest star, but he and his teammates were outshined ahead of the Sept. 9 game against the Chicago Cubs, when 16 survivors of pediatric cancers took the field at Dodger Stadium.
Major League Baseball has recognized Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September for the past nine years, with teams across the league creating special events for children and health care providers in their communities. The Dodgers’ 2024 celebration was its biggest yet, team organizers said, spanning two separate events and involving multiple UCLA Health pediatric oncology patients.
Keaton, 14, who completed treatment for leukemia at UCLA Health in 2023, was excited about the chance to get an autographed baseball at the game. Wearing a Dodgers ballcap and Ohtani shirt, he took the field alongside patients ranging in age from 6 to 16, some in wheelchairs, still receiving treatment.
Twelve-year-old Bodhi Bennett, who’s doing well after being treated at UCLA Health for Burkitt lymphoma, is a catcher on his Little League team in Mammoth Lakes. But this was his first trip to Dodger Stadium. As part of the celebration, he got to run the bases and high-five members of the Cubs and Dodgers.
“To have the privilege to be able to be here and acknowledge kids like Bodhi who’ve been through so much, it’s such a treat,” said his mother, Shannon Bennett. “And then, of course, every 12-year-old boy’s dream is to hang out with baseball players.”
Raising awareness of childhood cancers
In previous years, the Dodgers organization recognized physicians and nurses who care for children with cancer. Sept. 9 was also Nurses’ Night at Dodger Stadium, and four UCLA Health oncology nurses were honored on the field.
But this year, the team also wanted to shine a spotlight on the kids themselves, Dodgers representatives said. The aim was to create an unforgettable night for the families.
Though much of the excitement happened at the game, the observance of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month began several weeks earlier, when the Dodgers hosted an art workshop for pediatric patients and their families. Held at the Stadium Club, an art instructor showed participants how to draw a portrait, and each child was assigned to a specific player. Pitcher Gavin Stone mingled with the kids at the event, including Keaton, who drew the pitcher’s portrait.
The drawings of the players were shown on the big screen at the Sept. 9 game, as each player came to bat.
Other drawings the children made were printed on T-shirts that the players wore during batting practice. Many of the kids also wore the art-covered tees when taking the field.
Eight-year-old Harmon Jones was one of them, slipping the shirt over the Dodgers jersey he’d worn to the game. Harmon was treated at UCLA Health for rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of the soft tissue. Such a diagnosis affects the whole family, his mother, Heather Jones, said, so getting to bring Harmon and his brother, Winston, to Dodger Stadium for a special day was “like a dream come true.”
Dozens of parents and family members gathered near the field to watch the children’s adventure, which included running the bases and high-fiving players, standing alongside the players during the national anthem, following them out to their positions in the field to get baseballs autographed, and saying the classic game-opening line: “It’s time for Dodger baseball.”
Angela Unayan, 15, who is recovering from bone cancer, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Many in the crowd rose to their feet to cheer on the children. As the kids waved to fans before taking their seats, the ballpark announcer said over the loudspeaker, “You’re an inspiration to us all.”
