Doug Mientkiewicz Swinging for Cancer Awareness

An article I found on the Kansas City Royals team page. More than symbolic: The pink bat resting in first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz's locker stall is more than a marketing gimmick tied to Major League Baseball's breast cancer awareness campaign for Mother's Day. The lumber Mientkiewicz will swing on Sunday is a reminder of his mother's offseason battle against the disease -- and a celebration that she's been declared cancer-free. Janice Mientkiewicz, who lives in Miami, will be at Camden Yards on Sunday, adding to the emotional story line. "She was so strong and she handled it amazing," Mientkiewicz said. "She never was scared and she took everything that happened with the right frame of mind." Mientkiewicz has long been involved in breast cancer awareness. When he played in Minnesota, he and wife Jodi -- a cancer survivor since 2002 -- were involved in the Parker Hughes Cancer Society, visiting with patients and helping to raise funds to battle the disease. "You think your family is invincible until something happens to you," Mientkiewicz said. "This winter, the hardest thing was not knowing [how things would turn out]." On Sunday, he'll get to share that triumph. Mientkiewicz hopes to be able to save one of the specially made bats for his mother.