Kids dream about playing in the big leagues. In January, former big leaguer Rob Dromerhauser’s Team Pitch for a Cure traveled with a group of talented students to Legends Field in Tampa , Florida where the New York Yankees practice. Yankee Executive and NY Times best selling author Ray Negron approached Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner and Vice President Felix Lopez with a plan to have twelve underprivileged boys from New York and Long Island area come to Tampa and play baseball on its facilities, they both approved the plan. Dromerhauser and Negron have been friends for years. It was an opportunity for the boys to get a taste of what it is like to be a big leaguer by pairing them up with Major League greats like New York Yankee legends Chris Chambliss, Bucky Dent, Mickey Rivers, Mike Torres, and Ron Bloomberg. They learned pitching, hitting, and fielding tips from the Pro’s. As a special treat the boys also began to understand the dynamics of body mechanics, warm up skills, and conditioning from 21st Century Wellness Academy, Pro Sports Trainer Robert Malichio whose practice in Bay Shore, NY is visited by Pro athletes such as Devalle Ellis, a Free Agent Wide Receiver, and New Orleans Saints Super Bowl Wide Receiver Marques Colston, and Dallas Cowboys Lineman, Steven Bowens. Yankee Magazine covered the event.

The fundamentals of the game and the lessons learned by the boys is that being part of this type of training is a special opportunity to reflect on the gifts we are given by others. Those same gifts are the mission of Pitch for a Cure, to help children with juvenile Diabetes.

PFC President Rob Dromerhauser’s goal this year is to bring MLB into the circle of success as select pitchers from the big leagues will pitch to strike out juvenile diabetes by raising awareness and funds sponsored by the Diabetes Research Institute and AFL -CIO labor unions who will donate to PFC for every strike out they make this upcoming season.

The final leg of the journey to Tampa ended with an unforgettable memory as the boys visited future Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar’s home— priceless! They got to see Alomar’s Gold Gloves and other awards he gained in his storied career.