DETROIT -- Shelly Rathbun faced 11 surgeries, 10 rounds of chemotherapy and seven weeks of radiation treatment after she was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in February 2011. The Tigers began their run of four consecutive American League Central titles that year. She credits the latter with helping her get through the former, becoming a fan of Justin Verlander, Brandon Inge and Ian Kinsler.
"It was a good distraction," she said. "I used to watch Tigers games during chemo. We came here several times. It was great."
Never did she imagine during that time that she would be on the mound one Mother's Day, throwing out a ceremonial first pitch as the Honorary Bat Girl while about 500 cancer survivors watched, all wearing pink.