Page 40 - FOP August 2019 Magazine

A Home Run
CPD-CFD baseball game goes beyond the field for a truly winning night
n BY DAN CAMPANA
n PHOTOS BY H. RICK BAMMAN
Mustered along the first-base line at Guaranteed Rate Field, the CPD Finest players listened intently during one final pregame meeting.
This roll call had nothing to do with pitching or hitting. Instead, it focused on the meaning behind the 20th annual CPD-CFD charity baseball game.
“As long as we’re alive, we’re here for you guys,” Frank Gross of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation (CPMF) said, as he delivered a poignant pep talk that hit the mark like a pitcher who paints the corners for strikes.
The message of support for CPMF and Gold Star Families carried throughout the warm July night among the 40-mem- ber-plus CPD team, which plays and raises money for those lost or severely injured in the line of duty.
A 21-4 win by the Finest provided a good show for fans of the police. But the night’s greater goal was on the mind of every CPD player who wore the team’s throwback jerseys.
Finest Manager Vince Macias puts it into perspective for his team every year. But with three more Chicago officers – as well as three Illinois State Police troopers – having been lost in the line of duty since the 2018 contest, the milestone game further accentuated what the team’s mis- sion has always been about.
“First and foremost, over 20 years, we’ve had 35 officers who have passed away. The most personal point I want them to understand is that we’re here for that reason,” Macias said. “At any point in time, it could be any one of us. We’re just trying to stress that if anything cat- astrophic were to happen, we’re there.”
The pregame ceremonies reflected the never-forget spirit. The stadium score- board rotated photos of police officers and firefighters who have died since the game’s inception two decades ago. Gold Star Families filled prime seats behind home plate, where they mingled with each other and posed for pictures with the likes of White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams, who stopped by to greet
40 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ AUGUST 2019
them.
The roar of motorcycles drew the
night’s first big pop from the crowd when members of the Warriors’ Watch rode through the centerfield wall to encircle the outfield at the start of pregame fes- tivities.
Donning Finest jerseys with their loved ones’ name and badge number, relatives of Officers Conrad Gary and Eduardo Marmolejo threw out ceremonial first pitches. CPD’s most talented voice, Of- ficer Kenyatta Gaines, teamed up with a CFD paramedic for a moving version of
“The Star-Spangled Banner.” The CPD helicopter flyover brought another roar from the crowd.
Then, it was time for baseball.
The Finest took advantage of CFD mis- cues to jump out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Kyle Huber struck the big blow with a two-run double.
CPD didn’t slow down from there, building up a 10-2 lead after four innings. Shawn Moy scorched a triple to the left-center gap that started a third-in- ning rally capped off by Huber’s second run-scoring double of the night.