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MOOSIC — When David Abrams found out he had cancer, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders co-managing owner had friends and family constantly ask what they could do to help.
His answer was simple.
Be at PNC Field on Sept. 19 for the Triple-A National Championship Game.
“I joke, my job is to kiss babies and hug grandmothers because I’m kind of the ambassador, but I haven’t been here the whole season and there’s kind of a reason for that, which is I’ve been diagnosed with cancer,” Abrams said. “The prognosis is good. I have my family here. But we’ve been thinking about how do we take our philanthropy and really make a difference. … I don’t care if you live in Dallas, Pennsylvania, or you live in Greenwich, Connecticut. Show up. Bring 25 people.”
Abrams, who spends most of his time in London and New York, repeated often throughout his 30-minute press conference that his goal for the game was to fill PNC Field up to the brim.
“For me, personally, I’ve kind of said this to our team, this is going to be the biggest crowd in northeast Pennsylvania sports history,” Abrams said. “If there are not 10,000 people in this park, hanging off the rafters and fighting for space in the lawn, I will personally view this as a disappointment.”
The co-owner said one of the toughest parts of dealing with cancer this season has been not being able to be at the ballpark.
It really hit home when Abrams couldn’t go to both the championship ring ceremony on June 2 and Reggie Jackson Bobblehead Night on June 3. When Jackson heard Abrams was in hospital, however, the Yankees great made sure to visit him.
Jackson’s visit started sparking ideas for what Abrams could do for the national championship game, including the opportunity to put personal messages on the scoreboard and the ability to put something permanent in the outfield, similar to the engraved bricks in the sidewalk in the plaza.
“If I was 12 and you would have told me that Reggie Jackson would be walking into my hospital room, I probably wouldn’t believe you,” Abrams said. “The point is, he found out and he wanted to do something.”
Abrams and his team has worked extra hard to partner with a handful of charities this season, including Northeast Radiation Oncology Centers, American Cancer Society, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Coaches vs. Cancer. They have Breast Cancer Awareness Night coming up on Aug. 19.
But Abrams is thinking even bigger for Sept. 19. He wants the Triple-A National Championship Game to be a night to remember.
“We just felt this was our way to give back,” Abrams said. “For the rest of your life and your kids’ lives, they will see something permanent as it relates to you and what impacted you with cancer. If we can do that and have 10,000 people here, that is a huge accomplishment, which dwarfs wins and losses and winning a championship.”