Major League Baseball Umpire John Tumpane brings a smile to the face to this young patient at Phoenix Children’s Hospital (Photo by Captured Moments)

For 20 years, baseball’s men in blue are giving back to communities across the country. Umpires, along with UMPS CARE Charities volunteers, have taken time out to hand deliver Build-A-Bear® furry friends, outfits, baseball-themed activity books and more to kids undergoing medical treatment at pediatric hospitals across the country and in Canada. This year, MLB Umpires made a milestone delivery as they handed a Build-A-Bear® to the 25,000th patient in program history!

Scroll down on this webpage to see photo galleries from visits from this past year! Spoiler alert – lots of smiles! 

(L to R) Major League Baseball Umpires Dan Merzel, Mark Ripperger and Dan Bellino deliver a Build-A-Bear to the 25,000th patient in UMPS CARE program history during a visit at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. (Photo by Jill Farrar)