Navs help Lynn woman raise funds to battle cancer

LYNN – The number 27 has a special meaning for Lynn?s Cheryl Matsubara.That?s the number the North Shore Navigators? Matt Rodriguez wears, and she is providing housing for the right-handed pitcher from Ocala, Fla.And 27 is the number of years her mother battled breast cancer before she succumbed to the disease in June.?That?s one of those numbers things … it?s weird,” she says.Matsubara has taken a proactive role in battling breast cancer. She joined the “Pink Angels,” a group dedicated to eradicating the disease, and it was through the organization that she met Navigators general manager Bill Terlecky.?I was at a city meeting, hoping to organize something to run an event at Manning Field last year,” she said. “That?s where I met Bill. And we kind of worked together to put on a pink game last year.”The event went off as planned last July, and it made almost $3,000, she said. The idea is to have Navigators players wear pink jerseys and for the first seven innings, fans can bid on the shirts. Each shirt goes to the highest bidder at the end of the game.?The problem,” she said, “is that we got one of those microbursts and the game got rained out.”And her brief meeting with Terlecky led to her housing a Navigators player this season.?He?s a pretty persuasive guy,” she said. “He talked us into taking a player, so we?re housing Matt.”Matsubara joined the Pink Angels seven years ago and has done fundraising walks with them, and other types of fundraisers as well, “and other things you need to do to raise money to fight this disease. So many people have been affected by it.?Fraser Field is the perfect venue for something like this,” she said. “So is Manning Field. I was trying to get something going last fall with all the teams, as my daughter plays soccer for Classical and is on the boys lacrosse team as well.”Even though she had several meetings with site director John Kasian, the project never came about. She hopes to try again this fall.Matsubara and the Navigators will go pink again Saturday night when the Navigators play the Brockton Rox at Fraser, and “the weather?s going to be perfect, right?” she asked. “I?m just going to keep saying that. The weather?s going to be perfect.”Her pink car, which she has named “Hope,” will accompany her to Fraser Field. However, the vehicle is hors de combat as far as being mobile.?It needs a clutch,” she said. “Last year, I rode it around the field as part of a public service announcement. This year, I can?t drive it, but it?ll have pink ribbons all over it.”