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Kids Opening Day At Comerica Park Hits A Home Run [PHOTOS]

A fitness clinic with the Detroit Tigers training staff at Comerica Park was just the beginning of the fun for nearly 200 kids who took part in the Detroit Tigers' Kids Opening Day Sunday.

For the fourth year in a row, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network were presenting sponsor of the action-packed day, which showcases Blue Cross' commitment to promote healthy, active lifestyles for Michigan children.

In addition to on-field exercises demonstrating how easy it is to incorporate activity into everyday life, the kids enjoyed running the bases after the Tigers' game with the Cleveland Indians.

The youngsters, ages eight to 14, were also treated to a healthy lunch at the ballpark. And a few lucky kids had the honor of announcing the starting line-up, throwing the ceremonial first pitch and taking part in other special activities. To win these opportunities, parents or close relatives submitted an essay of 1,500 characters or less answering the question, "How do you and your child pledge to live a healthy lifestyle this summer?"

Amari White, 10, delivered the first pitch to the mound. His mother, Danielle White, said Amari was very excited, but also nervous with the "whole world" watching him.

"Not only did he get a baseball signed by (pitcher) Kyle Ryan, but one of the other players came by and dropped a baseball in his glove that they'd used for practice that day," White said. "To top it all off, one of his former Little League coaches was attending the game, and sent us a text upon recognizing Amari on the big screen to let us know how proud he was and to congratulate him on a job well done."

Hugo Brodsky, 11, assisted with the lineup exchange and met the umpires and members of the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians coaching staff.

"He said it was awesome to go on the field at Comerica Park and be right in front of the Tigers' dugout," said his mother, Sheri R. Lee. "Because of his recent health problems, Hugo has missed out on so much these last few months, which made this opportunity that much more exciting. He was beaming because he thought he did (Tigers manager) Ausmus' job."

"She loved it. When asked to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10, she gave it a 15 and said she was really excited at the opportunity to meet a Detroit Tiger," said her mother, Rachel Chojnowski. "She also said the day was so great that she only minded a little bit that the Tigers lost."

Blue Cross sponsored the day as part of #MIKidsCan, which encourages kids to adopt healthy habits early in life that are more likely to be carried into adulthood. Over the last 10 years, Blue Cross has given more than $6 million in support of kids' health initiatives across the state, reaching more than 180,000 children. For more information on Blue Cross' ongoing efforts to improve childhood health, visit aHealthierMichigan.org/mikidscan or follow #MIKidsCan on Twitter.

See a photo gallery HERE.

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