CHARACTER COUNTS

Padres third baseman starts initiative to honor local heroes

May 19, 2013, 5:08 PM | Updated: 5:26 pm

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Padres third baseman Chase Headley is off to another great start in 2013, but his greatest impact this season might be felt off the field in the San Diego community.

According to MLB.com, the 2012 Silver Slugger winner visited patients Friday at the Peckham Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders unit inside Rady Children’s Hospital.

For Headley, it was just the start of an initiative he and his wife, Casey, are set to unveil before the Padres’ game Sunday.

In partnership with Rady Children’s Hospital, ‘Headley’s Heroes’ will seek to identify and honor local heroes in the San Diego community.

Headley’s first honoree Sunday will be 4-year-old leukemia patient Boyd Stockmeyer.

“You go there to help them, but they end up helping you,” Headley said of his initiative Friday. “They’re fighting and courageous and they’re still in great moods.”

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