Chicago Cubs right-hander Ryan Dempster was tagged with a no-decision in the Cubs 7-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday afternoon.
Dempster left after six innings trailing 2-1, but the Cubs roared back, scoring six runs in the seventh to get the win. Dempster allowed two runs on three hits. He walked five and struck out seven. His record stands at 4-1. His next start was yesterday (Thursday) against the San Diego Padres. A result was not available at press deadline.And Dempster is excelling not just on the field. He's also giving back for the Cubs off the field.
For Saturday's game, Dempster offered 50 tickets to families disrupted by the war in Iraq as a special gift for Mother's Day.
Two years ago, Dempster and his wife Jenny knew they would be able to celebrate his first Father's Day following the birth of their first child, Brady. They felt fortunate, together as a family with Dempster doing something he loved and being paid well for it. They also knew that scores of families would have a hole in their hearts with loved ones stationed in Iraq or elsewhere in the Middle East. They decided to host some 50 family members at Wrigley Field.
"A lot of it was her idea," Dempster said. "Jenny had an uncle who was shot down in Vietnam - quite an amazing story. One of her cousins just came back in December from Iraq. Just talking about it being my first Father's Day, having a baby, what a tough time it would be to be gone. How fortunate we are to be around our family."
The Dempsters arranged for the families to obtain tickets and "Cubs dollars" to purchase food and drinks.
"My belief is I'm very, very proud to be where I'm from, to be Canadian," said Dempster. "I'm very patriotic about my country. But the United States of America has allowed me to have an opportunity that very few people in life experience, and I'm very grateful for that. In a way, even though I'm Canadian, I feel part American, just because I've been here so long and am married to an American woman. I have a lot of respect for the country and what it's allowed me to attain and achieve. For me, I don't believe in war, but I believe in supporting anybody who's over there doing it - because those people are true heroes and they put their life on the line every day to provide us a safe place to live and to be with our families."- With a file from MLB.com
