Baseball Superstar Big Papi keeps his promise and blasts a home run for sick boy

Baseball Superstar Big Papi keeps his promise and blasts a home run for sick boy May 2, 2016

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Don’t you love it when sports stars use their fame to touch the lives of others?  David Ortiz, Red Sox superstar designated hitter is in his last year of baseball, having decided to retire at season’s end.  He’s having the time of his life and hasn’t slowed down one bit through the first 23 games of the season, leaving some fans to wonder if he’s leaving the game a little too early! He’s a fan favorite and might go down in the history of baseball as one of the game’s most popular personalities.  As he’s climbed the ladder to fame, he has always taken time to care for others and has a huge heart for children.

Before last Friday’s game against the Yankees, he and former teammate Kevin Millar sent a video to a five year-old friend, Maverick Schutte who’s in the hospital getting treatment for a congenital heart defect.  Maverick has been in and out of the hospital his entire life. In the pregame video, Big Papi tells Maverick to “keep the faith” and promises the little boy he’ll hit a homerun for him. With the score tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 8th inning, he belts a game winning 2-run homer into the Green Monster seats at Fenway Park.  He later writes on his Facebook page, “That one was for you Maverick, we’ve got your back, stay strong.” How’s that for fulfilling a promise and making the day of a little boy who needs all the encouragement he can get?

This from The Boston Globe:

“I’m crazy about kids. Especially a sick kid, when you see what he’s going through, that situation, I can’t imagine. It’s a good thing when you can put a smile on a kid who is sick.”

Ortiz plans to send Maverick some autographed gear in the coming days. Down the road, there could be a meeting at Fenway Park.

Maverick has survived heart failure and an infection in his heart and soon will have a fifth open-heart procedure.

“It has been a crazy road,” Marti Linnane said. “He’s such a positive kid and full of life. We’re hoping he gets what he wishes for and we go to Fenway. He’s never been to Boston and this is David’s last season. I know he’s going to try his hardest.”

We hope Maverick gets better soon and he also gets a chance to meet his hero before the season ends. And thank you Big Papi for all that you do both inside and outside of baseball.

Here is the video Ortiz sent before the game, promising a HR. Read more and watch the homer that meant the world to a little boy in a hospital bed!

 


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