Joey Votto gives HR bat to 6-year-old fan battling cancer
CINCINNATI — Reds fans won’t soon forget Joey Votto’s 34th home run of the season in 2017.
The Reds first baseman hit the homer off New York Mets reliever Jeurys Familia.
The fact that the home run gave the Reds a 5-2 lead paled in comparison to the light in the eyes and smile of a 6-year-old fan as Votto handed him his home-run bat and jersey.
Walter Herbert, nicknamed “Superbubz” by his friends and family, is fighting stage 4 neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer. Chive Charities, an organization dedicated to helping individuals with rare medical conditions, helped the Herbert family meet Votto at the Reds clubhouse the week before the home run.
Herbert’s father, Wally Herbert, thought Votto might say hello to his son as he walked by the stands Thursday. When Votto came over for a high five and then gifted him the bat and jersey, “I kind of lost it, personally,” the elder Herbert said.
The younger Walter Herbert had practiced with FC Cincinnati earlier in the day, also courtesy of Chive. His father said moments like these help buoy his son through cancer treatments and other less rosy experiences.
“When the bad days happen, this gives us something to talk about to Bubz,” he said. “What (Votto) did for Bubz was amazing. I was tearing up. You can’t have a better day than we had today.”
Votto declined to comment on his participation, but when told that the family was thrilled, he said, “That’s what’s important.”
Sources:
- https://youtu.be/KIjkxPi7_pA
- https://www.wcpo.com/sports/baseball/reds/joey-votto-gives-hr-bat-to-6-year-old-fan-with-cancer
- https://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/mlb/joey-votto-homerun-bat-boy-with-cancer-1.4271031
- https://twitter.com/RedsPR/status/903331368222023680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E903331368222023680%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_
- https://us-east-2.console.aws.amazon.com/polly/home/SynthesizeSpeech
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