“Baseball is a game for fathers and sons,” someone once said.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw learned that again tonight when he rose to leave his All-Star Game press conference and a member of the media told him, “Clayton, I think there’s a kid who’s trying to ask you [something].”
“Oh, dude, sorry,” Kershaw said as 10-year-old Blake Grice approached him. “Whatcha got?”
Grice, who according to Fox11’s Geraud Moncuré, got into the press conference because he “has a media Instragram,” approached the Dodgers legend and told him a story about his grandfather, Graham, who died from brain cancer seven years ago.
In front of the assembled media, Grice told Kershaw that when his grandpa was sick, he made a bucket list with his two grandchildren of everything they were going to do together once he beat cancer: go to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, meet Vin Scully.
It also included meeting Kershaw. But a week after they wrote the list out, Graham passed away. Since then, Grice told Kershaw, he his family have tried to do everything on the list.
“My grandpa loved you,” Blake told Kershaw as he fought back tears. “He watched the 1988 [World] Series and he wanted to meet you and Vin Scully one day. So this moment is important to me because I’m meeting you for him.”
At that point Kershaw — who has four children, three of them boys — came out from behind the podium and said, “Come here, dude, great to meet you,” giving Grice a hug as he did so. “Thanks for telling me. That took a lot of courage to tell me that. Great to meet you. Your granddad sounded like an awesome guy. Thanks for coming up.”
After they talked for a bit and took a picture, Grice gave Kershaw a big hug and then ran back to his father, who was waiting for him in the back of the room.
Watch it below.
Clayton Kershaw thought his press conference was over when he was surprised by a 10-year-old.
The child’s grandfather made a bucket list. On that list: meet Clayton Kershaw. That never happened. He died of cancer. But today Blake Grice met Kershaw. He feels his pappy with him. pic.twitter.com/K5KGcd5ozO
— Steve Saldivar (@stevesaldivar) July 20, 2022