On Monday night, the Athletics moved into a tie for first place with the Houston Astros in the AL West thanks to a 9-0 drubbing of the Texas Rangers in Oakland.
However, that lopsided win was not the biggest victory of the night.
The big winner of the evening was 10-year-old Anthony Slocumb, a sixth-grader who was at the ballpark with a group from the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Greater Bay Area chapter.
Slocumb, who has a rare cancer called Langerhans cell histiocytosis, signed his name on the jersey of A’s hitter Khris Davis before the game began. Then, when the A’s slugger stepped up to the plate in the third inning, he clubbed his 37th home run with Slocumb’s name on his back.
This time, Khris gets the souvenir. 💚💛#RootedInOakland pic.twitter.com/cbaZkfSi6O
— Oakland Athletics (@Athletics) August 21, 2018
1. Khris gets his jersey signed by his biggest fan.
2. Khris hits a ⚾️ a very, very long way.#RootedInOakland pic.twitter.com/flqdLq98Ov
— Oakland Athletics (@Athletics) August 21, 2018
“I thought about him around the bases. There’s not a better feeling than hitting a home run, so hopefully he got some excitement and joy from watching that,” Davis said. “They’re really the stars. He was excited. I could tell that he was just happy to be here and wanted to have some fun. It was amazing, the look on his face. ”
10-year-old Anthony Slocumb asked Khris Davis for an autograph.
The A's slugger asked for one back, then hit a mighty home run.
More from @janiemccap: https://t.co/DIRon6S1kH pic.twitter.com/YMHjuLcAnr
— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) August 21, 2018
The ball Davis hit traveled nearly 440 feet, making the blast that much more special.
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