Jose Altuve apparently is a man of his word.
Altuve smashed a home run Thursday on behalf of a young Houston Astros fan who is battling terminal cancer, and it was no after-the-fact dedication. The fan, named Dillon, met Altuve before the game and asked the Astros second baseman to hit a home run for him.
Altuve delivered right away in the first inning.
Although Babe Ruth did something similar for little Johnny Sylvester in the 1926 World Series, Altuve initially was reluctant to follow in The Bambino’s footsteps by making such a pledge.
“He (Dillon) was like, ‘OK, now you’re going to hit a homer,’ ” Altuve said after the game, according to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. “I was like ‘Eh, I hit a homer yesterday, so don’t expect me to hit a homer today, but I don’t want to make you feel bad if I don’t.
“He was like, ‘Yes, you’re going to make it. We’ll see.’ As soon as I hit the home run and I got to second base, I remembered what he said. I really like the kid. He was really happy to be here. I hope God blesses him for what he’s been through right now.”
The Astros lost to the Seattle Mariners 6-3, but nothing could make Altuve and Dillon anything short of winners in this instance.
Thumbnail photo via Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports Images
