As part of a larger event with MLB’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (R.B.I) program, the Chicago Cubs partnered with Starwood Preferred Guest and American Airlines to fly a Chicago-based junior all-star team out to Arizona.
The trip was a surprise to the team, who were told by Anthony Rizzo via Skype that they’d be joining the Cubs on the back fields for practice and at Sloan Park for an exhibition game. Although the trip was ultimately a huge success, it didn’t come without it’s own tiny bit of stress … at least for one 15-year-old.
Catcher Jose Alvarado showed up to Mesa with no catchers mitt, because his was broken during a recent bullpen session and he didn’t have time to buy a new one. Luckily, Kyle Schwarber caught wind of the problem and offered his own, personal catching glove for the game. Alvarado, overwhelmed with gratitude and respect, used the “perfectly-broken-in” glove in his game and returned it to Schwarber, thereafter.
“It’s such a beautiful glove,” Alvarado told Mike Oz of Yahoo Sports.
But the story doesn’t end there. Later on, Schwarber found Alvarado once again, brought him into the Cubs clubhouse and handed him a brand new black catcher’s glove with Schwarber’s name printed on the back.
For his part, Schwarber just sees it as doing “whatever you can do to give it back,” but to Alvarado, I’m sure, it’s much more meaningful then that. “It’s amazing, Alvarado said via Oz, “that he handed me a glove twice today.”
Good work, Mr. Schwarber. Good work.
Picture via @MBDChicago