Brett Phillips is one of those ball players that a fan base can easily fall in love with. As a career .202 hitter, he’s not the star player, but he’s a glue guy. Most importantly, the Tampa Bay Rays outfielder (and sometimes pitcher) is fun and full of energy. That’s why Chloe Grimes, an eight-year-old Rays fan, calls him her favorite player in MLB. Chloe is battling cancer for the second time in her young life, and she was at the A’s-Rays game at Tropicana Field on Tuesday to throw out the first pitch to her favorite player and deliver him some gifts.
While Chloe was being interviewed on the Bally Sports broadcast in the bottom of the third inning, and Phillips was wearing her bracelet at the plate, the Rays outfielder delivered a gift of his own, when he drilled a home run into the right field seats. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out. I dare you not to cry!
Baseball is fun and sometimes also magical 😍🥰
Don't miss this special interview with 8 year old softball player, Chloe Grimes, who's currently in her 2nd battle with cancer. pic.twitter.com/xvPWdip30R
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) April 13, 2022
If you needed something to lift your spirits this morning, that video did the trick. Check out Phillips getting choked up talking about the moment and the meeting he had with Chloe in the postgame interview:
"𝘾𝙝𝙡𝙤𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣!"
Brett Phillips finds out about the magical moment that happened when Chloe was being interviewed while he hit a home run! @RaysBaseball #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/qyVy2ccumb
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) April 13, 2022
That’s just friggin’ awesome. Here are some more tweets about the gifts that Chloe gave Phillips and a look at his reaction when he watched the interview that featured his third-inning home run:
Brett shows off some of the presents Chloe gave him before the game including a signed game ball, a wristband, a note, a picture and more.
“You have a young girl battling cancer for the second time and she is smiling. I hope she comes out of this stronger. I know she will.” pic.twitter.com/7CTsp58cpg
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) April 13, 2022
I told Brett Phillips that he made Chloe’s day and he said “She made my day!”
He made sure I got the “Rally for Chloe” part of the wristband she gave him. #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/GpntHrXSk6
— Kailey Mizelle (@KaileyMizelle) April 13, 2022
Brett Phillips reaction seeing his homer while Chloe was being interviewed live! 🥲 pic.twitter.com/q53D6toCJg
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) April 13, 2022