Babe Ruth once promised a young fan suffering from inflammation near his brain that he would go out and hit a home run for him in Game 4 of the 1926 World Series between the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals. Not only did Ruth come through on his promise, but he went out and hit three home runs in a 10-5 Yankees victory.
This past weekend, Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Carlos Santana met a young fan by the name of Anthony Garcia ahead of Saturday’s game against the Miami Marlins. Garcia, 13, was diagnosed with leukemia five months ago and was in attendance for the game as a guest of Go4TheGoal, a childhood cancer foundation who reached out to the Phillies for Anthony. When he arrived he received a custom jersey form Phillies manager Gabe Kapler that featured the No. 41 on the back.
During his time with Santana, the Phillies’ utility man promised the young fan he would hit a home run for him. In the bottom of the fifth inning, this happened.
Santana made sure to deliver on his promise to the youngster as he went out and crushed his 17th home run of the season and finished three-for-four in the Phillies’ 5-3.
"I remembered, and I said, 'Thank you, God,' for letting me do that," Santana said, via Philly.com. "Everything I do, I do from my heart."
As for Anthony and his parents, they couldn’t believe it actually happened.
“We got chills. He almost cried. He had always dreamt about this day and it finally happened.”
This isn’t the first time Santana has delivered on a promise like this one. Back on August 24, 2013, when he was still playing with the Cleveland Indians, Santana promised a young fan by the name of Niko that he would hit a home run for him and he did.
Santana is a man of his word and always stays true to his promises.
(H/T Philly.com)
