Eight-year-old meets Mike Trout after undergoing life-changing eye surgery

The best thing about Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout isn’t that he’s among the very best players in the game today, it’s that he’s also among the most caring, compassionate and giving.

Prior to a recent Angels home game, Trout’s genuine kindness was on display again when he spent much of his day hanging out with eight-year-old Thomas Walkup.

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Walkup, who’s also from Trout’s hometown of Millville, New Jersey, wasn’t in California for a family vacation or to meet up with Trout specifically. He was legally blind due to a condition called “shaky eye syndrome” and traveled there to undergo life-changing surgery.

We’re happy to say Walkup’s vision has improved greatly since undergoing the operation, which was funded in part by the people of Millville and nearby communities.

“He’s doing very well,” former Millville mayor Tom Shannon told the Daily Journal last wek. “The operation went very well. His vision has improved significantly already, and it could improve significantly more.”

It was Shannon who passed along Walkup’s story to Debbie Trout, Mike Trout’s mother, who in turn encouraged her son and the Angels organization to reach out.

“I had known Susan was working really hard getting this together with fundraisers and things,” Shannon said. “So when I found out about it, I told Debbie (Trout) and asked if she heard about it. I told her he’d love to meet Mikey while he’s out there. She took it from there.”

There was no hesitation on Trout or the Angels part, and Walkup’s improving spirits were raised even higher after spending the day at Angel Stadium.

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Thanks to the incredible video above, which was produced by MLB Network, we’re able to learn more about Walkup’s story and his toughness, while witnessing the special time he recently spent with Trout.

The segment originally aired this week on “MLB Tonight.’ If you missed it, we encourage you to check it out.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813