How Adam Eaton of the White Sox made a 6-year-old blind fan’s day
CHANDLER, Ariz. — Like they do every day, autograph seekers lined up along the chain-link fence between the Chicago White Sox’s clubhouse and their practice fields. And like he does most every day, Adam Eaton, the White Sox outfielder, stopped Tuesday to sign his name on some baseballs.
Eager fans yelled his name, trying to catch his eye. But off in the corner, a 6-year-old boy named Trevor King grabbed Eaton’s attention.
“Mr. Eaton,” he said, in that type of cute kid voices that melts your heart.
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So Eaton jogged over. When he looked at Trevor, he saw a young boy who was born blind because his eyes never developed in the womb. He wore a White Sox T-shirt, a worthwhile choice for his first trip to MLB spring training.
“How are you?” Eaton said, as he reached down to shake Trevor’s hand. Matt King, Trevor’s dad, turned his son a bit and helped the youngster’s hand connect with Eaton’s. At that moment, a bond was formed — even if for only a few minutes that existed outside of Eaton’s daily baseball routine.
Eaton signed a baseball, then agreed to take a photo, ut he didn’t stop there. He reached over the fence, grabbed Trevor and lifted him onto the player’s walkway. If they were going to take a picture together, they were going to take a good one. Once Trevor was back with his family, Eaton dug into his equipment back and pulled out a bat. That belonged to Trevor now.
“You can have that too,” Eaton said, handing him a pair of batting gloves.
It was a tender moment and one that’s not uncommon for Eaton, who is one of baseball’s most inviting players — whether it’s engaging fans on social media, playing video games online fans or visiting sick kids in the hospital.
Why? Because he knows what it’s like to be a kid and look up to ballplayers.
“You always have to give back to those kids because at one point or another, you were that kid,” Eaton said after the encounter. “I try to make it special for them, something they’ll remember, because I know I wanted that to happen when I was a kid.”
After Eaton trotted off, after making a couple of days, the Kings were still beaming, especially Trevor’s dad, Matt.
“He didn’t have to stop and do that,” Matt King said. “But out of the kindness of his heart he did. And it’s appreciated.”
The Kings are from Yucaipa, Calif., where Trevor is in kindergarten, learning to read and write with braille. He’s been walking with a cane since he was 3. His parents have come to spring training for six or seven years, but this was Trevor’s first trip and it was the first time Matt King had ever seen such a gesture from an MLB player.
“I just wanted to give [Trevor] the experience of meeting some big-league players and introducing him to the game of baseball,” King says.
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Trevor says he’s already a baseball fan. There are challenges, since he can’t see, but he listens to the games.
“We try to teach him the sound of the crack of the bat and the slap of the glove,” King says. “He listens for those. I think, Trevor, his favorite part is the music in between innings …”
“No, no,” Trevor interrupts.
“What’s your favorite party then?”
“My favorite part is when people win the game.”
He pauses for a second, long enough to remind you that despite the money and the fame and the high stakes, baseball is still at its best when it’s making a 6-year-old smile. Moments like this — and players like Eaton — are proof of that.
“I hope,” Trevor continues, “the White Sox win.”
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
