Fansided

Khris Davis gave us one of the best moments of the baseball season

By David Salituro

OAKLAND, CA - AUGUST 20: Khris Davis #2 of the Oakland Athletics salutes his teammates while trotting around the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Texas Rangers in the bottom of the third inning at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on August 20, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - AUGUST 20: Khris Davis #2 of the Oakland Athletics salutes his teammates while trotting around the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Texas Rangers in the bottom of the third inning at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on August 20, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Oakland Athletics slugger Khris Davis got some inspiration on from a young fan on Monday, hitting a home run with 10-year-old cancer patient Anthony Slocumb’s autograph on his jersey.

Khris Davis is used to having fans ask for his autograph, but on Monday he got to experience what being on the other side is like.

Davis, star slugger for the Oakland Athletics, met with a group of kids visiting Oakland Coliseum with the Make-A-Wish Foundation before the Athletics game against Texas. One of the kids was 10-year-old Anthony Slocumb. Slocumb is in remission from a rare cancer called Langerhans cell histiocytosis. Davis is his favorite player, so naturally he asked him to sign his jersey.

Davis, however, decided to switch roles with Slocumb and get his autograph, too. With Slocumb’s name inscribed in blue ink on the back of his jersey, Davis crushed a 438-foot homer to left-center field in the third inning of Oakland’s 9-0 win over the Rangers. Rounding the bases, he wasn’t thinking about the playoff implications of the home run or the personal accomplishment. Instead, his mind was on a certain 10-year-old who inspired him before the game.

“There was a lot of emotion,” Davis said. “I just wanted to put a smile on his face and thought maybe it would mean something if I had my jersey signed by him, just to know what that feels like to be in my shoes for a split second.”

“I thought about him around the bases. There’s not a better feeling than hitting a home run, so hopefully he got some excitement and joy from watching that.”

https://twitter.com/Athletics/status/1031746696034889728

The home run is Davis’ 37th of the season, one behind Boston’s J.D. Martinez for the MLB lead. The win also tied Oakland with Houston for the AL West lead. For this one night, however, what was important was putting a smile on the face of a kid who has already shown as much fight in his young life as any pro athlete.

The memory of his hero hitting a home run with his name on his jersey is one that Slocumb will not soon forget.

“I was down there with the other kids and then two other players came down,” Slocumb said to the Associated Press. “So, I was like, ‘You’re my favorite player’ and he was like, ‘Cool.’ I said, ‘Can you sign my jersey’ and then he said, ‘Sure, do you want to sign mine, too.’ And I was like, ‘Sure.’ So we basically signed each other’s jerseys.”

Davis never considered changing his jersey for the game. “I wanted to rock that,” he said. He plans to either keep the jersey or auction it off for charity.

The 30-year-old Athletics DH is well on his way to a third consecutive 40-home run season. He would be just the second player this decade to do so, joining Seattle’s Nelson Cruz. Davis’ 84 home runs the last two seasons is second in the league behind only Giancarlo Stanton.

The Athletics (75-50) have the best record in baseball since June 16, and have erased an 11.5 game deficit to tie Houston for the division lead.

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