I had the pleasure of covering the Challengers event at Angel Stadium Saturday and met a ton of great parents, grandparents and kids. It seemed like a genuinely joyful afternoon for a group of people who have difficult lives grappling with severe disabilities.
Today, I got an e-mail from another parent, who volunteers as an assistant coach for one of the teams. Her name is Janet Du Bry and she wrote to praise former Angels great Bobby Grich, who kept his cool when an autistic kid named Noah began to get a little antsy when the photographer was lining up the team photo.
So there we were, trying to be still in the hot and humid weather, all stuck together in sardine fashion, camera down and there goes my player. He begins to have problems instantly wanting to run, taking off his hat, throwing it on the ground, etc. I did my best to soothe him and keep him in place.
In perfect teammate fashion, Bobby Grich chimed in and began counting with me and this player and did his best to help keep the boy happy. I couldn’t believe what I was experiencing. Because it was so late in the day, Bobby could have done what any other celebrity would do, walk off, take a break, sigh impatiently and a million other things.
Instead, he stayed right there, tried to help keep this overwhelmed player happy and in place and exhibited such kindness, patience and compassion.
