Big leaguer with big heart: Touching way Josh Naylor surprised hospice patient at game
CLEVELAND (WJW) — With flowers in hand, the Cleveland Guardians‘ Josh Naylor hit a homerun without ever having to step foot into a batter’s box Wednesday night.
Carolyn Steffens hadn’t had a good day in a while.
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Her daughter Lora, wanted to change that so she reached out to her mom’s favorite team hoping for some help.
“My mom is 85, and she is on hospice care. She loves the Cleveland Guardians, and she loves Josh Naylor. If we get her to the game, would there be a way for her to meet him,” Lora asked the Guardians fan service team.
When the Guardians first baseman caught wind of the request, he quickly agreed.
The only person not to know the plans was Carolyn, who arrived to the ballpark thinking: “Wow, we got here early for a 6:10 first pitch.”
“We are just strolling down underneath the stadium to get to the field, and I don’t think she knew what was going on,” added Lora.
So, when Josh Naylor arrived to meet Carolyn with the bouquet of flowers, a big hug and a coat for her to stay warm, it meant everything.
“I lost it. I was just crying, and my mom was just so surprised,” Lora explained.
When all’s said and done, Naylor will have plenty of memorable moments to look back on in his baseball career.
But there might not be anything Josh can do on a diamond, better than this:
“We heard that he was actually out and bought those flowers on his own,” said Lora.
He’s a big leaguer, with a bigger heart.
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That’s what makes Josh special and that’s why he’ll always be Carolyn’s favorite player.
“Just knowing my mom had a good day, it was something special and something I will never ever forget,” said Lora.
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