Why Detroit Tigers' Sawyer-Gipson Long is my favorite athlete — for his off-the-field work

Sawyer Gipson-Long was nervous and excited.

For good reason.

He was about to make his debut for the Detroit Tigers.

As he jogged to the mound in Comerica Park and waved to the crowd, he approached a small, thin boy standing on the rubber. It was Sept.10, a special day because the Tigers were honoring children fighting cancer. A different child battling this hideous disease stood at each position in the field, waiting to meet one of the Tigers.

The boy on the mound had a bald head and wore a yellow cape.

Like a superhero.

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Gipson-Long crouched and looked the boy in the eyes.

His name was Cailen Vela, a 4-year-old from Fruitport. He has a rare oral tumor in his ear and mandible.

“This is my first time out here,” Gipson-Long said.

“Me, too,” Cailen said.

Cailen’s parents — Cody and Aly Vela — were in the Comerica Park stands, absolutely terrified. Because Cailen was usually extremely shy and didn't like crowds — how would he react to this? Would he freak out?

But somehow, Cailen found the courage and strength to be out there.

Cailen exuded calm and confidence, and somehow, that put Gipson-Long at ease.

If this kid wasn’t afraid, this kid who had already been through weeks of chemo and radiation treatments, how could Gipson-Long be afraid to pitch in a baseball game?

They punched fists and Gipson-Long broke into a smile.

Gipson-Long went on to retire the first 10 batters he faced against the Chicago White Sox before allowing a triple in the fourth inning. He finished with five strikeouts and no walks in a 3-2 win — one of the best MLB debuts by any Tiger at Comerica Park.

“It meant so much to us,” Cody, Cailen’s dad, said. “Especially how much time Sawyer spent with him. I mean, he's got a lot more on his mind before pitching in Detroit for the first time. But they talked a long time and took pictures, and we actually messaged Sawyer afterwards just saying thank you for the amount of time that he spent talking to him and that we appreciated it. He replied back saying how much of an inspiration Cailen was and that really meant a lot to us.”

It was the beginning of an impressive string of starts for Gipson-Long, who the Tigers obtained at the 2022 trade deadline for sending Michael Fulmer to the Minnesota Twins.

Gipson-Long pitched in four games in September, getting through five innings every time, while striking out 26 and walking eight. He fully embraced the Tigers' system and changed the way he attacked hitters, altering his pitch shapes and pounding the strike zone.

The results were impressive.

But that’s not the great part of this story.

No. What happened next is heartwarming and inspiring.

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Wanting to make a difference

During the offseason, Gipson-Long sent a text to Jordan Field, the Tigers director of player & alumni relations and asked: How can I get involved in the community? What opportunities are there?

Gipson-Long wants to use baseball as his platform, not his identity. He wants to live a service-filled life.  He wants to make a difference.

Then, his mother, Lili Gipson, sent an email to Field: What can we do as a family?

Gipson-Long comes from a family that is warm, generous and thoughtful; they believe the holidays are a time for giving.

In Field's 21 years with the Tigers, it’s the first time that a player and a mom had made this kind of request.

So Gipson-Long scheduled a trip to Michigan.

Not for a workout with the Tigers.

Not for meetings with the coaching staff.

Nope.

Gipson-Long and his family came specifically to spend the holidays giving back in Detroit.

And he had one request at the top of that list.

To see Cailen again.

Breathing in the light

On Wednesday afternoon, Gipson-Long visited Cailen in Southfield at Kids Kicking Cancer, a wonderful non-profit that teaches children to use martial arts to deal with the pain and stress of fighting a deadly disease.

“What’s up beast?” Gipson-Long said to Cailen. “How’s it going?”

He kneeled on the carpet.

“I brought you some stuff, OK?” he said.

He gave Cailen an Erie Seawolves jersey — Gipson-Long had 14 appearances at Double-A Erie in 2023, posting a 3.74 ERA, 76 strikeouts and 15 walks in 65 innings.

“This is a jersey I wore in the minor leagues this year,” he said. “You like that?”

“Yeah,” Cailen said.

“Green is a sick color, right?” Gipson-Long said. “It’s all yours.”

He handed Cailen a Tigers winter hat.

“Look, it's got mittens, too,” Gipson-Long said.

Cailen giggled. He is a rock star in his own right. He has been through seven weeks of radiation therapy at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak and 46 weeks of chemotherapy. Now, he has entered a new phase of his treatment, facing six months of maintenance chemo.

“That’s for the wintertime,” Cailen said.

“You gonna do karate today?” Gipson-Long asked. “Can I practice with you today? I need some lessons.”

Cailien showed him how to do a punch and power-breathe.

“Breathe in the light,” Cailen said.

“What do I think about when I breathe out?” Gipson-Long asked.

“The darkness,” Cailen said.

“OK,” Gipson-Long said. “Breathe in the light, breathe out the darkness. I like it. It’s sick. I’ve never done that before. It’s so cool. You are a beast.”

The interaction was so natural. So heartwarming. So genuine.

But there’s something else you need to know. This wasn’t a PR event. This wasn’t staged for the media. I requested to go to it only when I happened to find out about it. And I stumbled into the coolest scene, watching Gipson-Long go through a karate class with several kids fighting different illnesses, and afterwards, he signed autographs.

Gipson-Long and his girlfriend, Carly Chulock, handed out several bags of T-shirts, sweatshirts and Tigers winter caps that he had bought at the Tigers store.

They crouched on the carpet, picking up T-shirts. “Here, I think this will fit you,” Chulock said to a child.

“You want a Tigers claw?” Gipson-Long asked. “There’s one left.”

When it was done, Cailen ran into Gipson-Long’s arms and gave him a hug.

A tremendous inspiration and example

That, on its own, was heartwarming and wonderful.

But it was just the start.

On Thursday, Gipson-Long and his family volunteered for four hours at The Children’s Center in Detroit and donated winter clothing. And on Friday, they planned to participate in a holiday party (with some Wings players and Wings and Tigers broadcasters).

“My purpose is spreading the word of the Lord and doing what I do for everybody else,” Gipson-Long said. “If you get in your head that you're doing this for yourself, you start to fail.”

So, Gipson-Long will head to spring training, trying to make the Tigers roster. Trying to help this organization win.

Not for himself.

But for the opportunities it can create.

For the good he can spread. For the message he can send.

“I'm gonna be competing for a spot just like anybody else,” he said. “I feel like I did a really good job of competing while I was out there (in 2023) and hopefully proving that I can stay up here and that's what I need to do again.”

I walked back to my car with one thought: Sawyer Gipson-Long is my new favorite athlete.

In any sport.

Not because of what he has done on the field.

But because of what he did off it.

What a good dude.

Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: A Detroit Tiger, a kid fighting cancer and one heart-melting moment