After a rogue pitch, an Oklahoma batter comforts the Texas East pitcher to reassure him that he’s ok
In a recent Little League World Series Southwest Region Tournament game, Oklahoma and Texas East teams went head to head, trying to get a shot at World Series glory.
Just like the pros, sometimes a pitcher can lose control of the ball which ends up hitting a batter. In this game, Texas pitcher Kaiden Shelton hit Oklahoma batter Isaiah Jarvis in the head with a pitch right under the left ear flap. Jarvis’ helmet flew off and he fell to the ground which immediately made Shelton worry he had injured the batter.
Thankfully, Jarvis was ok and took his place at first base. But when he saw that Shelton was struggling, he tossed his helmet, called timeout and trotted over to the pitcher in an act that shows just how emotionally intelligent our kids are.
"Hey, you're doing just great"
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) August 9, 2022
Oklahoma little leaguer gets hit in the head and then comforts the pitcher who is shaken up afterward pic.twitter.com/hYYLiy511K
Normally, batters are none too pleased when they get beaned with a pitch so when Shelton saw Jarvis approaching, he braced himself. “I thought he was really hurt, but when he started walking up to me… it looked like he was better, but I thought he was going to throw a punch or something like that,” he tells Good Morning America.
“Hey, you’re doing just great,” Jarvis tells Shelton in the video. “Just throw strikes and take deep breaths.” Once Shelton’s teammates saw the act of compassion and sportsmanship, they too came over to the mound to offer encouragement.
“We’re all brothers. Baseball is just a game.”
— Good Morning America (@GMA) August 10, 2022
This little leaguer gave us all a lesson in sportsmanship when he went out of his way to console a pitcher who hit him in the head. https://t.co/2xZHicUPyH pic.twitter.com/sSJVhFIi54
Jarvis revealed to GMA that he and Shelton are actually friends and that in the end, “We’re all brothers. Baseball is just a game.”
While Texas East eventually went on to win the game and is headed to the World Series later this month, the true winners are everyone who witnessed this true act of compassion.