The little boy whose grandfather died at the game
I turned on the radio at 6:05 this am. I never listen to the radio in the morning, kind of odd I decided to turn it on.
Anyway, just as I turned it on, the talking head (wasn’t Jim Scott this am) started talking about Tony Perez bobblehead night and a little boy at the game named Antonio Perez. So I decided to listen.
Seems young Antonio is the 6 year old grandson of the man who had a heart attack (and later died).
When security realized there were no other family members there with Antonio (and wanting to shield him from what was going on with his grandfather), they took him to the bullpen and Tom Hume kept him busy.
Then Jr got wind of what was going on.
Jr told Tom that he wanted Antonio in the clubhouse after the game. So Tom took him there.
They said that all the guys were great with the little guy. They gave him bats and balls and other stuff and Felipe even signed the batting helmet he wore in the All Star game and gave it to him.
But I guess Jr was the one who really took care of him until family could get there and take him home.
Poor little guy, had to endure such trauma. But huge kudo’s to Jr and the Reds for looking after him.
Re: The little boy whose grandfather died at the game
Great response by Jr., Hume, Lopez and all the other Reds.
Sorry for the little boy's loss. At six years old I would think it's difficult for him to grasp all that is going on.
Rem
Re: The little boy whose grandfather died at the game
Man, what a heartbreaker.
Re: The little boy whose grandfather died at the game
Sad story, but again, I am so very impressed with Ken Griffey Jr.
Re: The little boy whose grandfather died at the game
Instead of making another thread, I posted this on the game thread of 8/3/05...
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs....EWS01/508050410
Here is the article from the Enquirer this morning...
Friday, August 5, 2005
Grandpa stricken in stands, boy finds comfort on field
Reds rally around frightened child
By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer
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Bill Summee has been a police officer since 1992, but nothing prepared him for the situation he encountered Wednesday night.
Summee, now a security officer for the Reds, responded to an emergency call to Section 143 at Great American Ball Park during the seventh inning. A man had collapsed, and paramedics were working on him.
As they tried to revive the man, who did not survive the apparent heart attack, an officer handed the man's 6-year-old grandson to Summee.
Little Antonio Perez had come to the game with his grandfather, whose name the Reds did not release, to celebrate Tony Perez Bobblehead Night.
Over the next 2˝ hours, Summee and numerous Reds players and coaches stepped up to comfort and entertain the boy.
"It was a bad situation," Summee said. "But I'm proud of the way we handled it as an organization."
Once he had the boy, Summee's first order of business was to get Antonio out of the stands.
He wanted to get him away from where his grandfather was being treated.
"With all the commotion, I wanted to get him out of there," Summee said. "I took him down to the concourse. He laid his head on my shoulder and asked, 'Is my Pawpaw going to be all right?' "
Summee knew by then the boy's grandfather would not recover.
"We didn't think we should be the ones to tell him," Summee said. "We didn't lie to him, but we thought his parents should tell him."
At one point, the child asked: "How am I going to get home?"
"I told him I'd take him home," Summee said. "But he knew his grandmother's name and phone number."
A call was made, but the boy is from Hamilton, and it would take awhile for his parents and grandmother to get to the ballpark.
Summee still wanted to get Antonio away from the stands, so he took him into the Reds' bullpen, where bullpen coach Tom Hume let him sit on the bench for the last two innings of the game.
Then Ken Griffey Jr. became aware of what was going on and took charge.
"Win or lose, he was coming in the clubhouse," Griffey said.
As the Reds wrapped up their 8-5 victory over the Braves, Griffey went to the bullpen and got the boy.
The players included Antonio in their high-five celebration. Then they took him into the clubhouse.
"We play a game," Griffey said later. "What he was going through doesn't compare.
"It was important that the little guy not be by himself."
Clubhouse manager Rick Stowe said the other players followed Griffey's lead and rallied around the boy.
"Jacob Cruz, Jason LaRue, Junior, they were all great with him," Stowe said. "They gave him bats, balls, wrist bands. Felipe Lopez signed the helmet he wore in the All-Star Game and gave it to him."
"Ken Griffey Jr. was extraordinary," Summee said. "He went completely out of his way to do everything he could."
Said Griffey: "We just tried to make a bad situation a little better."
E-mail jfay@enquirer.com
Re: The little boy whose grandfather died at the game
I was at the game sitting in right field. The players were all aware of what was going on in the stands. This was during the break for the umpire, and I specifically saw Hume and other bullpenners watching with a security guard down by the bullpen (guard obviously had a radio and was listening). I also saw Junior over talking to them and then he and a couple others were watching. After reading abotu this man's death last night, I couldn't really organize my thoughts to post anything. It really caught me off guard because I was there and watched what happened from a section over. I can't even tell you how many different times I've gone to a game with grandpa and if something like that happened to me, I don't know if I could ever go back, much less ever be a fan again. I know the kid was 6, and (unfortunately for him) probably at an age where he could realize what was going on. I was hoping the players who watched what happened would do something for the kid at some point, and this seems to reaffirm my beliefs in the character that some of the Reds players possess.
I really hope that the Reds stay in contact with this kid, because this has the ability to turn into a positive. Hopefully the kid can grow up and stay a fan of baseball and not be scared to the point of ever coming back. And I really pray for this child and his family, so they can pull through an event like this.
Re: The little boy whose grandfather died at the game
Isn't it kind of ironic that the boys name is Antonio Perez and that this happened on Tony Perez bobble head night? I'm sorry for the loss. Had to be awfully tramatic for young man. Ken Griffey,jr. just keeps impressing me as a fine man.
Re: The little boy whose grandfather died at the game
The boy's family will be in my thoughts and prayers...
In today's world, boys and girls need role models like Junior. It's nice to know that above all the media hype, Junior is still a human being with a heart.
Junior is DA man :thumbup:
Re: The little boy whose grandfather died at the game
Its very sad, but I am proud to be a KGJr fan even more.
Re: The little boy whose grandfather died at the game
Cool story. It's good to know that our favorite team has so many great guys on it. :thumbup:
Re: The little boy whose grandfather died at the game
Quote:
Originally Posted by remdog
Great response by Jr., Hume, Lopez and all the other Reds.
Sorry for the little boy's loss. At six years old I would think it's difficult for him to grasp all that is going on.
Rem
I'm not trying to pick on your post here, Rem, please don't take this personally, but I have a 6 year old son. If my Dad were to take him to a game and something happened, my son would be traumatized. 6 year olds are a lot smarter than many of us give them credit for. I'm sure with all the chaos going on, he probably didn't know exactly what was going on, but believe me when I say that this kid is going to be grieving for awhile over this. It is absoltely great that the players, coaches, and other employees had the presence of mind to get the kid away from the situation and not let him witness all that was going on with his grandfather, that diversion and the experience of meeting some of these players was really helpful, I'm sure, but this kid is going to need some couseling and help going forward to get over this experience.
Re: The little boy whose grandfather died at the game
I was at that game on Wednesday and I had a bad feeling he had passed away from the way they carried him out. This happened at the same time the game was stopped when the umpire was injured. You could tell several of the players knew something serious was going on in the outfield stands. Junior went into the bullpen during the whole delay in play and I am sure that was to check on the situation with the young boy. Junior has always been my favorite player and it because of more than just the way he plays the game. Junior continues to be a true class act and I am really proud of the way him and all the other people involved handled this situation.
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:clap:
For Jr. & the Reds...
Re: The little boy whose grandfather died at the game
I don't have anything to add that hasn't already been said here. I'm just very touched by this whole thing. I'd expect no less from a man with the class of Junior Griffey.
Re: The little boy whose grandfather died at the game
sad story but good to see some of the reds help the boy with his grief give a hand to the reds for this one