Spouse of Phillies' Deceased Head Groundskeeper Shares Story of Reuniting Slugger With 2008 World Series Ball
The beauty of social media is that amazing personal stories can emerge out of nowhere to provide some joy in the world.
A recent example of this took place courtesy of the spouse of a deceased former head groundskeeper for the Philadelphia Phillies. The story centers around the 2008 World Series and former Tampa Bay Rays slugger Eric Hinske, who got an unexpected gift recently.
My neighbor and friend who lives across the street from us just shared this story. Her wife was the head landscaper at citizens bank park for many years prior to her death last fall. Pam planted and grew the ivy in the batters eye, the flower boxes etc. pic.twitter.com/t93pmYYefa
— Sean Forman (@sean_forman) May 31, 2020
This is just amazing. The power of simply sharing a story led to Hinske getting a home run ball he hit all the way back in 2008. He sure looks happy in the picture of him with the baseball, and the story sheds light on how sports connects us all.
This is a nice consolation for Hinske, of course, considering he made the last out in that series.
Ten years ago tonight the #Phillies won the World Series. A few of those players recall the final moments before Brad Lidge struck out Eric Hinske and the madness and the celebration that ensued. https://t.co/DuzpPNnM6v
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) October 29, 2018
Just think: 11 years ago, in the middle of the World Series, Hinske was out there in center field trampling around trying to get his home run ball back, and out of nowhere, here it returns in 2020.
If anything, this is a fun story to read during a time without baseball. The steps it took to get Hinske the ball were fascinating, and we could all use stories like these in 2020.