Photo: Adam Glanzman (Getty)
The average baseball fan might not know Stephen Piscotty is a member of the Oakland Athletics this year. Then again, since Billy Beane probably traded 12 guys to the Yankees yesterday in exchange for seven 16-year-old kids and a vial filled with Aaron Judge’s DNA, it’s tough to name any of Oakland’s starting nine these days.
That’s pretty funny, but the reason Piscotty is on Oakland’s roster this year is no laughing matter. The Cardinals brass traded him during the offseason in part so he could be closer to his mom in Pleasanton after she was diagnosed with ALS. Last week, the disease unfortunately claimed Gretchen Piscotty’s life, which meant that Stephen took some time away from the game to be with his family.
Fast-forward to last night, when Piscotty stepped into the batter’s box for the first time since his mother’s funeral, facing Boston’s Eduardo Rodriguez in the top of the second inning.
What a moment. #TeamGretchen pic.twitter.com/f80X5hqBax
— Oakland Athletics (@Athletics) May 16, 2018
Man, I think somebody is cutting onions in here.
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Like my good pal Brady Matthews likes to say, if that doesn’t move you to any kind of emotion, go see a doctor because you’re probably dead inside. Great moment for both Stephen Piscotty and his family.
