More than just a glove

The e-mail ends:

“Jonathan hugged that glove after the game as if it were attached to his body. He was trembling with emotion. He told me it was one of the greatest moments of his life.”

Dodger reliever George Sherrill made the unique moment happen on May 5 at Dodger Stadium. After giving up two runs in the ninth inning to the Milwaukee Brewers, Sherrill walked toward the dugout to a chorus of boos.

Yet one 14-year-old boy named Jonathan Kramer stood up and shouted: “Don’t worry, George, you’ll get ’em next time!”

Sherrill looked up to the boy and tossed him his glove, prompting a letter from a Dodger season ticket holder named Bruce Nash, who was sitting with the boy.

“Once a year or so, a glove kind of runs out of outs so I toss it away,” said Sherrill. “After something like that, you definitely hear a mixture of stuff, guys rooting you on or the others booing and stuff. It’s definitely nice to have fans like that who stick by you no matter what. That’s definitely what you need more than a fair-weather person. It’s definitely great to make a kid’s day like that.”

The next night, Sherrill met Jonathan before the game and left an even greater impact on him with his outgoing personality. The following night, as Sherrill was exiting a game into the Dodger dugout, he tipped his cap in the youngster’s direction as a salute to his biggest fan.

Nearly two weeks later, Sherrill read the letter. It left an impact.

“You want to keep the future of the game going and there’s no telling what a certain kid’s going through. Any little thing you can do can help,” said Sherrill. “To us it’s just a glove, but to them, it could mean something more.”

Sherrill had just one concern, though.

“I hope he’s left-handed,” he said.”

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