MLB player meets little boy with cancer. 12 years later, they meet again as 'teammates'
Twelve years ago, a young boy named Devin Smeltzer got the opportunity to meet a star player on his favorite baseball team — Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley.
It was a rough time for Smeltzer, then a 10-year-old with cancer. But a visit to Citizen’s Bank Park to meet Utley and pitcher Cole Hamels — in addition to taking in a game — put a smile on the New Jersey native’s face.
Thankfully, Smeltzer beat his cancer, and was able to pursue his dream of playing professional baseball. Smeltzer, now 22, attended San Jacinto Junior College before being taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth round of the 2016 draft.
As it turns out, Utley ended up sticking around in the major leagues for quite a while. In 2015, the Phillies traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he still plays to this day.
That means Utley, now 39, and Smeltzer are both in the same organization, so it was only a matter of time before they reunited.
And reunite they did, as Smeltzer paid Utley a visit at the Dodgers clubhouse during spring training.
“Backstage Dodgers,” a program on SportsNet LA, captured the moment when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told his squad about the meeting between the two players in 2006.
Roberts started by showing his players a picture taken at the time of the Phillies star and the young boy with cancer. Then, he introduced the entire team, including Utley, to Smeltzer, who is currently a pitcher in the Dodgers organization.
“How cool is that?” Roberts said.
Hear about the incredible story of #Dodgers minor leaguer @alka_SMELTZer who survived cancer at the age of 9 and his special connection with a current Dodger.
This story & more on an all-new #BackstageDodgers tonight after the post-game show. pic.twitter.com/76ZKaB5xtp
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) March 30, 2018
The full video of Smeltzer and Utley reuniting, which can be viewed here, was nothing short of heartwarming.
“I was able to play through it,” Smeltzer told Utley in the clubhouse, according to MLB.com. “I just wanted to thank you for everything you did. It means a lot.”
Roberts, meanwhile, pointed out how amazing it is that professional baseball players can have such a big impact on people’s lives, often without even knowing it.
“It’s crazy how we impact guys every single day,” he said. “We have no idea what kind of impact we can have on a 10-year-old Devin Smeltzer.”
Utley expressed similar sentiments, calling it “a pretty special and unique story,”
“I can’t even imagine what he was going through, what his parents were going through. Hopefully at some point, he’ll be pitching at Dodger Stadium,” the Dodgers second baseman added.
More than a decade after they first posed for a photograph, Smeltzer got to be in another picture with his hero.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgrOxyWHkWo/?utm_source=ig_embed
“As a Major League Baseball player, we’re pretty fortunate to play a sport that we grew up playing,” Utley said. “To be able to give back in any way, I think is important. To put a smile on their face, to have them step into a big league stadium, meet some of their idols, people that they look up to — it’s important.”
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