MLB's Stephen Piscotty has subtle gesture to honor late mother after HR
In a moment that was more about a grieving son trying to honor his late mother than it was about a player helping his team win a baseball game, Athletics outfielder Stephen Piscotty ended up doing both.
Piscotty had spent several days on the bereavement list following the death of his mother. Gretchen Piscotty passed away on May 6 at the age of 55 after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease).
On Tuesday night, Piscotty returned to the lineup against the Boston Red Sox, and he immediately made his presence felt.
Piscotty came up for his first at-bat of the game in the top of the second inning, and on an 0-2 pitch, he crushed a solo home run over Fenway Park’s Green Monster.
“It was pure joy. It’s been an emotional week,” Piscotty said after the game, according to The Associated Press.
As he came around third base and headed to the plate, he honored his mother with a subtle gesture, placing his right hand on his chest before looking up to the sky.
“Running around (the bases) was pretty emotional. I’m pretty cried out, so I didn’t tear up or anything. It felt so good, and coming around third I was immediately thinking of my mom,” Piscotty said of his home-run trot.
He went on to indicate that he’ll continue to honor his mother with the same gesture in the future.
“I put my hand over my chest like she would do, and that’s kind of going to be my thing going forward,” he said, per MLB.com.
Last week, before he went on the bereavement list, Piscotty singled in his first at-bat since his mother had died. He patted his chest that time too, and later on, explained the significance of the gesture.
“The hand over my heart, that’s something my mom would do when she wasn’t able to speak,” Piscotty said. “This was just, ‘I love you and thank you.’ That’s what I did in the box and that’s kind of her way of saying. I’m going to keep that with me.”
Even after returning from the bereavement list, Piscotty could have chosen not to play on Tuesday. He didn’t arrive at the airport in California for his flight to Boston until the early hours of the morning. Still, he had no intention of sitting out the game.
“He wanted to play. He’s on little sleep, a lot of adrenaline,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said, according to ESPN. “I know he was really- looking forward to that first at-bat. To be able to do what he did tells you a little something about him.”
“To hit a home run in his first at-bat like that, there’s something in the air. Probably Gretchen. … It was like a walkoff. The guys just embraced him when he got in the dugout,” Melvin added.
The home run ended up being important, as it gave the A’s a 3-0 lead at the time. They went on to win the game 5-3.
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