Are you sick of reading about Johnny Manziel’s rather unfortunate decisions?
Do old stories about Peyton Manning drive you crazy?
Are Ole Miss’ NCAA troubles giving you the blues?
Need your faith in humanity restored just a bit?
Well, I have just the story you’ve been craving.
The catcher for the Chicago Cubs, 38-year-old David Ross, recently announced that this would be his last year in the majors.
Ross played for seven teams during his 12 year career, and for most of those years, he has been a backup.
But even backups can make an impact on people.
Take for example Jason Heyward, who was first on a team with Ross back in 2010 with the Atlanta Braves.
Ross gave Heyward advice and showed him how to carry himself in a professional manner, lessons that Heyward never forgot.
Fast forward to 2016.
Heyward, now a 26-year-old, just signed an 8-year, $184 million dollar contract with the Cubs that will keep him in Chicago for the forseeable future.
The Cubs, an incredibly young and talented team, looked to Ross to be the experienced leader, and he has done just that in his time in Chicago, earning him the nickname “Grandpa Ross” from his teammates.
He decided over the off-season that this would be his last year.
For a parting gift, Heyward decided to make the Ross’ last days on the road pleasant ones.
Players stay in hotels (duh) while on the road, but Heyward will pay to make sure Ross stays in a suite each night on the road, an act of kindness for a man that helped pave the way before him.
The act of kindness was not lost upon Ross.
“That's one of the first emotional moments I had in the off-season,” Ross told MLB.com. “[Heyward] texted me this nice long message about supposedly what I've done for him. That was cool to start reflecting back and people you've played with start saying nice things”
People in this generation get a bad rap at times, but I firmly believe that is because the Internet has taken away layers of privacy and has given everyone a pedestal from which to speak.
I’m of the opinion that if the wave of social media hit at any other point in society that we would be facing many of the same issues that plague us today.
Narcissistic people thrive in today’s world, and that’s a shame.
But Heyward’s act of kindness was a beacon of hope when we needed it the most.
It was everything that my generation is said to not be.
It was showing respect to an elder.
It was considerate.
It was mature.
Not only was Heyward able to give back to Ross, it helped him earn the respect of his new teammates, and the rest of the nation, instantly.
I’m a Red Sox fan, but if they find themselves out of contention like they did a year ago, I’ll be pulling for Heyward and the rest of the Cubs to win it all.
