Henry Urrutia: Humble and Generous

[Jagwar]

Went to see the Bay Sox play in New Britain CT tonight. Awesome game, sorry to see Bowie come up just short at the end. But what my family and I will take from the night was a display of generosity from Henry Urrutia.

Set up... I bought 4 tickets for this game, specifically the 4 seats immediately to the left of the Bowie dugout. I wanted to be able to show support for the O's prospects, and sit in a place that I had never sat before, with the ability to see into the good guys' dugout.

More setup... Bowie had a rough start, but we cheered loudly for them, and they definitely noticed and appreciated us. Brandon Waring tossed one of my 13-year twins a ball after he recorded the last out of an inning (and she now has such a huge crush on him!). Gary Kendall tossed my other twin a foul ball, and we were all thrilled.

On to Henry Urrutia... he definitely noticed how much we were cheering for him and his team. Even made eye contact and smiled at us a few times. But he also noticed a family behind us, especially this little 4-year old boy, who had been asking his dad if he could have a ball, even asked for a bat. Finally, Urrutia caught a fly ball to end the 8th, and while running in from RF, my daughters and I managed to catch his attention, wildly waving and pointing to the little boy behind us. Henry basically walked right to the railing, and flipped the ball to me, which I immediately handed to this boy, who just about smiled so big his face came off. We yelled "thank you" to Urrutia, and thought that was that.

We sit back down, I glance into the dugout, and notice Urrutia went back into the clubhouse. He emerged about 20 seconds later, game bat in hand, walked up the side dugout steps, and motioned for me to take the bat. Now I don't know what you would have done, I know I thought for an instant about keeping the bat (how many people can say they were handed a game bat from a Cuban defector?). But I had a feeling that Urrutia intended the bat for the young one behind us. I turned around and handed the bat to the little boy and his dad. They just about jumped out of their skin. The look on the boy's face was just so happy and pure and good, it just made us smile and giggle. I turned back to the dugout, and Henry had a smile on his face, he winked at me, then went back to his business.

Fantastic memory for everyone involved. Definitely a huge Urrutia fan moving forward. What a great way for him to show appreciation to fans.

(Oh, and it looks to me like Henry can flat out play ball)

[pdiddy]

Great story! Thanks for posting. I'm sure the guys appreciated the support...can't imagine they get much on the road. Very cool of the guys to give the balls and especially the bat.

[OFFNY]

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Jagwar's twins were a tad afraid of me.

[LookitsPuck]

Great story! More of a reason to root for the guy.

[luismatos4prez]

Awesome story. Thanks for posting. I love love love it when adults are generous with souvenirs at baseball games, having been on both sides of it over the course of my life. It was utterly magical both times. You gave that kid a memory he'll never forget.

I have to admit, I thought he would struggle with plate discipline and power in Bowie. His discipline looks excellent and his power is fine.

[McNulty]

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Jagwar's twins were a tad afraid of me.

Can you blame them? I'm a little scared.

Big fan of Urrutia's bat. Been following all season more than any of our other prospects.

[Rene88]

Thanks for sharing Jagwar. I saw Gausman pitch earlier in the season and had a blast with the gf at the Baysox game. A ton of fun. That seems like a heart warming story, very very cool.

[Jagwar]

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Jagwar's twins were a tad afraid of me.

Why would they be? It's not like you came to the game dressed as the ultimate O's fanatic. :-)

[PaulCascio]

Jag, that's was a great moment for all of us. I bet you feel awesome and you should. I'm in Bristol, I should go to the game today, but I can't.

[Tony-OH]

Nice story. Thanks for sharing.

[DrShorebird]

Thanks for posting so that other know what kind of a guy Henry is. That's no publicity stunt. He is truly friendly and wants to be friends with all fans. He was that way when he reported to Spring Training and only his level of English would get in the way. He respects the game and he respects the fans.

[JayThomas]

Great story, and great instincts/actions/heart. You know what? I bet Henry is just as pleased with your actions as you are with his.

[luismatos4prez]

Thanks for posting so that other know what kind of a guy Henry is. That's no publicity stunt. He is truly friendly and wants to be friends with all fans. He was that way when he reported to Spring Training and only his level of English would get in the way. He respects the game and he respects the fans.

I heard that his English was surprisingly good. Was I misinformed?

[LayzieDES]

I heard that his English was surprisingly good. Was I misinformed?

[video=youtube;uTuG-vnL1W0]

From February but he could have indeed progressed somewhat since.

[Fiver]

[video=youtube;uTuG-vnL1W0]

From February but he could have indeed progressed somewhat since.

Wow thanks for posting this. What a story, hidden in the weeds for 10 days! And a few details about his contract (assuming that's accurate).

I really think we are going to see Henry before September; and this thread is making me look forward to it even more!