Being Nice is Good

A wonderful story from Major League Baseball

Happy Thanksgiving to our American readers.

Interactions between prominent players and fans is a staple of nearly every sport. This interaction goes from token high-fives, to acknowledgement of applause to signing autographs.

Chase Utley is no longer a Major League Baseball player, but when he played he was quite good. So good that while he’s not yet in the sport’s Hall of Fame, there’s a reasonable chance he one day will be.

In 2006 Utley was with the Philadelphia Phillies, and before one game in a pre-planned meeting with cancer patient he met 10-year-old Devin Smeltzer.

Smeltzer recovered from his battle with cancer. He also made something of his life, as seen in the video below. Utley, mind you, is the one with gray hair, in a gray shirt.

"It's a pretty special and unique story with Devin," Utley said after the two were reunited in the middle of the team's clubhouse. "I had the opportunity to meet him when he was 10 years old, battling cancer. I can't even imagine what he was going through, what his parents were going through. And to see him beat cancer, to see ... his ability take over and allow him to play baseball for a living."

This is a good little story.