Aubrey Huff goes to bat for Joe

There are countless stories about selfish athletes and all the bad things about players in professional sports, but there are also the good ones, such as Giants first-basemen/outfielder Aubrey Huff, who befriended a 7-year old kid from Texas who is battling cancer.

Monday, I went out to the ballpark and interviewed the family from Texas and here is the piece that aired. Also, below the video, check out the personal blog that Aubrey wrote himself, which will give you more insight on the story.



A Special Visit by Aubrey Huff

Some of you might know already about Joe Turner from some stories in the paper. He's a 7-year-old kid I learned about through a friend of mine. He lives in Aledo, Texas, not far from where I grew up.

 In April, Joe felt terrible pain in his abdomen and his mother, Elizabeth, took him to the emergency room, where doctors found a large tumor on his kidney. Doctors removed the kidney and a small part of his liver. Then Joe underwent grueling sessions of chemo and radiation. 

 

As a dad myself, my heart went out to this kid and his family. I sent him a hat signed by the Giants and ball signed by me. I also sent him a note, telling him to keep fighting and that when he was up to it, I would fly him and his family to any Giants series they wanted to attend. They sent me back an orange rubber bracelet that says, "Going to bat 4 Joe.'' I never take it off. 

 

Today I finally got to meet Joe. 

 

He is in the midst of a break from his chemo treatments (he has three more left spaced out over nine weeks), so he picked the Reds series here in San Francisco to attend. I thought I wasn't going to get to see him until after the game because they just flew in today and I figured he's be tired. But sure enough, there he was strolling onto the field while we were taking batting practice. 

 

I trotted off the field and opened my arms.

 

"Joe, give me the real deal,'' I said, hugging him and lifting him off the ground. "Nice meeting you, partner.''

 

He told me he was going to go back to playing baseball in the fall. And he wants to play first base like me. 

 

What a great kid and a great family. I got to meet his parents Elizabeth and Kevin, and two of Joe's three brothers - nine-year-old Ben and four-year-old Will. All five Turners were wearing black T-shirts with my name and number (17) on the back. And like me, they were all wearing "Going to bat 4 Joe'' orange bracelets. 

 

It was awesome. 

 

Elizabeth and Kevin thanked me and took pictures. But the truth is it's a great feeling to be in a position to do something, no matter how small, for a kid who's going through such a tough fight. 

 

The family will be out here tomorrow and Wednesday, too. I hope to introduce Joe to some of my teammates. (At least the more normal ones. I don't want to scare the kid.)