Puig’s good deed

The Cleveland Indians are in an intense divisional race with our Minnesota Twins. The Indians seem to have helped themselves by adding right fielder Yasiel Puig to their roster. Puig is a recently acquired power hitter who solidifies the middle of the Indians’ lineup. Having come over to the Reds after six years with the Dodgers, Puig was traded again to the Indians in a three-team deal just before the trade deadline last month (more on Puig here).

Waiting to play the Mets in New York after a series with the Yankees, Puig and his teammates had their first day off in three weeks on Monday. Puig chose to rent a helicopter to fly to the Catskills and spend the day with the kids at Camp Simcha. Mandy Bell explains: “It is the only kosher overnight summer camp for children and teens with cancer, and it hosts children battling other diseases, most of which are terminal.”

Bell reports: “The Tribe slugger spent four hours at the campsite, struggling to convince himself to get back to the city to prepare for Tuesday’s game. He entered the day expecting to give kids advice on how to stay strong through difficult times, but it was Puig who left feeling inspired.”

Bell’s touching story for MLB News helps to offset the stupidity and malice of the news this week. The video below is posted with Bell’s story.

Quotable quote: “[A boy] started talking about baseball, saying, ‘I love the way you play. Keep going, fight,’ And I said, ‘Oh, I’m the one coming here to tell you to keep fighting and everything will be fine, and you’re the one telling me to keep going, fight and work hard’ — and that made my day.”

Hat tip: Rabbi Joshua Borenstein.

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