Clayton Kershaw wrapped up his All-Star press conference and was already walking out when one more credentialed member of the media had something else to say to him. A 10-year-old boy approached the podium and got everyone's attention.
"This moment is kind of special. I'm Blake Grice and I'm from Denver, Colorado. I want to tell you a quick little story," the boy said.
Kershaw was back in his seat and ready to listen. Grice had to take a deep breath before continuing.
"My grandpa loved you," He told Kershaw. "He watched the 1988 World Series and he wanted to meet you and Vin Scully one day. So this moment is important to me because I'm meeting you for him."
Blake's grandfather passed away in 2014 from brain cancer. A week before he died, he made a bucket list of things he wanted to do with his grandchildren if he could beat cancer, which he had already done in four previous occasions. MLB shared that the list wasn't just sports related, it also included things such as taking trips to the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. Since he didn't get to check off all the items on his bucket list, Grice took it upon himself to accomplish at least one more of his grandfather's dreams.
While talking to Kershaw, Grice got emotional and began to cry. The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher got out of his chair and gave the young fan a hug.
"Thanks for telling me. That took a lot of courage to tell me that," Kershaw told him. "Great to meet you. Your granddad sounded like an awesome guy. Thanks for coming up."
Grice is an aspiring sports journalist and has already been practicing for a few years. He made it to the All-Star game after emailing MLB chief communications officer Pat Courtney to ask for a credential. Courtney told the young media member to contact vice president of communications John Blundell, and the rest is history.
He might only be 10 years old, but Grice already takes the job seriously.
"He's here just doing his thing and trying to grow and cover baseball," Grice's father, Barrie, told MLB. "He just loves people. It's funny because you see a lot of people asking for autographs and he doesn't care about any of that. He's an incredible young man."
