Here's a pretty cool scene that we don't see every day: Hyun-Jin Ryu, the Korean pitcher imported by the Los Angeles Dodgers this season, playing catch with a kid in the stands during batting practice.
The young fan goes by the name of Deuce, and he's a regular in the Dodgers left field pavilion. (And he's got a pretty good arm, huh?) Deuce's future trips to the stadium won't be as cool as this one. According to Dodgerfilms, who captured and posted the video, the pair played catch for about five minutes until batting practice ended.
The kid has effectively raised the bar on pre-game player interactions. Who wants to catch a home-run ball or get an autograph when you can actually play catch with a $61 million player from your seat? For insurance purposes, this can't be something the organization adores, but from a make-your-fans-love-you perspective, it's gold.
This is just the latest show of good will Dodgers players have extended to their fans. The more famous and emotional moment came last week when star slugger Matt Kemp went to the stands to give a ball to a Dodger fan at AT&T Park.
Kemp ended up giving the fan—Joshua Jones, a young man with terminal cancer—the ball, his jersey and the cleats off his feet.
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