As the Oakland A’s best hitter, Khris Davis is used to crushing home runs. But, the one he blasted on Monday night in the A’s 9-0 win over the Texas Rangers was a bigger deal than most.

That’s because the team hosted 12 children from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and players met with the kids before the game to help take their minds off of hospital visits and medical procedures.

During the meet-and-greet, 10-year-old Anthony Slocumb, who is in remission from a cancer called Langerhans cell histiocytosis, asked Davis for his autograph. Davis happily signed Anthony’s jersey and then did something completely unexpected: he turned around and asked Anthony to sign his jersey. They also took a picture together before they parted ways.

 

 

“There was a lot of emotion. Those kids’ situations are the worst situations you can be in and I just wanted to put a smile on his face and thought it would mean something if I had my jersey signed by him,” Davis told the Mercury News. “Just to know what that feels like to be in my shoes, even for a split second.”

Later on in the night, with Anthony’s signature on the back of his jersey, Davis stepped up to the plate and homered off Bartolo Colon in the third inning for his 37th home run of the season.

 

 

“I thought about him [Anthony] around the bases. There’s not a better feeling than hitting a home run, so hopefully he got some excitement and joy from watching that,” Davis said after the game. “They’re really the stars. … He was excited. I could tell that he was just happy to be here and wanted to have some fun. It was amazing, the look on his face.”

Perhaps Davis should think about having Anthony sign his jersey before all of his games. Maybe it brought a little luck. Maybe it didn’t. But, it definitely brought a smile to a face that’s been through so much. And in the end, that’s what matters most.