LA Dodgers Pitcher Clayton Kershaw Inspires Young Fan Whose Grandfather Died

Published: July 21, 2022

LA Dodgers Pitcher Clayton Kershaw Inspires Young Fan Whose Grandfather Died

By Movieguide® Contributor

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw shared a special moment with a 10 year-old boy at a recent press conference.

After his postgame conference had finished, the young boy, named Blake Grice, approached the podium. Grice then shared that his grandfather, Graham, had made a bucket list. One of the items on the list was to meet Kershaw.

However, Graham died before he could, so Grice stepped in to complete his grandfather’s list.

“My grandpa loved you,” Grice 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.”

The boy then began to cry, and Kershaw jumped up to give him a hug.

Movieguide® previously reported on Kershaw’s faith:

Dodgers All-Star pitcher Clayton Kershaw also lives for Christ on and off the field.

In a separate 2019 interview with Scott Rae, Kershaw said that Christ is the foundation of everything he does.

“Well, it’s just the foundation of everything, so I think success, failure, being injured, being healthy, different things, it can kind of be a roller coaster if you don’t have that foundation,” Kershaw said. “I think having Christ at the center, and then realizing that baseball is just a game, and then realizing that you didn’t do anything to deserve the ability to throw a baseball. It was just a complete gift. Nothing I did to deserve that. It was just from God.”

Like Roberts, Kershaw recognizes the platform he has had as an MLB player, which has only grown in light of winning the World Series.

“There’s a lot of Dodger fans out there, and with that, there’s such a great platform to get the word out about what we’re doing, but honestly, just what God’s doing. It’s a really cool opportunity,” Kershaw said. “Baseball’s going to be done. I’m going to be a former baseball player a lot longer than I am a baseball player, so while I do have this platform and while I do have this notoriety, I guess you could say, you’re trying to point that in the right direction, realizing that baseball is just a vessel.”

The manager and pitcher shared a joy-filled moment after the Dodgers’ win.