Celestial Love (Anthony Rizzo)

.64. Intangibles

Celeste

The Chicago Cubs is probably one of the best organizations when it comes to charities. They themselves have their own charities they donate to and often do raffles and donate tons of gear to local places who need them. But what makes the Cubs above the others is what they do for the players charities. With the Bears the players did their own thing and they never really got involved. And don't get me wrong, they do a lot for this city and it's players. But some guys do thier charity work at home and the Bears don't get involved. They don't consistently put back into the community and the players involvement into the community in the way the Cubs do.

I was lucky, Anthony does more charity work than most teams combined. The man does nothing but save lives, help families out, make the world a better place. There's no one in my mind I think of higher than him. Take away the fact he helped save my mom, take away the millions of dollars he puts into cancer research every year and all the bills he pays off he's still one of the best people around.

I'm talking about the intangibles. The number of smiles he brings, the amount of prayers this mans answers. Now I'm not comparing him to god, but when it comes to man kind few has done more than this man had.

Today he was bringing a few kids and their families out to the ball park to play some catch and watch a game. I was excited to see all the familiar and smiling faces. They let the kids sit in the dugout and ask questions and play on the field a little. For kids who spend so much of their time in the hospital it was fun to see them out here.

"Miss Callie" a small voice asks and I look down. I see a little boy come sit next to me and I pull him into my side. These kids Anthony works with have my heart.

"Hey there Matt" I smile. "How are you liking the tour so far" I wonder.

"This is the best day ever! I always wanted to come here and when I was sick... I didn't know if I could make it out here. But I got better and Mr. Anthony promised to show me everything" he explains.

"Well we're so happy you're here. And more importantly we're happy you're feeling better" I admit.

"Me too. It's weird but I'm actually excited to get back to school. I don't even like school but it also means I get out of the hospital" he smiles.

"That it does. And you're already looking a lot better. You even got your hair back" I tease as I mess it up.

"Hey! My mom spent a lot of time on that" he whines.

"Then you decided to slide head first into first base so I think I'm doing you a favor" I laugh.

Anthony and the other kids join us in the dugout and they ask Anthony questions about playing here at Wrigley and winning the World Series and what it is like to be one of the best defensive first basemen in the league. Although he doesn't get the attention a Javy Baez or Kris Bryant does, he is a great baseball player. This team needs him as much as the flashy guys.

"What's your favorite part about playing here" a kid asks him and he just smiles. He glanced my way making me smile too before looking back at the kid.

"Everything really. I can start from the game itself. Baseball has always been my favorite and playing every day is an gift. Not many people get to say that they get to go to work every day and it is exactly what they always wanted to do. When I was little I knew I would be here. I had no idea how good I was going to have it, what a city like this was going to mean to me. The best things in life can't be planned and I never thought Chicago is where I would spend the best years of my life. But I'm lucky because this city has given me fortune, for the richest I will ever be is in the happiness I feel when I am here. It gave me opportunities to meet people like you who is way stronger than I ever will be. It gave me love in the most unimaginable way possible.

This city has given me everything beyond the World Series. My favorite part is every single bit of it" he insists.

We wrap up the Q and A and I join the families out in the bleachers. Anthony usually tells me not to go out there for it can get rowdy but a part of them being here was they were making the cancer symbol in the bleachers with colored shirt and I wanted to be a part of it. The bleachers might be rowdy but it's the most passionate group of people you will ever find. So I brave the late April sun and join the crew for a day game.

"Can I sit with you Miss Callie" Matt asks and I smile.

"Of course" I assure him.

So he crawls in my lap and I wrap my arms around him. I've known him for about three months and for a while we weren't sure he would make it. But thanks to Anthony they found the form of chemo that worked for him and he got to ring the bell earlier this month. Being on this journey with him was hard, you can't save everyone no matter how hard you try. Luckily Matt was able to stay with us and it made my heart full.

"I'm going to play baseball like Anthony when I get older" he tells me making me smile.

"What position do you want to play" I wonder.

"First base" he cheers and I laugh. I should have known.

"I saw you playing earlier you're really good" I insist.

"Mom says I can sign up for summer baseball! I can't wait to be able to play again" he smiles extra big.

"Anthony and I will have to come catch some games" I say.

"Really" he gasps.

"Count us in" I promise.