Little League baseball batter Isaiah Jarvis took time out of a game to console the opposite team’s pitcher, Kaiden Shelton, who was left distraught after accidentally knocking Jarvis to the ground with his throw.
Footage of Jarvis’ endearing show of sportsmanship was captured on Tuesday (9 August) during the Southwest Region Championship. Jarvis was batting for Tulsa, while Shelton was pitching for Pearland.
Shelton’s throw knocked Jarvis’ helmet off and the boy fell to the floor in pain, leaving Shelton visibly upset.
Jarvis was seen pulling his knees to his head and clasping his temple and a game official quickly approached the young player to check he was OK.
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But moments after the incident, Jarvis strolled over to Shelton and told him: “Hey, you're doing just great.”
As the camera panned to the audience sitting in the stalls, one woman was seen getting visibly emotional by Jarvis’ gesture, before the kid was given a standing ovation.
Shortly after Jarvis approached Shelton to console him, the rest of the Pearland team ran over to the mound and also consoled their pitcher.
Pearland went on to win the game, securing the team’s place in the Little League World Series.
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Footage of the moment was widely shared on Twitter, and social media users were quick to commend Jarvis’ compassion.
After watching the footage, one person wrote: “The kid in the blue is what you want your kids to aspire to be when it comes to handling themselves both in sports and life.”
Another added: “Every once in a while I see something like this, I think, ‘Yeah we're going to be okay, these kids are going to be okay’.”
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“This is what ‘boys will be boys’ is supposed to mean,” a third pointed out, while a fourth said: “It takes a LOT of courage for a boy to HUG and CARE FOR another boy on such a big stage. These kids are going far in life.”
A fifth Twitter user noted: “Those beautiful kids could teach a lot of adults some compassion, maturity, honour, grace - I could go on and on what a beautiful video!”
ESPN also shared the footage on social media, explaining: “After getting hit in the head with a pitch, this little leaguer showed a true act of sportsmanship by comforting the pitcher.”
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Topics: Sport
