A helping hand
George Springer passes along tips on dealing with stuttering to a fellow pro.
George Springer descended down into his dugout three hours before opening a threegame series against the Athletics. He squatted and sat on the second step. A smile overtook his face and some teasing of a new friend began.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was spent. Ten swings in a Major League batting cage were more laborious than the Charlotte Hornets small forward realized.
“That,” he finally said, “was a workout.”
Both Springer and KiddGilchrist stutter.
Springer’s impediment, and his management of it, has been well-chronicled. He rarely refuses interviews. Major League Baseball placed a microphone on him while he played left field in last season’s All-Star Game. His World Series performance last season garnered countless national television appearances, all of which he handled effortlessly. Kidd-Gilchrist was watching. “I saw that he stutters and stuff like that and I’m like ‘Oh man, he stutters,’” Kidd-Gilchrist said Friday. “I reached out to him and stuff like that and he responded to me, so that’s how we got in contact. He’s a great guy, a great person and I looked up to him.”
Kidd-Gilchrist said his agency reached out to Astros manager A.J. Hinch, who informed Springer of the Hornets forward’s request.
So, on Friday, the two finally met. Kidd-Gilchrist took batting practice and Springer gave him tickets to the game — two professional athletes who combat the same obstacle as 70 million people, five percent of which are children.
Springer is a spokesman for the Stuttering Association for the Young and hosts an annual bowling benefit to raise money for it. He most often hears from and mentors those youth.
Impacting a 24-year-old, six-year NBA veteran was eyeopening, Springer said, and illustrated the reach both men can have in their advocacy.
“I know it’s important to me to reach out to people who stutter,” Kidd-Gilchrist said. “It’s not just both of us, it’s all of us around the world (who) stutter. Old, young, male or female. It’s important to all of us who stutter.”
Both Kidd-Gilchrist and Springer are open about their childhood struggles, athletic ascent and unwillingness to allow this barrier to define who they are.
Springer said it’s “surreal” to remember he once was a 9 or 10-year-old “not wanting to talk and feeling alone” and realize the pedestal on which he’s placed himself.
One that, on Friday, proved how far-reaching it is.
“The goal is to impact somebody somewhere,” Springer said. “For me to get in touch with him and for kids to see there’s people everywhere, it doesn’t matter if you play big league baseball, are in the NBA or are in construction, we’re all humans and it’s good to not feel alone.”
Dante Pettis selected by 49ers
Five minutes before the Astros opened their three-game series against the Athletics, a line formed inside the dugout to hug and high five third-base coach Gary Pettis.
Pettis' son, Dante, was selected by the 49ers with the 44th pick of the NFL Draft. Dante was a receiver/return specialist at Washington, where he set the NCAA career record with nine punt returns for touchdowns and was a consensus All-American as a senior.
Gary was excused from the Astros' series finale against the Mariners on April 19 to surprise Dante when he received the Jet Award — given annually to college football's best return specialist.
Bagwell in booth for Oakland series
Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell will join the AT&T SportsNet television broadcast for Saturday night's Astros-Athletics game as a guest commentator, the club announced Friday, the first of monthly appearances alongside play-by-play man Todd Kalas and color commentator Geoff Blum.
The game is scheduled for a 6:10 p.m. first pitch.
Bagwell was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017 after a 15-year Astros career during which he was the first player in franchise history to win MVP honors. He and teammate Craig Biggio are the only two players enshrined in the Hall of Fame as Astros.
“Jeff was a great player and is one of the most popular players in our franchise’s history,” team president Reid Ryan said in a statement. “He has a wealth of baseball knowledge and will bring a unique and enjoyable element to our broadcasts. We are certain that he will be a huge hit with our fans.”