Astros star Carlos Correa dedicates walk-off home run to teen battling cancer
In the midst of the ALCS, Houston Astros star Carlos Correa made time to visit a teen battling cancer in the hospital and made a promise that filled him with hope. Correa and his fiance, former Miss Texas USA, Daniella Rodriguez, met 16-year-old Jalen Garcia Friday at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, CBS Houston reports.
The teen went viral last week after his high school football team traveled some 350 miles from Laredo, Texas to see him.
Garcia was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma when he was in the 8th grade, forcing him to stop playing football, his mom told CBS News. However, the football team still treated him like a player.
Football team travels across Texas to visit teen battling cancer in hopsitalMIRACLE MAN: This teen was diagnosed with cancer, but is still included in the football team. To show their support, the players traveled to visit him in the hospital – and retire his number 42 jersey
Posted by The Uplift on Thursday, October 10, 2019
So, three years later, his former teammates, who are now in high school, paid Garcia a visit and honored him by retiring his number 42 jersey.
Rodriguez is from Laredo and went to that same high school. After hearing about Garcia, she was compelled to visit him in Houston, too. She and Correa saw Garcia just hours before the MLB star battled the Yankees at Minute Maid Park.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Daniella Rodriguez (@daniellardzz) on
"Nothing else in this world is as rewarding as this," Rodriguez wrote on Instagram, sharing several photos of herself and Correa with Garcia.
"As soon as I heard about Jalen being in Houston I made sure we did everything possible to meet him. You are our hero Jalen! Keep fighting we're right behind you cheering you on thank you," she wrote.
Rodriguez also shared what Correa told Garcia during their visit: "Next home run I hit will be for you... when you see me pointing, I'll be pointing at you."
The visit from his football team lifted Garcia's spirits, his mom told CBS News. And Correa's visit gave him something great to look forward to.
And sure enough, Correa hit a walk-off home run in the 11th inning of Sunday night's game, leading the Astros to a 3-2 win against the Yankees and tying the series at one game apiece. The stadium of fans went wild as Correa led the Astros to victory — but Garcia knew that run was for him.
And of course, Correa pointed to the sky, keeping his promise to the teen.