A 10-year-old's heartfelt plea to Babe Ruth to bring back baseball
For the boys of summer, this has been one dark winter. Little League has been cancelled, and pro baseball is in limbo.
Ten-year-old Jake Curzon of South Elgin, Illinois, said kids in his neighborhood are devastated. "We were just sad to hear that COVID-19 stopped baseball," he said.
"What would you give to have baseball back?" asked CBS News' Steve Hartman.
"We would give anything," Curzon said.
And that's why not long ago, Curzon reached out to the only person he knew who could both understand the depth of his sorrow and potentially be in a position to help. He poured his heart out in a letter and addressed it to Mr. Babe Ruth.
Never mind the Yankee great died 72 years ago – Curzon was determined to get a message through to him. And he thought the best way to do that was to send the letter to the Gate of Heaven cemetery in Hawthorne, New York, where Ruth is buried.
And sure enough, the staff conveyed the message. They posted it right on his marker so Ruth couldn't miss it.
I thought you would be interested in knowing this is the year 2020 and we are in a world pandemic," he wrote. "They cancelled Baseball! We all have keeped praying for this to end."
"Was your thinking that if he knew that this was affecting baseball, he might step in and help?" Hartman asked.
"Yeah, because it's the sport he loves and he plays," Curzon said.
"What did you want him to do?" Hartman asked.
"Since he's like a guardian angel now, I wanted him to somehow make this pandemic stop," Curzon replied.
"Do you think he got your message?" Hartman said.
"I think so," he responded.
Now every time he sees someone released from the hospital, or hears good news about a vaccine, he knows the Babe is doing everything he can to bring back baseball and make the world as it was.
So our sincere thanks to this imaginative little-leaguer who found a major league way to help.
"Do you think you could ask him to help the Tigers win a World Series? Because I've been rooting for that and I haven't had much luck," Hartman said. "Or do you think that's a bridge too far?"
"I don't think he'll answer," Curzon responded with a laugh.
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