An act of kindness is bringing out the best in baseball-loving Phillies fans.
A teenager from Delaware used his own money to buy a ticket to the Phillies’ game last week at Citizens Bank Park. Cody Newton, 16, wanted to see a playoff game, but more than that, he wanted to feel like he was there with his father.
“He says, ‘I’m here by myself.’ And we were like, ‘how old are you?’ And he said, 'sixteen.' I was like, ‘how did you get up here?’ He was like, ‘I took an Uber,’” said Chris Greenwell, a Phillies season-ticket holder who met Cody at the game.
Cody said he hadn’t gone to a Phillies game since the loss of his dad last December. Phillies games were their “thing,” and he knew his dad would want to be with him in their left field seats, watching the playoffs together – so that’s the seat Cody bought.
“I immediately thought about him and how happy he’d be, and I was also very happy about that,” Cody said. “I didn’t go to a single game without him. I always went to games with him all the time.”
Chris and his friends brought Cody right into their pack. “We grabbed him and gave him a big hug and he was one of the boys with us the whole game,” he said.
“It blew me away,” Chris continued through tears. “With me being a single parent myself, and I was brought up without a father, it was really a touching thing to see him do that. And it brought tears to my eyes like it does now talking about it.”
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Chris posted about Cody on Facebook and hundreds of other people were touched, too. One of them, John Landoll, saw the post and decided that if it was okay with Cody’s mother, he would take Cody back to the Park to see the Phillies in the National League Championship Series.
“He was like ‘I just don’t understand why you’d do this for me but thank you,’” John said. “I told him I’m a dad, I still have my dad and I can’t imagine being 16 and not having my dad.”
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Cody said he was speechless. He told everyone at school he’s going to a championship game.
And it gets even better. Charles Jaramillo Limo Service also saw the post and took the crew to the game in a stretch Hummer limo on Friday for Game 3 of the NLCS.
Cody also got the chance to meet former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel and former Phillies player Ryan Howard during Friday's game.
Cody's new friends can’t replace Dad, but they made the night special for a hardworking kid who misses seeing the Phillies with his pop.
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