Oakland A’s give 9-year-old wildfire victim new baseball memorabilia – USA TODAY
The Oakland A’s came to the rescue of a 9-year-old boy who lost his entire memorabilia collection when a California wild fire destroyed his family’s home.
USA TODAY Sports
Nine-year-old Loren Jade Smith lost his large collection of Oakland A’s memorabilia earlier this month when his family’s Northern California home was destroyed by wildfires.
Smith’s collection has now multiplied, thanks to the A’s and the baseball community.
A’s president Dave Kaval, manager Bob Melvin and catcher Bruce Maxwell visited Loren and his parents on Friday in Santa Rosa, giving him new A’s gear to replace what he lost in the fires.
The A’s also presented Smith with memorabilia donated by MLB teams and fans across the country, as well as new baseball cards. The team had created a donation hub, and a number of former players — including ex-A’s pitcher Dan Haren and retired Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis — offered to help.
After the fire, Loren wrote a letter to the A’s, telling them about the items he had lost when his home burned, including “my baseball collection cards, my 17 jerseys and 10 hats.” The letter was picked up by a local TV station and went viral on social media.
MORE: Oakland A’s, MLB rally around 9-year-old whose family lost everything in wildfire
BAKER OUT: Dusty Baker, dismissed as Nationals manager, calls club’s decision ‘hard to understand’
“It hits you like a ton of bricks, because you know the family’s going through so much,” Kaval told USA TODAY Sports by phone earlier this week. “I thought the least we could do is obviously outfit the family and get them new A’s gear, and that response I think just kicked off a whole groundswell of support.”
On Friday, the A’s posted video footage of a wide-eyed Smith accepting autographed jerseys from Maxwell and Melvin.
Contributing: Tom Schad, USA TODAY Sports
PHOTOS: Best of 2017 LCS
-
1 of 143
-
2 of 143
-
3 of 143
-
4 of 143
-
5 of 143
-
6 of 143
-
7 of 143
-
8 of 143
-
9 of 143
-
10 of 143
-
11 of 143
-
12 of 143
-
13 of 143
-
14 of 143
-
15 of 143
-
16 of 143
-
17 of 143
-
18 of 143
-
19 of 143
-
20 of 143
-
21 of 143
-
22 of 143
-
23 of 143
-
24 of 143
-
25 of 143
-
26 of 143
-
27 of 143
-
28 of 143
-
29 of 143
-
30 of 143
-
31 of 143
-
32 of 143
-
33 of 143
-
34 of 143
-
35 of 143
-
36 of 143
-
37 of 143
-
38 of 143
-
39 of 143
-
40 of 143
-
41 of 143
-
42 of 143
-
43 of 143
-
44 of 143
-
45 of 143
-
46 of 143
-
47 of 143
-
48 of 143
-
49 of 143
-
50 of 143
-
51 of 143
-
52 of 143
-
53 of 143
-
54 of 143
-
55 of 143
-
56 of 143
-
57 of 143
-
58 of 143
-
59 of 143
-
60 of 143
-
61 of 143
-
62 of 143
-
63 of 143
-
64 of 143
-
65 of 143
-
66 of 143
-
67 of 143
-
68 of 143
-
69 of 143
-
70 of 143
-
71 of 143
-
72 of 143
-
73 of 143
-
74 of 143
-
75 of 143
-
76 of 143
-
77 of 143
-
78 of 143
-
79 of 143
-
80 of 143
-
81 of 143
-
82 of 143
-
83 of 143
-
84 of 143
-
85 of 143
-
86 of 143
-
87 of 143
-
88 of 143
-
89 of 143
-
90 of 143
-
91 of 143
-
92 of 143
-
93 of 143
-
94 of 143
-
95 of 143
-
96 of 143
-
97 of 143
-
98 of 143
-
99 of 143
-
100 of 143
-
101 of 143
-
102 of 143
-
103 of 143
-
104 of 143
-
105 of 143
-
106 of 143
-
107 of 143
-
108 of 143
-
109 of 143
-
110 of 143
-
111 of 143
-
112 of 143
-
113 of 143
-
114 of 143
-
115 of 143
-
116 of 143
-
117 of 143
-
118 of 143
-
119 of 143
-
120 of 143
-
121 of 143
-
122 of 143
-
123 of 143
-
124 of 143
-
125 of 143
-
126 of 143
-
127 of 143
-
128 of 143
-
129 of 143
-
130 of 143
-
131 of 143
-
132 of 143
-
133 of 143
-
134 of 143
-
135 of 143
-
136 of 143
-
137 of 143
-
138 of 143
-
139 of 143
-
140 of 143
-
141 of 143
-
142 of 143
-
143 of 143
About Us
Free Shipping
If your order is $35 or more, you may qualify for free shipping. With free shipping, your order will be delivered 5-8 business days.
