Good NewsYoung hearing-impaired fan gets sweet surprise from baseball team’s mascot
Hunter Samworth, 7, is a fan of his local minor league baseball team the Dayton Dragons, and is a particularly big fan of their mascot, Heater.
He also happens to be deaf, and relies on sign language and cochlear hearing aids to communicate.
Last week, Hunter attended a Dayton Dragons baseball game with his parents, and even got the opportunity to meet Heater before the game. What was most surprising though, was what Hunter's father, Matt Samworth, caught on camera:
[ Good News: Learning a second language keeps your brain young: study ]
Matt explains the sweet scene on his Facebook page:
Cheri [Hunter's mother] told Hunter, verbally and in sign, to tell Heater "nice to meet you!" All of the sudden all three of us were taken by surprise when Heater started signing to Hunter!! Not his escort (who also is an ASL interpreter) but Heater the Dragons mascot!! Hats off to Paul and Heater for lifting us up on Saturday night. You both gave us all a moment we will never forget!!
In an interview with Fox 45, Cheri Samworth reflected happily on the moment: "You can see on the video, his smile is like, 'He gets me, he speaks my language, he understands me.' Just a completely different experience for Hunter."
It's just one more example of a team mascot going above and beyond the call of duty to make the game experience that much more special.
