John McDonald, utility infielder for the Toronto Blue Jays, has had a tough go as of late. For the last 11 days he’s been away from the team, spending time with his ailing father Jack until the elder McDonald finally passed away after a long bout with liver cancer. From the sounds of it, the father and son were as close as a father and son could be.
So it was apropos that McDonald, just two days after burying his father, came in as a late inning replacement for Aaron Hill in a 9-6 loss to the Giants, on Father’s Day no less. Of course McDonald, who hadn’t hit a homer all season (he only has 13 in 12 big league seasons) took a page right out of a Hollywood script and mashed a two-run shot. The Jays comeback fell short, but that was secondary considering the feel-good story McDonald had engineered.
Get the tissues, because the Jack and John McDonald story gets better.
Seems Jack, in the days before he died, had one request for his son–hit his next home run in his honor. Which, of course, John did in grand fashion
Click here to see McDonald’s amazing Father’s Day homer.
When asked what he was thinking when he was rounding the bases, McDonald’s answer will get you right in the sweet spot…of your heart.
“Probably the fact that I couldn’t call my dad after the game to tell him.”
Wow…just wow. There’s not much you can say after that. To call that touching wouldn’t do it justice.
Well done Johnny Mac, well done indeed.
