6 Year-Old Cooper Stone Tosses Out First Pitch

Six year-old Cooper Stone threw out the first pitch this afternoon at the opening playoff game between the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays. Cooper is the 6 year-old boy who watched his father fall to his death while trying to catch a game ball tossed from the playing field into the outfield stands at a Texas home game in July.

For his first pitch toss, Cooper was accompanied on to the field by his mother Jenny where they were greeted by Ranger all-star Josh Hamilton. Hamilton squatted into a catcher's stance about half way between the pitcher's mound and home plate to snag the pitch from the six year-old.

After the ceremonial pitch, the six year-old walked over to Hamilton who remained crouched. They exchanged a moment of conversation before Cooper sweetly tossed his arms around the baseball player's neck. Hamilton then stood and gave a long supportive hug to Jenny Stone, appearing to take time to ask how both she and Cooper were doing. They talked for a few minutes, and Hamilton hugged both mom and son again before they left the field together.

It was a very tender moment in baseball history, as it was actually Hamilton who threw the ball into the outfield stands in July that ultimately led to the horrific fall and untimely death of Cooper Stone's father.

If you're interested, a video clip of Cooper's first pitch and hug with Hamilton is linked in this article (scroll down to the second "picture" window to see the video). It will likely end up being my favorite moment of the 2011 MLB Playoffs.