Video: Little Leaguer Just Proved What True Sportsmanship Looks Like
Romans 15:2, ESV, states, “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.”
This is exactly what Little Leaguer Isaiah Jarvis did at the Little League Southwest Region championship in Waco, Texas. The 12-year-old Oklahoman was hit in the head by Texas East pitcher Kaiden “Bubs” Shelton while up to bat.
The impact knocked Jarvis’ helmet off and left him lying down at home plate. Gripping his head, Jarvis recovered and was applauded as he walked to first base.
While Jarvis appeared to be okay, Shelton was not. On the mound, Shelton was visibly shaken up. Jarvis took notice and approached the mound.
In many sports, when a player is injured by a member of the opposing team, an altercation is almost expected. Jarvis had different plans which would get nation-wide attention.
In the video, Jarvis put his arms around Shelton, hugging and comforting him, to let him know that it was okay.
“I wanted to go over there and spread God’s love and make sure that he’s OK, and make sure that he knows that I’m OK and that I’ll be okay,” Jarvis said on CNN’s television show, “New Day.”
After getting hit in the head with a pitch, this little leaguer showed a true act of sportsmanship by comforting the pitcher 🥲 pic.twitter.com/AbzXaLL5uz
— ESPN (@espn) August 9, 2022
Jarvis’ actions had a positive impact on Shelton, who was clearly bothered by injuring his rival.
“It felt like he cared,” said Shelton in response to Jarvis’ hug. “I also cared about him, and that just showed that baseball is sportsmanship — there’s a lot of sportsmanship in baseball.”
Though Oklahoma lost to Texas East, Jarvis shared with CNN that he and Shelton had become good friends and that he would be rooting for him later this month in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
When CNN asked what was learned after this experience, Shelton stated, “I think the lesson is that you should care for other people. Like if they’re down, you should just care for them, try to build them up.”
While only 12-years-old, Jarvis not only set a perfect example of what true sportsmanship looks like, but taught everyone what it truly means to build your neighbor up.
CORRECTION, AUGUST 12, 2022: For clarity purposes, Liftable.com has removed the News category from this article.
