After pitching a couple innings he came back to the boy on his own and said...

I recently recalled how my daughter met teen actress Shanica Knowles, co-star of Hannah Montana, and complimented Knowles for being so gracious to her. My daughter was awed, and afterwards was furiously texting all her little friends to tell them about meeting Knowles.

It reminded me of a another story in the holiday spirit, one a friend of mine in Colorado told me about his 8-year-old son, who is a big Colorado Rockies fan.

My friend took his son to a spring training game in 2007 and Jeff Francis (pictured), a pitcher who would win 17 games for the Rockies that year and pitch in the World Series, gave the boy an autograph. After pitching a couple innings he came back to the boy on his own, stood next to him, and said:

I need a little advice. I'm having a hard time keeping my fastball down. I'm wondering--should I throw my curveball more or should I change my delivery for my fastball?

The little boy promptly launched into his expert opinion on how Francis should be pitching, all the time Francis nodding at his sagely wisdom. It was very touching and cute.