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Sam Hilliard honors late father with emotional home run as Rockies top Nationals

By Danielle Allentuck September 17, 2021 | updated 4 years ago

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Rockies Nationals Baseball

Colorado Rockies left fielder Sam Hilliard (22) makes a catch on a ball hit by Washington Nationals' Yadiel Hernandez for the out during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 17, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Nick Wass

On the outside, a late September contest between the Nationals and the Rockies, two teams out of playoff contention, seemed like it had little to no significance. But one look at Sam Hilliard’s face as he rounded the bases on Friday night showed otherwise.

It’s been less than a week since Hilliard left the team in Philadelphia, heading back home to Texas to be with his family as they said goodbye to his father, Jim. Jim battled ALS, and passed away on Sept. 12.

A few days later, Hilliard returned to the team in Atlanta. He had the option to miss games, but made the decision to meet them for the start of their series against the Braves. 

On Friday, with the Rockies down one run in the sixth inning, Hilliard hit a home run to right field, his first since his father died. 

As he crossed home plate, Hilliard paused for a second. Then he pointed both hands up and looked toward the sky. 

His home run gave the Rockies the lead in a game they would eventually go on to beat the Nationals in 9-8. Everyone in the dugout though knew this one wasn’t about the score. 

It was for his Dad.

“Your Dad would have said, ‘Good job getting all of it with two strikes.’” his mother Tamara tweeted. “I know that one was for him.”

In the dugout after, as Hilliard sat down for a moment to reflect, the tears started to flow. Brendan Rodgers came over to embrace him in a long hug — the two were roommates in the minor leagues, and now share a townhouse in Denver with Hilliard’s wife and Rodgers’ girlfriend.

Rodgers has seen first hand what the past three years have been like for them as Jim battled ALS. 

“I respect the hell out of him,” said Rodgers, who got choked up talking about it. “Coming back a couple days after it happened, it’s not easy to do. It’s definitely always in the back of his mind. He knows who he’s doing it. It’s emotional for me too. It’s tough to see.”

A half inning later, as he stood alone in left field, Hilliard started crying again. 

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“This is an emotional time for Sam. No one knows what he’s going through except others that have gone through that,” manager Bud Black said. “I think there’s no better way to honor his family and his father than going out there and playing baseball the way he plays it. When he performs successfully, it puts a lot of smiles on a lot of people’s faces. Ours included.”

As Hilliard’s father fought his own battles, he was always there for his son. When Hilliard was optioned earlier this season, struggling mentally, it was his father that suggested that he needed to get help. It was also Jim’s sense of humor that kept it light, helping him as he made it back up to the major leagues.

“He wanted me to know that it’s OK to not be able to do this on my own,” Hilliard said about his father in July. 

The family chose to share their story, creating Team Hilliard to raise awareness and funds to research ALS. Hilliard is one of the quieter players on the team, but not when it comes to his father. He speaks up to bring attention to this disease, and his teammates regularly wear their foundation’s ‘strike out ALS’ shirts during batting practice and share their posts on social media. 

The Hilliards, led by Tamara, were instrumental in getting major league baseball to honor Lou Gehrig day. On June 2, for the first of what they hope will be years of observance, Tamara and Jim Hilliard were at the Texas Rangers game in their hometown of Dallas.

In August, with the Rockies in town to face his hometown team, Hilliard had an entire section of family cheering him on. Jim wasn’t feeling well enough to be in attendance, but was watching at their nearby home. Until that series, Hilliard had no major league hits in his home state. But he finally broke the streak, hitting a home run.

He couldn’t wait to get to his phone to talk to his father about it. Hilliard said that night that he knew Jim would have something funny to say about it. 

Back at Nationals Park on Friday night, Hilliard shined again in the top of the ninth, hitting a single down the first base line with the score tied 8-8. He stole second, then advanced to third. A few minutes later, Brendan Rodgers drove him in.

On a night when the score didn’t matter, Hilliard was credited with the winning run. 

“You can’t write it any better than that,” Rodgers said.

—

German Márquez gave up six earned runs on eight hits, muddling through only four innings before he was removed. Brendan Rodgers hit a home run in the fifth, his 11th on the road and 13th overall, and Elias Diaz homered in the top of the ninth to tie the game. Charlie Blackmon, CJ Cron and Ryan McMahon had RBI’s in the Rockies’ win.

danielle.allentuck@gazette.com

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