PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Mason Black and his younger brother woke up the morning of Oct. 7, 2011 and were surprised to find Phillies tickets for a playoff game that night resting on a dresser. Their dad had said he wanted to take his sons — Mason Black was not only a die-hard Phillies fan, but his favorite pitcher, Roy Halladay, got the ball that night in Game 5 of the NL Division Series. “They found them and came running downstairs and were like, ‘What are these?’” the boys’ father, George Black, said. “I said, ‘We’re going tonight!’ They almost came out of their shoes.” Thirteen years later, George Black and his sons were back at Citizens Bank Park and Mason was very much in his shoes — more like his cleats, as the right-handed starting pitcher made his major league debut for the San Francisco Giants against the Phillies. “I tried not to look up too much,” Black said. “Just kind of keep the focus on the plate and where I was.” |
Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian makes belated Metropolitan Opera debut as Madame ButterflyTikTok bows to European pressure and halts reward feature on new app in France and SpainSouth Carolina Senate approves $15.4B budget after debate on bathrooms and conference switchingConnecticut Senate passes wideXizang reports soaring exports of local agricultural specialties in Q1McIlroy ready to return to PGA Tour policy boardRebuilding Sharks fire coach David Quinn after 2 disappointing seasonsOfficials say up to 160 pilot whales beached on western Australian coast and at least 26 have diedUN report says 282 million people faced acute hunger in 2023, with the worst famine in GazaMcIlroy ready to return to PGA Tour policy board