Military father surprised his son while disguised as a Royals catcher during emotional first pitch
Military father surprised son during emotional first pitch
Rarely do you find yourself tearing up during the ceremonial first pitch. That was a different story on Tuesday night.
When the 11-year-old Austin Sides threw out the first pitch before the Royals game against the Dodgers, he thought he was simply living out a dream. But when he went to collect the ball from the catcher, Austin was in for an even bigger surprise. Because it wasn't Salvador Perez or Brett Hayes behind the mask, it was his father, Major Robert Sides, who had been stationed at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait since June 2013.
Said Major Sides:
"I almost lost it myself. I grew up a pitcher, throwing with my dad and to be able to do this with my son after being gone all year, Facetime only goes so far. You need the contact and I miss that so much."
As for Austin, he seems pretty happy to have Dad back home.
(Reporting by Jackson Alexander / MLB.com)
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