Mud Hens Make 93-Year-Old Ken Silverthorne an Honorary Bat Boy

Ken Silverthorne, 93, a 1932 Mud Hens batboy, is honorary batboy tonight. "I feel like a boy again." @mudhens twitter.com/andi_roman/sta…

— andi roman (@andi_roman) June 2, 2013

There’s been a variety of feel-good stories across baseball this year, which has only made me fall in love with the sport even more than I thought was even possible. The most recent story to touch my heart was by the Toledo Mud Hens (the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate), who made a 93-year-old their honorary batboy for a night.

Ken Silverthorne was chosen as the lucky candidate and for good reason. He had served as the Mud Hens' bat boy more than 80 years before, at 12 years old, working for the team at Swayne Field in 1932. While the team found success throughout his original tenure, the Mud Hens found even more so last night, defeating Louisville 4-3 in walk-off fashion in the 10th inning. Silverthorne, while now confined to a wheelchair, admitted he had an amazing time and that despite being 93, during the night he felt like a boy again. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you - the power of baseball!