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Back in July, New York Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores teared up on the field after hearing he was being traded.

The deal fell through for the 24-year-old native of Venezuela, but he didn’t know that at the time, and his eyes welled up with tears as he manned his position in the infield:

After displaying his love for the Mets in such heart-wrenching fashion, Flores was embraced by fans. Two days later, he hit a walk-off home run.

Now close to a month after the incident, Steiner Sports has reportedly sold out of signed shots of Flores crying in the Mets’ dugout, per ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell.

Some fans took issue with making money off a picture of someone crying, but Brandon Steiner didn’t see anything wrong with it.

“I’m surprised at all the fuss,” Steiner said, per Rovell. “It was an emotional moment and showed how much he cared for playing for the team. We thought it was a magical Met moment that fans would enjoy.”

[Twitter]

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And Father of the Year goes to…not this guy.

After Albert Pujols bombed a second-inning home run to left field Monday night, this Los Angeles Angels fan did all he physically could to reel in the ball. At the last second, the ball squirted out of his mitt, and the usher burned him by tossing it to someone else.

Thing is, something much more important nearly slipped out—the baby in his right arm.

Despite flirting with legitimate danger, both daddy and daughter were unscathed. And that’s all that really matters.

The broadcast crew had a ball sent over to the family later on, which was either a kind gesture or its way of begging the fan to not try for another one.

[MLB]

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On Monday night, Christopher Duffley, a blind and autistic 14-year-old from New Hampshire, showed off his musical talents at Fenway Park on behalf of Autism Speaks as the Boston Red Sox hosted the Cleveland Indians.

The crowd loved him.

Sox supporters gave Duffley a tremendous reception, which clearly calmed his nerves and allowed him to sing a rock-solid rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Seriously, the kid brought the house down.

Just a daily reminder of why we love sports.

[MLB, h/t For the Win]

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Just as their adorable matching jerseys tell us, Carol and Warren Reckmeyer have been married since 1952.

Carol is a huge San Francisco Giants fan, and her 92-year-old husband deeply loves the St. Louis Cardinals.

What happens when their teams play each other, just as they did Monday night when the Birds took home a 2-1 victory?

“We make a truce,” Carol said laughing, per Scott Leber of MyStateLine.com.

Ah, true love.

[Twitter, MyStateLine.com]

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Five-year-old Hailey Dawson was born with Poland syndrome, which left her without fingers on her right hand.

But she has a robotic one made by engineering students at UNLV that slides onto her palm and moves its fingers with the movements of her wrist.

When the Baltimore Orioles hosted the Oakland Athletics on Monday, she inspired many by throwing out the first pitch at Camden Yards with her mechanical right hand.

With Orioles third baseman Manny Machado crouching in front of her, Hailey wound up with her Orioles-customized hand and delivered.

It’s a reminder that sports are bigger than what happens in between the lines.

[MLB]

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Before taking on the New York Yankees on Thursday night, Cleveland Indians infielder Mike Aviles shared a touching moment with his family.

One of his twin daughters, Adriana, was diagnosed with leukemia in May. As Zach Meisel of the Northest Ohio Media Group wrote Thursday, the Indians have been extremely supportive of the Aviles family, with team owner Paul Dolan getting his head shaved by the 34-year-old in the dugout back in June.

Before facing the Yankees, Aviles fulfilled a promise and let Adriana take the mound to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

She shined like a star and seemed to really enjoy the experience, with a proud papa beaming the entire time.

[MLB]

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Trayce Thompson is a 24-year-old outfielder who just got his big break with the Chicago White Sox, but we know him best as the younger brother of Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson.

Klay‘s little brother made everyone—well, at least in the baseball world—forget about the NBA champion Tuesday night, when he rocketed his first professional home run.

Big bro approved:

Thompson’s teammates in the dugout opted for the silent treatment.

He handled it well, though, with a few faux high-fives and some playful shoves. Then they all pounced on him like he just scored 37 points in a quarter.

[Twitter, MLB]

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With one out and nobody on in the bottom of the first inning Tuesday night, San Francisco Giants stud rookie Matt Duffy bombed a ball to the center field wall.

But Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Gomez was all over it.

The fiery 29-year-old threw caution to the wind and banged into the fence with some serious force to make an extremely impressive snag.

Afterward, Gomez was pumped—and rightfully so. 

[MLB]

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In sports, tempers flare. It happens.

Usually the anger is directed at opponents, but Detroit Tigers teammates James McCann and Jose Iglesias went at each other in the dugout Friday night at Comerica Park.

The two were jawing while the Boston Red Sox took the field in the bottom of the sixth inning, and then Iglesias threw a shove before hurling his glove at McCann.

Brian J. Manzullo of the Detroit Free Press believes the scrap, which was broken up by teammates, was over Iglesias’ casual approach to a grounder up the middle in the top half of the inning off the bat of Boston’s Rusney Castillo:

The Tigers came into the night 10.5 games back of the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central, so frustration might be a factor here, too.

Update: August 8

According to Chris McCosky of the Detroit News, Manzullo was right about the source of the fight.

Based on McCosky’s latest column, Iglesias’ blood is still boiling a day later, too:

Iglesias fanned those dying embers back into flames before the game Saturday. He showed no remorse or regret for his part in the dust-up and worse, he said he’d do the same thing over again.

“I did what I was supposed to do,” he said. “It’s fine. I’m OK with it.”

Would he have rather done it in private, away from the cameras and fans?

“I don’t mind the cameras, either,” he said. “I think I just go by my instinct and my instincts told me to do that. And I am OK with it.”

McCann had called Iglesias out in the dugout in the sixth inning. McCann was apparently upset that Iglesias didn’t give full effort on a ground ball up the middle. Television replays showed Iglesias was flat-footed when the ball was hit and he seemed to give up on the ball quickly.

[MLB, Twitter]

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Mike Trout is one of baseball’s biggest stars, but the Los Angeles Angels outfielder is still a young buck.

Albert Pujols, with 35 years of age to his name, gave Trout a reminder of that last nugget on his 24th birthday Friday.

Fellow Angel Kole Calhoun posted a video of Pujols deviously singing “Happy Birthday” to a seated Trout as the first baseman poured baby powder on the reigning AL MVP’s head.

It was then that Pujols slapped an egg right on top of his young teammate’s noggin.

Luckily, Trout was a good sport.

[Twitter]

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