Oakland Athletics outfielder Stephen Piscotty returned to baseball on Tuesday after time off to mourn the loss of his mother. His first at-bat back afforded him another opportunity to honor her memory.
Piscotty homered over Fenway Park's Green Monster in the second inning. As he was coming to the plate — feeling "pure joy," as he told reporters postgame — he put his hand to his heart and looked skyward.
"Coming around third, just immediately started thinking of my mom. I put my hand over my chest like she would do, and that’s kind of going to be my thing going forward," he said, per MLB.com.
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Piscotty also made the gesture last week as he played in the days following the death of Gretchen Piscotty. He told the San Francisco Chronicle his mother would use the gesture to communicate when she could not speak.
Gretchen Piscotty died May 6 of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease. She was 55. Her son took part in a celebration of her life in Pleasanton, Calif., on Monday, the last of four days he spent on baseball's bereavement list. He then traveled to Boston to rejoin the A's.
