Orioles third baseman Manny Machado is in Sarasota, Fla., battling fastballs and changeups. Over 4,000 miles away, in Hawaii, a young boy is in hospice care as he battles Stage IV neuroblastoma.
But social media movements move quickly. And on Thursday, Machado and his wife, Yainee, posted to Instagram a picture of them doing the “shaka” sign and rooting on “Little man trucker.”
Little man trucker!!! Be strong!!!!!! You can do it!!!! @trucker_boy_dukes #teamtrucker #cancersucks
A post shared by Machado's (@machados13) on Feb 22, 2017 at 3:13pm PST
Trucker is Trucker Dukes, the 3-year-old boy battling cancer. The #TruckerToughChallenge began Jan. 31, spearheaded by the charitable foundation of Atlanta Braves catcher Kurt Suzuki, himself a Hawaii native.
Suzuki and his wife, Renee, got involved when Dukes’ parents asked whether they could buy T-shirts to help defray the medical costs of Trucker’s healthcare. The Suzukis started to follow Trucker’s story on Facebook, and with a photo of the shaka-ing boy at the forefront of their efforts, they began to raise funds for the family.
Pretty soon, Suzuki’s friends around baseball were showing their support. It was like baseball’s “Zaching.” Albert Pujols joined in. So did Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. J.J. Hardy sent a selfie, too.
Now Machado’s on #TeamTrucker, too.
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