Jack Flaherty, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, helped lead his team to victory after beating the Atlanta Braves in Game 5 of the playoffs. His first priority? To hug mom.
After the win, Flaherty, 23, immediately ran over to his mother, Eileen, to give her a giant hug as she stood in the stands. He shared the heartwarming photo on Twitter along with a simple caption: “Love you Mama”.
Love you Mama ❤️ pic.twitter.com/OIRB0NhsXM
— Jack Flaherty (@Jack9Flaherty) October 10, 2019
The win was a giant one for the Cardinals – beating the Braves 13 to 1. Flaherty gave up only one run during six innings! Grateful and relieved, Flaherty shared the win with his number one fan and mentor. There was also a beautiful video of the moment that was captured from a fan’s angle.
What makes the game so special is the fact that many people thought Flaherty would sit this game out, in order to keep him fresh and ready-to-go for future, more intense, games. But instead – he ended up throwing 104 pitches that day.
What makes the long embrace so special is that Eileen is a single mother who adopted Flaherty when he was just 3-weeks-old.
“She’s special. She’s a special woman and there’s no other way to put it,” Flaherty told FS1 earlier in 2019. “She’s done absolutely everything possible for me to be in the position that I’m in right now. And there’s not enough ways for me to thank her. It’s just a special relationship that we have and that we’ve built, but she’s a special woman.”
Flaherty has stayed close with his mother, even as his career has taken off. He even made sure that he lives in close proximity to his mom. The Cardinals pitcher says that he is eternally grateful that his mother decided to take him in as her own 23 years ago.
“I’ve been thankful every day because, had that not happened, I don’t know where I would be right now,” he said. “I don’t know what position I would be in. I definitely wouldn’t be sitting here today. That moment is something I just thank her for.”
As it turns out, there was one point where Flaherty wanted to quit baseball – and Eileen helped him decide if that was something he really wanted to do.
“I was like … couldn’t do it,” says Flaherty, the Cardinals’ second-year starter. “I’m thankful to her for that. Whenever times have gotten tough, whenever I’ve questioned myself, she could tell something was up and she would completely instill that confidence back into me. Moms are so powerful and special and they do so much for us that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to put enough emphasis on how much she’s meant to me. She’s always been a rock.”
Follow Flaherty on Instagram to watch his journey.
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