As Colorado Rockies pinch hitter Sam Hilliard rounded the bases after hitting a game-tying two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning on Saturday night against the Cubs, he was deeply thinking about his late father, Jim, who passed away two years ago from ALS.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about that,” Hilliard said. “I was thinking about him kind of all day, and if a baseball opportunity came up, how special that would be.” Hilliard’s homer tied the game 5-5, sending it into the 10th inning, where the Rockies won 6-5 with a game-winning RBI single from Brenton Doyle.
After his father’s death in 2022, Hilliard and his family established Team Hilliard to raise awareness about ALS, support research, and assist those affected by the disease.
Before Saturday night’s game, Team Hilliard donated a specially adapted motorized wheelchair to an ALS patient to help with mobility.
The foundation’s efforts are part of Hilliard and his family’s commitment to honor his father’s memory. He keeps his father close in his thoughts, especially after the pregame ceremony to support someone battling the same illness his father faced.
During his ninth-inning at-bat, Hilliard was able to stay focused on the game, though the emotions resurfaced when he hit the pitch from Porter Hodge over the right-center field fence for his fifth career pinch-hit home run.
He now has three pinch-hit homers that tied the game or gave the lead in the ninth inning or later, tying him with Jason Giambi for the most in Rockies franchise history. All three have occurred with two outs, the most in the team’s history.
