The Cardinals and A's Worked Out a Trade in the Offseason Just So Stephen Piscotty Could Be With His Mother, Who Sadly Just Passed Away From ALS

Pretty sad story in the baseball world the last few days as Oakland A’s outfielder Stephen Piscotty’s mother, Gretchen, lost her battle to ALS. If you have seven minutes make sure you watch the above video that SportsCenter put out about Stephen’s story. Last year his mother was diagnosed with the horrible disease that constantly cripples families, as they prep for the inevitable loss. The disease moved quickly and weakened her entire body as it took its toll. Piscotty was drafted by the Cardinals in the 2012 MLB Draft. He was seen within the organization as a top prospect and quickly ascended through the minor league levels. In his first full season with the Cards, Piscotty hit .273 with 22 homers and 85 RBIs.

Last season Piscotty took personal leave in late May to tend to his ailing mother. The whole situation clearly rattled him and affected his stats, leading to him being optioned to Triple A. Major League Baseball, or any sport for that matter, is always described as a business. As shitty as getting traded and having to move your entire family is, it happens. GMs and owners will always choose bettering their teams over caring about players. Except for this very unfortunate, special situation. Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane and Cardinals’ GM Mike Girsch worked together this past offseason to get Piscotty home to be with his mom. Despite Piscotty being a top prospect and a young weapon in their lineup, the Cards made sure he could be with his dying mother, putting him over the future of their team. They worked out a trade so he could be just a few minute drive from being with her and spend as much time as possible rather than being in St. Louis. No part of this blog is funny, but I thought it was worth mentioning how selfless a move this was by everyone involved. The A’s President of Operations even said they would donate a portion of Piscotty’s jersey sales towards ALS research. Very cool stuff all around despite a very sad situation.