Character. It’s something that sports organizations look more and more for in their search to piece together winning teams.
And it was on display in abundance at the conclusion of a high school baseball game in Saint Paul, Minnesota on June 6, when a pitcher had just struck out his childhood friend.
While most would have been lost in the deliriousness of recording the final out and punching a ticket to the state championship, Mounds View pitcher Ty Koehn instead made a beeline towards Totino-Grace’s Jack Kocon.
Koehn’s strikeout of Kocon set-off a massive celebration for the Mounds View squad.
But Koehn knew what was important. Firstly, to console his childhood friend Kocon by throwing his arm around the dejected batter.
Even though the final score showed 17-10 in favour of the Mountain Views, Koehn knew how important the moment was.
“I knew the game was going to keep going or it was going to end right there,” Koehn told bringmethenews.com.
“I knew I had to say something. Our friendship is more important than just the silly outcome of a game. I had to make sure he knew that before we celebrated.”
“It was more instinct, it just felt right.”
The two have been friends since they were about 13 years-old, playing youth baseball together before parting ways in high school.
Given this moment, the friends seem destined to be just that, for a lot longer.