One kind-hearted Indians fan made absolutely sure Kenny Lofton made his flight to Cleveland tothrow the ceremonial first pitch at the opening game of the World Series.
Ken Kostal was about to board his plane in Reno, Nevada, and head back to his home in Ohio when he spotted Lofton walk up to the gate. Kostal instantly recognized the the former Indians outfielder, and he also knew he’d been selected to throw the first pitch. What Kostal didn’t know, however, was that Lofton didn’t have a seat on the plane.
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“Kenny Lofton went walking by and he’s about four or five people up and a couple people started taking his picture and he made the comment, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get on this plane,’” Kostal said.
But Kostal is a true Cleveland fan, and he wasn’t about to let Lofton miss out on throwing that first pitch.
“When he got closer, you know, he had some type of ticket but it obviously wasn’t the right ticket and me being a Cleveland fan I said, ‘I’ll give you my ticket and he looked at me and said, I might take you up on it,’” Kostal said.
After talking it over, an airline employee at the desk crossed off Kostal’s name from his ticket and replaced it with Lofton’s.
Lofton gratefully accepted Kostal’s generosity and even posed for a photo with him. But Lofton wanted to do more. He promised to get Kostal an autographed bat and give him a shout-out on a nationally-televised sports program.
But Kostal didn’t give up his seat for SWAG, he gave up his seat because he’s a true Cleveland fan. Even still, Lofton pulled through and publicly thanked Kostal for giving him the ticket.
Kostal made him home a few hours later than he planned, but his actions allowed Lofton to make it to Cleveland.
[ H/T Fox 8 ]
