I’ve made no secret of my appreciation of Jay Bruce and his abilities. I’ve met the guy once and he was very nice and have been told by a couple of other minor league players that that is not a public persona; that’s the way he is.
John Fay has a blurb about Bruce today on his blog:
When Bruce heard Sheldon “Chief” Bender died last week, he asked Reds PR man Rob Butcher for the address of Bender’s family. He wanted to write them a letter of condolence and appreciation. Bruce won the Chief Bender Award, as the Reds’ top minor leaguer last year.
“I met him a couple of times,” Bruce said. “He was a great guy. I thought I should let the family know I appreciated the award.”
How many 20 year old kids would think to do something like this? This guy is the real deal and will be the next face of Cincinnati Reds baseball.