In sports and life in general for that matter, things are the way they’re meant to be.
That was the sad reality for Dallas Braden when his mother Jodie Atwood died of skin cancer when he was a high school senior.
On Sunday, Dallas Braden, now a starting pitcher with the Oakland A’s, pitched the 19th perfect game in Major League Baseball history. Braden held the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays without a hit or a walk for 9-innings, and he did it on Mothers Day.
The lefty pointed to the sky in honor of his mother. He then shared a long and tearful embrace with his grandmother, Peggy Lindsey, who helped finish raising him.
Mothers Day can no longer be an easy day for Dallas Braden. He can only cherish the moments he once had. But Sunday’s perfect game, with his grandmother there to watch it, was certainly a great way to say I love you mom. I’m guessing she was looking down on her son the whole time.