Back in March, young Yankees fans Elyjah Blankenberg was part of a sad news cycle when a plea from his mother went viral, begging for help to help her son find his beloved binder of baseball cards that he had lost at Ed Smith Stadium in Florida.
The binder contained a DJ LeMahieu card that the Yankee infielder had just signed for him, a treasured piece of memorabilia for Blankenberg, whose little league teammates nicknamed him after for his style of play.
Despite not being able to recover those cards, Blankenberg has been receiving all kinds of new treasures in return, including one from LeMahieu himself.
ESPN’s Ryan Hockensmith chronicled the past couple months for the 11-year-old Blankenberg, who has been receiving all kinds of autographs in the mail since his mother Colleen Spencer took to social media to try and get her son’s binder back. One of those treasures was a personalized signed baseball by LeMahieu. Another was a ball signed by the 1968 Yankees, with a remarkable backstory behind it.
Accompanying the baseball signed by stars that included Mickey Mantle was a letter from Steve Samples, who was gifted the ball by the Yankees after he was attacked by sharks back in 1968. He needed over 2,000 stitches as a result of the attack, and the signed ball helped him get through the traumatic event. Now, with Blankenberg hurting from what he lost, Samples had found the perfect way to pay it forward over half a century later.
Other gifts came from a New Yorker who sent autographs from Nolan Ryan, Greg Maddux, Sammy Sosa, Peyton Manning, and Ozzie Smith. The 2022 Orioles, who were playing the Yankees the day Blankenberg lost his cards, sent him autographs as well.
It was a devastating day for young Elyjah back in March, but thanks to some widespread kindness, he now boasts a very impressive memorabilia collection, each one carrying plenty of meaning.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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