Willie Ross has now equaled his sons in saves at an MLB ballpark.
Ross, father of Nationals pitcher Joe Ross and Rangers pitcher Tyson Ross, saved a woman from choking Saturday with the Heimlich maneuver at a Nationals-Giants game in San Francisco.
“I saw her having some difficulties, and I saw her companion helping her out,” Ross told the San Francisco Chronicle. “Then I just started watching, making sure that she was OK, and I went over just to chat, and she couldn’t talk, she needed help. She had three pieces of hot dog lodged in her airway.”
Ross calmly performed the Heimlich, getting the woman to spit out the hot dog chunks, much in the manner of Dr. Archie “Moonlight” Graham. He lives in the Bay Area and is a pediatrician at Stanford Children’s Hospital, the Chronicle reported, so he likely has many more career saves away from the park.
The woman he saved, a retired nurse, was able to stick around and watch the rest of the game, according to the Chronicle.
“She was thankful, she was grateful, but she was a little embarrassed,” Ross said. “She’s a nurse so she’s used to giving aid, not receiving it.”
Joe, 28, is a starter for the Nationals but is currently injured, so Willie got to watch his son’s teammate Jon Lester give up eight runs (though only three earned) in a 10–4 loss to the Giants.
Tyson, 34, has pitched 10 years in the big leagues and tallied the brothers’ only career save back in 2010 with the Oakland A’s. He is currently a minor leaguer in the Texas Rangers organization.
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