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9-year-old Red Sox fan meets Orioles' Chris Davis after writing encouraging letter

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis thanked 9-year-old baseball fan Henry Frasca for enouraging him during his hitting slump with a fun day at Fenway Park.

BOSTON — At the start of the baseball season, Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis was hitless. He was 0-for-33 with 16 strikeouts and was in an 0-for-54 slump overall, the longest hitting slump in Major League Baseball.

But on April 13, 9-year-old Henry Frasca, a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan, was going to a game at Fenway Park, where his favorite team would play the Orioles.

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Henry's father, Gabriel Frasa, told The Baltimore Sun that he's also a general baseball fan, and he was well aware of Davis' slump. He planned to write a letter to Davis to encourage him, but forgot about it until they were on the way to the game.

Henry and his family got to the park in time for batting practice, but Davis wasn't pitching that day, but Henry was still able to get his letter to him.

"Dear Mr. Davis, from Henry Frasca, a 9-year-old kid and diehard Red Sox fan," the letter read. "I want to tell you two things. How many hits you get has nothing to do with how good a person you are. You weren't a better person when you were hitting more home runs. You aren't a worse person now.

"Secondly, you're incredible. Don't forget you hit 50 home runs in a season. You're really good. You've got to believe in yourself, and I'm going to believe in you," he wrote. "There'll be one Red Sox fan rooting for you."

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"When I started reading it, I got a little choked up," Davis told The Baltimore Sun. "I just thought, ‘You know what? Today's the day.'"

Davis had the letter in his pocket when he broke the slump that day, and the Orioles won the game 9-5.

Davis kept the letter in a Bible he carries and has had it with him for the rest of the season.

USA Today reported that Henry was invited to a fun day with Davis Saturday as a token of appreciation for his letter.

The two visited the club house, threw balls across the field and into the crowd, and spoke to reporters about the letter and the impact it has had on him.

"At that moment in time, going through what I was going through, to get a letter that was that encouraging, and from a 9-year-old, it was pretty special."