Top of the third at Fenway last night. Mariners DH Dominic Canzone tapped a 51 mph chopper in front of the mound. Payton Tolle is 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds. He pounced on it and cut Canzone off about halfway down the first base line. Easy tag. Routine out. Instead he opened his arms wide and hugged him. Wrapped him up completely, applied the tag in the middle of it, and Canzone put an arm around him and smiled before heading back to the dugout. MLB called him an absolute gem. The clip went everywhere. If you watch Tolle pitch, none of it is out of character. He prances around the mound. He fist pumps at nothing. He takes exaggerated leaps at balls he has zero chance of catching. He gives out enormous hugs in the dugout between innings, mostly to Garrett Whitlock. He is 23 years old and he looks like he is having the best time of anyone in the building, every single night. Here's where that comes from. Written on his glove are three words. You're so pretty. That's what his mother used to yell at him. Loudly, on purpose, in front of his friends and his teammates, specifically to embarrass him. It was how she told him she loved him. Jina Tolle was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer back in 2016. Doctors gave her three months. She lived almost eight years. She never complained about it, by every account from people who knew her. She was a former Wichita State golfer, and her stories about that place are a big reason her son chose to play there. She died in May 2024 at 48 years old. Two months later, the Red Sox drafted her son 50th overall. There's a detail in this that's hard to believe. The Red Sox scout who pushed for Boston to draft him, John Reilly, had been friends with Jina for years before he ever met Payton. When they finally met in person at TCU in 2023, the first thing they did was hug each other. Now Tolle runs out to center field before every game. "It's like I'm having a conversation with her," he said. "There's sometimes where if I need some comfort, I know that I've always got a fan, so that's nice." Before and after every start, he signals I love you and looks up at the sky. "She told me to play with joy and show people why you love this game, and I get to go out there every fifth day, and I get to do that." "She was my best friend and I still talk to her quite a bit. For her to go through that with the mindset she had, it poured into my brother and myself." This past winter he joined the Red Sox Holiday Caravan and spent his offseason visiting cancer patients around Boston. On the field he's turning into a real problem for hitters. He entered last night 8-6 with a 3.09 ERA and 141 strikeouts, and earlier this season he became the youngest Red Sox pitcher to strike out 14 in a game since Roger Clemens. Boston came back to win 9-8 in extras. But the play everyone will remember from that night is a guy who decided a routine tag out was a good enough reason to hug a stranger. His mom told him to play with joy. He took it literally. For more stories like this, follow us on any platform @thesportsontap