Twins "Captain America" Player Real American Hero

[Seth Stohs]

On Tuesday night at CHS Field, the St. Paul Saints returned home for a series against the Buffalo Bisons. 

The Twins won the first game of the series on Tuesday by a score of 12-6. The Saints scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning and led 11-3 after four innings. The did most of their damage early. 

However, the most important "play of the day" before the phrase, "Play Ball" was uttered. 

Before each game at CHS Field, a kid gets to stand alongside each of the nine defensive players. Maybe they bring a ball with them and the player signs it for him or her. Overall, it's a cool way for the players to interact with kids. And they stand next to the player for the playing of the national anthem. 

Shortly after The Star-Spangled Banner started, the youngster standing next to Walker Jenkins in center field started to wobble. He leaned heavily to his right, bumping into right fielder Matt Wallner who caught him and set him up, likely not sure what was happening. But when he started to fall, Jenkins stepped over and caught him. Realizing that he had fainted, Jenkins picked him up and ran him into the Saints dugout where he handed the child to Chase Thompson, the Saints lead athletic trainer. From there, the child, "Lincoln" was brought into the clubhouse and evaluated. 

Ultimately, he was OK. He had overheated and was a bit dehydrated which caused him to faint. He was given fluids and cooled off before he returned to watching the game. 

After Jenkins handed Lincoln over, he clearly did not know what to do? Does he follow along? Does he stay on the field? The national anthem was still playing? Should he run back out to his position? A situation like that has to cause the mind to race. But when he was needed, he came through. 

Did it affect him during the game? If it did, it didn't show. He had a single in the first inning, doubled in the fourth inning, and tripled in the sixth inning. 

The summer before being drafted, Jenkins was playing for Team USA Baseball. Twins Hall of Famer Michael Cuddyer has been very active with Team USA over the years. He gave Jenkins the nickname "Captain America" because of his size, stature, and overall talent level. 

On Tuesday, Jenkins got to play Super Hero for a kid and his family. 

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