'Hit another for Theo': Tigers prospect meets cancer patient before game, swats 3 homers

Before Josue Briceño even stepped into the batter’s box Thursday night, his performance had already taken on deeper meaning.

Earlier in the evening, Briceño met Theo Price -- a 13-year-old Tigers fan from Fort Wayne, Ind., who’s currently undergoing proton beam radiation and physical therapy at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

Diagnosed last fall with chondrosarcoma, a type of bone cancer located on the inner wall of his hip, Theo has endured two major surgeries and now travels daily for treatment.

A Tigers fan since before he can remember, Theo has always looked up to Miguel Cabrera. On Thursday night, the Whitecaps -- playing High-A Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, this week -- granted him access to meet the team, visit the dugout and exchange lineup cards at home plate before first pitch.

Wearing a bright smile, a Tigers cap, and a stack of bracelets, Theo handed out his signature #swings4theo yellow bracelets -- the color representing sarcoma awareness -- to Whitecaps players and coaches.

One player he made sure to talk to and exchange bracelets with was Briceño.

“I just told him I was there for whatever he needed,” Briceño said.

The Tigers’ No. 4 prospect wore the bracelet during the game. And then, he delivered a night that Theo will never forget.

The 20-year-old opened the scoring in the first inning, mashing an up-and-away fastball to the opposite field off Dayton’s Brian Edgington.

“After I hit the first homer, I started thinking about him,” Briceño said.

Following yet another roundtripper and a double, one of Briceño’s teammates turned to him and said, “You’re going to hit another for Theo.”

Briceño did just that, swatting a majestic two-run home run over the right-center-field berm.

“I was just focused on a good swing, good contact -- and it happened,” Briceño said.

By the end of the night, Briceño had gone 4-for-4 with three home runs, a double, four runs scored and five RBIs -- his first professional multihomer game -- helping West Michigan cruise to a 14-1 win over Dayton at Day Air Ballpark.

But Briceño also managed to swipe home on a double steal in the fifth, thereby accomplishing something not done at the Major League level since at least 1901 or the Minor League level since at least 2005 -- a three-homer game AND a swipe of home plate in the same contest.

Signed out of Venezuela in January 2022, the catcher/first baseman is putting together a breakout campaign at High-A West Michigan after an injury-riddled 2024. Briceño is slashing .268/.383/.610 -- with his slugging percentage leading all Midwest League hitters. Much of his early-season success can be traced back to a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League, where he was named the recipient of the Joe Black MVP Award after becoming the first player in league history to win the Triple Crown.

Briceño, MLB’s No. 81 prospect, has been swinging one of the hottest bats in the Minors this month. The left-handed hitter has slugged six home runs in May and posted a 1.288 OPS over 41 at-bats. He’s shown more than just power, too -- reaching base at a high clip and spraying the ball to all fields.

“My goal is always the same: play for my family and play hard,” Briceño said. “I just try to use the whole field and trust my approach.”

And for Theo, who dreams of working in a Major League front office someday, the night was “pretty surreal.”

“It’s not every day that you get greeted by arguably the best High-A team in Minor League Baseball,” he said.

The West Michigan clubhouse was buzzing after the win, not just because of the scoreboard, but because of who they were playing for: Theo.

“When you find a reason to play for something that's bigger than yourself,” said Whitecaps broadcaster Dan Hasty, “I think that's when a team plays its best.”