The Cleveland Indians have shown their support towards one of their own in a team building manner. Players and coaches alike have went to shaving their heads to help Mike Aviles' daughter, who is combating of leukemia. She recently began battling the illness, and the shaved heads are a sign of community and togetherness between the team and the Aviles family.
Aviles has been in and out of the lineup with having to take care of his daughter, but that didn't stop the team from making sure he felt at home even at the ballpark. He expressed his astonishment of his teammates support to ESPN:
"It means a lot for me. It shows I'm kind of liked, or my daughter is, anyway. In all honesty, it's kind of cool when you have your whole team on your side. It goes without saying, everybody in here has families and they know how it is. It's a tough time, but to know that my team, the coaching staff, everybody, is on my family's side and my little girl's side, it helps out a lot and makes me feel good."
Manager Terry Francona explained to MLB that the seriousness of the situation is not lost on him, but he is also able to see a bright side for both the Indians and Aviles' daughter with his team's support:
"It's a bunch of guys that really care about their teammate. A lot of the guys probably don't even know Adriana, but because it's Mikey's daughter, she's important to all of us. I think it's a way to take something that's very serious and makes you step back and think, take it and turn it into something where, I guarantee you, when she sees pictures of all these guys, she's going to smile."
What do you think of the team's decision to shave their heads in support of the Aviles family? Will the Indians team chemistry translate into wins on the field? Tell us what you think.
