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After Astros infielder Grae Kessinger found out last June that he was being called up to “the Show” for the first time, one of his first calls was to the grandfather he calls “Pop.”
Back in Oxford, Mississippi, Don Kessinger caught a lump in his throat.
“He said that he was more excited for me than he was when he got called up [to the Cubs in 1964],” Grae recalled during spring training in West Palm Beach, Florida. “He meant it, too. His family is what brings him joy. He’s such a great mentor, a great role model.