CINCINNATI — Ben Revere is getting so much attention for his glove — the way he used it and the message he taped to it — that he can’t keep up with the calls.
Revere stuck a strip of white athletic tape to the back of his glove on Monday night, showing support for those wounded or killed in the Boston marathon bombings. He wrote the message, “PRAY For Boston” on the tape with a black marker.
Revere then made a diving, over-the-shoulder catch at the edge of the warning track during a 4-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, an astounding play that filled his phone’s voice mail with messages of congratulations.
He finally got to see a replay of his catch on Tuesday morning.
“I was like, ‘Huh, that’s pretty nice,’” Revere said. “My phone’s blowing off the hook, people sending me video of it and stuff.
“I didn’t think I’d have a chance to catch up with it. I jumped and caught the ball.”
The crowd of 17,345 was so impressed by the catch that it gave him an ovation — a rarity for a visiting player. It was a big moment for the 24-year-old outfielder, who was obtained by the Phillies in a trade with Minnesota last December.
“A bunch of Reds fans were standing up and applauding,” he said. “That kind of gave me goose bumps. But it was just another day at the park, pretty much. Defense wins championships, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
The white tape on the back of his glove’s web also got a lot of attention. Revere decided to honor Boston with the message shortly before the game on Monday night. He kept the tape on his glove for the second game of the series on Tuesday as well.
“I’ll play with it for them today,” he said.
Revere was grateful for the response his gesture received back in Boston.
“A bunch of people who live in Boston said it was all over the news out there,” Revere said. “I just showed my appreciation. Even when I’m playing, I’m thinking of the people in Boston. It’s just terrible that it happened. For me, I’m just playing the game for them a little bit.
“Every day is precious. You never know what’s going to happen. We really do live in a scary world. You can’t take nothing for granted, it seems like.”
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