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Indians shave heads to show support for Aviles' leukemia-stricken daughter

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

When Mike Aviles returned to the Cleveland Indians' clubhouse last week, there was an understanding among the team's beat reporters that the 34-year-old would not talk about his daughter, Adriana, who was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this month.

Though Aviles will try to keep his focus solely on baseball while at the ballpark, his teammates want him to know that he and his brave four-year-old aren't alone in their fight.

As a gesture of support for Adriana, who is being treated at Cleveland Clinic, many of Aviles' teammates and several members of the Indians coaching staff shaved their heads this week.

"It's a team thing," second baseman Jason Kipnis told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. "It started with Mike's daughter because of what she's going through. Unfortunately, she's going to be losing her hair soon from chemotherapy and we all wanted to join in.

"It started with a couple of guys and has spread throughout the whole clubhouse," said Kipnis.

Aviles missed eight games earlier this month to attend to Adriana, but has thrived at the plate since returning to the lineup May 18. Over his last seven games, the versatile veteran is hitting .368/.409/.579 with one home run, one double and a pair of walks.

"Mike is one of the best clubhouse guys there is in this entire league," said Kipnis. "He's been a great person and a great teammate. I think all the guys have done a good job of stepping up to make him feel welcomed and back at home and that nothing has changed.

Aviles, who also has two other daughters, Maiya and Kyla, expressed his gratitude Wednesday for his teammates' thoughtful gesture.

"It means a lot for me," Aviles told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. "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."

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