Cubs' Anthony Rizzo promises cancer patient HR, hits 2

Tap here to access our MLB Trade Tracker which includes all trades and rumors leading up to the July 31 trade deadline.

Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo is good at keeping promises. It helps that he's great at hitting home runs.

On the eve of the Cubs' three-game set against the San Diego Padres this week, Rizzo made his monthly visit to the cancer ward at Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, where he met a patient recently diagnosed with leukemia.

Via CSN Chicago's broadcast July 22:

Mike Kasallis, 22 years old, got some bad news lately but he and Anthony really bonded. He said, 'Hey, hit a home run for me.'

Anthony said, 'When I hit a home run for you, I'm going to give you a little gesture at home plate,' which he does not normally do.

Not only did Rizzo gesture, but he did it twice - connecting for his 24th and 25th homers of the season in Tuesday's 6-0 win.

[Courtesy: MLB.com]

It was an incredible moment for Rizzo and his fan and one that surely struck a personal cord with the Cubs first baseman.

Rizzo was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin's lymphoma as an 18-year-old in the Boston Red Sox organization in 2008. He underwent six months of chemotherapy before doctors declared him cancer-free.

"This one hit more at home for me," Rizzo told MLB.com. "I usually don't get flashbacks, but I did this time."