CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo brought pandemic courtesy to the baseball diamond Friday when he offered hand sanitizer to Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Orlando Arcia after a third-inning single on Friday.
“Just sitting around with some of my friends, joking around, ‘First guy that gets on I’m going to give him some hand sanitizer,'” Rizzo said after the Cubs’ 3-0 win. “We’re playing in unusual circumstances. … I like to have fun, joke around and keep it loose. We have a lot of respect for the Brewers. It was just one of those things.”
Arcia, who went 3-for-3, was the only Brewer to reach first base in Kyle Hendricks‘ three-hit shutout and therefore the only Milwaukee player to receive Rizzo’s act of kindness.
“It was a first for me too,” Arcia said through an interpreter. “It surprised me too. I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t think he would actually do that.”
Rizzo said he thought of the idea a few days ago, then forgot about it but remembered in time to put the canister in his back pocket. After obliging, Arcia handed the sanitizer back and the game went on.
“I was surprised the cameras got it,” Rizzo quipped.
