Monday, July 22, 2013: Kalamazoo, MI – Kalamazoo’s newest Badger, Raúl Cortéz, has managed to thrust himself into the national spotlight.  AARP has recognized him as a special celebrity in next month’s edition of their magazine after Cortéz landed on the disabled list.  So why would an event like a well-paid professional athlete being placed on a list that only die-hard baseball fans are familiar with be worthy of recognition, you ask?

It turns out that Cortéz was enjoying an early evening in Yuma, AZ and was walking back to the team hotel in order to prepare for the bus trip to the airport when fate intervened.  As Cortéz was waiting to cross South Redondo Center Drive, an elderly lady, since identified as Eunice Froboss of Yuma, blindly stepped into the path of an oncoming YCAT transit bus.  Cortéz instinctively reached out and pulled Ms. Froboss back to the curb.  Once traffic was clear, Cortéz took the elderly citizen’s hand and walked her safely across the busy thoroughfare.

Normally, this would just have been one of those anonymous random acts of kindness, but it just so happens  that a film crew was completing a shoot for a Liberty Mutual commercial a mere 100 feet from Cortéz’s meeting with destiny.  Feeling fortunate to have witnessed their art reflecting reality, film crewmembers quickly asked Cortéz to say a few words about what had just transpired.

Cortéz, visibly embarrassed by this sudden attention, explained about his childhood scout training and the values instilled by his parents as he was growing up in Santa Tecla, El Salvador.  Reverting to his native language, Cortéz recited, “Por mi honor prometo, hacer cuanto de me dependa para, cumplir mis deberes para con Dios y la patria, ayudar al projimo en toda circunstancia y cumplir fielmente la Ley Scout.”

Which translates to something like, “On my honor, I promise to do everything for me to depend, to fulfill my duty to God and country, help others in all circumstances and to obey the Scout Law.”

It seems that Raúl Cortéz has managed to ingratiate himself with not only Kalamazoo Badgers fans but also with the nation’s senior citizen population.  This is a rather refreshing story to report on, as sometimes these wealthy young men find themselves in the news for less than flattering off-the-field escapades.  As a further example of Cortez’s character, he elected to donate the case of special Yuma water that was delivered to his hotel suite to the Boys & Girls Club of Yuma.