Esteban loved baseball. Ever since he was little, he would spend hours watching games on TV with his dad and collecting baseball cards. His favorite player was Miguel Cabrera from the Detroit Tigers. He had dozens of Cabrera cards in his collection from over the years, including some really rare and valuable ones.

Baseball was Esteban’s passion. In the summer, you could often find him at the local baseball fields, playing pickup games with his friends after school until the sun went down. He knew everything there was to know about all the major league teams and players. His bedroom walls were covered with posters of baseball stars, and his shelves were filled with baseball memorabilia of all kinds.

Esteban’s little sister Julia was starting to get interested in baseball too. She loved watching games with Esteban and their dad. While Esteban was more focused on stats and rosters, Julia really connected with the stories of the players – where they came from, their families, challenges they had overcome. She looked up to them as role models.

One day, Esteban and Julia were in Esteban’s room looking through his baseball card collection. Julia was fascinated by the pictures and facts on the back of each card. She asked Esteban question after question about the different players. Esteban happily shared everything he knew, enjoying teaching his little sister about the sport he loved.

As they looked through the cards together, Julia kept returning to Miguel Cabrera. “He seems so nice,” she said. “I like that he works so hard and wants to be a good role model for kids.” Esteban smiled, glad his sister connected with his favorite player too. But then a thought occurred to him – Julia was just getting into baseball, while he had been collecting cards for years. Didn’t she deserve to start her own collection?

That night at dinner, Esteban had an announcement. “Julia has been getting really into baseball lately,” he said. “So I was thinking, maybe it’s time for her to have her own baseball card collection to start. So I wanted to give her all my Miguel Cabrera cards.” Julia gasped in surprise. “Really??” Esteban nodded. “You seem to really like him. And I have a ton – it’s a good way for you to get your collection started.”

Julia leapt up from her seat and threw her arms around Esteban. “Thank you thank you thank you!” she squealed. Their dad smiled, proud of Esteban for sharing something so special with his sister. After dinner, Esteban and Julia went back to his room and he carefully packed all his Cabrera cards into a baseball card sheet protector for Julia to keep them safe.

From that point on, anytime Esteban would get new packs of cards, he would let Julia look through them first to see if there were any players she wanted to add to her collection. And anytime they would go to a game together, he would buy her a new pack so she could hopefully find a special card. Julia treasured those cards and kept them neatly organized in a special binder.

A few years later, Esteban had grown up and gone off to college to study sports management. But baseball still bonded him and Julia. Anytime the Tigers were playing, they would text each other during the game with commentary and score updates. On holidays when Esteban came home, he and Julia would still look through each other’s collections, swapping stories about the players.

One Christmas, Julia surprised Esteban with a gift. She had taken one of the original Miguel Cabrera rookie cards Esteban had given her years ago and had it professionally graded and slabbed to preserve its condition. She presented it back to him with a smile. “You’re the one who got me into this great sport,” she said. “This card holds so many memories for both of us. I think you should have it.” Esteban was touched. Baseball would always be something special they shared.

To this day, Esteban and Julia remain avid fans, passing their love of the game down to the next generation. And they never forget how it all started with Esteban sharing his prized baseball cards and fueling his little sister’s passion too. The bonds of family and America’s pastime will forever be intertwined for them.