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Boy who fought burglar honored with new bat
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Mesa teen Michael Six was presented with an inscribed Louisville Slugger baseball bat by the company after it learned of Six's heroics with a baseball bat he used to fight off a burglar.
Julio Jimenez, Tribune
Louisville Slugger honored a 14-year-old Mesa boy on Tuesday for helping police catch a suspected burglar by hitting him with one of their bats.
VIDEO: Watch the ceremony where the Mesa teen was honored with a new bat
Mesa boy foils burglar with bat
Jim Snyder, a spokesman for Louisville Slugger, presented Michael Six with an engraved bat and other merchandise.
“We do not condone the use of our baseball bats other than using them on baseball,” Snyder told the boy. “But we sure are glad you had one with you that day.”
Michael also received an autographed letter from John Hillerich IV, the president and CEO of Hillerich and Bradsby, Louisville Slugger’s parent company.
In the letter, Hillerich told Michael that he “demonstrated enormous bravery to thwart the burglar and run him to arriving police officers.”
Mesa police spokesman Chris Arvayo said he was glad the community could come together to honor a member of the community “who helped to take a swing at crime.”
Michael said that on Jan. 15 he woke up in the middle of the night for a drink of water and noticed a man breaking into his home with a screwdriver. He quickly grabbed a bat, hid in his closet and called police.
When the burglar suddenly came into Michael’s room, he jumped out of the closet and hit the man in the lower back and on the shoulder. The man forced the bat from the boy and ran out of the house, where police were able to arrest him in a neighbor’s backyard.
Michael then escaped out his window unharmed as police arrived on the scene.
“I’m glad he did what he did,” said Randy Six, Michael’s father. “But I probably would’ve told him to get out the window like the 911 operator said.”
Since the incident on Jan. 15, Michael said he has had the opportunity to share his story with The Today Show, Fox News, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Michael said that he played Little League for three years when he was young but is not looking to get back into baseball anytime soon.
Arvayo said prosecutors in the case have asked Michael not to give additional information about the burglary because the case is still pending.
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