By: Sports Director Liz Habib

On Sunday night in San Francisco the Dodgers were swept by the Giants but Matt Kemp didn't run off the field after making the last out.  He ran over to say hello to a terminally ill Dodger fan. The moment was recorded and posted on Youtube and it's getting a lot of attention from Dodger fans and Giants fans.   Kemp reached out to shake the hand of the young man in a wheelchair, Joshua Jones.  He was one of the few fans at AT and T park in Dodger blue.  The YouTube post says Joshua is fighting a tough battle.  His father, Steve Jones had struck up a conversation with the Dodgers 3^rd base coach Tim Wallach and Steve told Wallach that Kemp is Joshua's favorite player and  his son Joshua is dying.  After the game Wallach found Kemp who wanted to go say hi to Joshua.  When Kemp put out his hand Joshua gave him a ball to sign.  Kemp signed it and gave him his hat.  The Giants fans even  started cheering for Kemp.  Then the outfielder took off his jersey and unlaced his shoes and gave them to Joshua, 

After the video went viral early Tuesday morning Kemp started hearing about it.  He says he didn't know it was being recorded.  He didn't even know the fan's name.  He says he knows baseball isn't everything and he just hopes it helped make the fan happy. 

Joshua sent out an instagram photo of Kemp's jersey and shoes and said, " I will never forget that moment."

We know the Dodgers are proud of Kemp, his teammate A.J. Ellis tweeted, "I'm proud of you my teammate."  An executive with the Giants also said, "As a person running an MLB team, I'm proud of Matt Kemp."

LOS ANGELES — Despite a 3-game sweep at the hands of the San Francisco Giants over the weekend,  Matt Kemp became an Internet sensation after an impromptu gesture he made toward a cancer-stricken Dodgers fan attending a game at San Francisco's AT&T Park.

The Dodgers' Gold Glove center fielder was informed of the disabled fan's plight by third base coach Tim Wallach during a 4-3 loss to the Giants on Sunday. After the game, Kemp went to the other side of the field with Wallach and met the fan and his father, who were sitting in the front row adjacent to the third base dugout.

"Wally told me that there was a big Dodger fan at the game and that he didn't have a long time to live — not longer than a month and a half," Kemp said during a hastily-arranged press conference in the Dodgers' dugout before Tuesday night's game against Arizona.

"So after the game, I just decided to go meet him. He couldn't talk because I guess his speech was gone. When I said ‘Hi' to him, he just looked at me in shock. It almost got me."

The fan, whose name is Josh, appeared to be a teenager and was dressed in a hooded Dodgers sweatshirt. Kemp shook hands with him, autographed a ball and handed him his cap.

"I didn't know that anybody was filming it. I wasn't aware," Kemp said. "I woke up this morning and my phone's ringing, and I'm saying: ‘What did I do now? What happened now? I hope nothing bad happened.'"

The video, which can be seen on YouTube, also shows Kemp pulling his jersey over his head and handing it to Josh — along with his shoes — while his friend Tommy was recording it on his cellphone.

Published on May 6, 2013- YouTube by: Tommy Schultz

"I didn't plan on taking my jersey off. It was just something I felt that probably would have cheered him up a little bit and helped his situation," Kemp said. "It was the first time I ever took my shoes off on a field. That was the first time that Giants fans were ever nice to me.

"I mean, we'd just gotten swept by the Giants, but that was something I felt I needed to do, and I'm glad I got to do that," Kemp added. "Hopefully, that made the kid's day. I don't even know his name. God willing, a miracle happens and he lives for a while. But his father told Wally that he didn't have much time left on this Earth."

An incident that occurred when Kemp was 12 years old helped contribute to his positive attitude toward fans — particularly those who are experiencing hardships.

"One of my favorite basketball players — I'm not going to say who it is — kind of played me," Kemp recalled. "I asked him for his autograph and he said he was busy. As a kid, you always remember those things and it kind of sticks with you. So as much as I can sign, I try. I know fans get mad when I tell them I have to do something at that moment. But I try to do as much as I can."

Kemp's recollection was similar to something that happened to former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who was rebuffed by one of his favorite players when he was growing up. As fate would have it, he later faced that same player in a game and hit him with a pitch.

"I don't think some athletes understand what they can do with a simple gesture and how big it is, just shaking a kid's hand or saying ‘Hi' to him. It can make a fan's day — or a fan's life," Kemp said.

"I get really emotional, especially with kids, because they can't control anything that's going on. You can't control these diseases like cancer and other things that are going on. Some of these kids get their childhoods taken away from them, and they're unaware of anything other than just living life. So if there's a way that I can make any kid in that situation happy, then I'm going to continue to do what I can."

That attitude was reinforced recently when Kemp learned his cousin had died.

"Life is so much bigger than baseball," the two-time All-Star said. "I mean, you can sit here and think about going 0 for 4 with four Ks and you get mad, and you can complain about the stupidest things sometimes. But things like this humble you and keep you grounded and let you know that somebody's life is way worse than whatever it is you've got going on.

"That makes you a stronger person and makes you grateful for everything that you have."

Awesome story.  More athletes should take after Kemp, especially when it comes to a young person that is affected by an illness.