Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista is showing his appreciation for a young fan who died earlier this week.

Bautista dedicated Friday’s game against the Oakland A’s to 9-year-old Derek Lendosky, who was killed in an accident in Wisconsin on Sunday.

“You just became this little town’s favorite player. You have put a smile on so many sad people's faces. You’re amazing #thankyou,” tweeted Hunt Michael from his handle huntser1969.

Friday afternoon, Bautista tweeted from his handle @JoeyBats19 that “Tonight's game is for Derek #GameForDerek #DerekRIPmyfriend.” The show of support came after receiving a tweet from the boy’s father Steve Lendosky about how much Bautista meant to his son.

“On Friday I will be burying my 9yr old son. He will be wearing his Bautista jersey and taking a ball you gave him with him,” Steve Lendosky tweeted from his handle @iamlongball.

Derek Lendosky died in his hometown of Fennimore after falling off a UTV that was trailing a mower just three days shy of his 10th birthday, according to local news outlet NBC15.com.

After learning of the game dedication, Steve Lendosky thanked Bautista for honouring his son.

“@JoeyBats19 Now that I have time, thank you so much for this gesture. This gesture means so much to so many. You have no idea. Thank you.”

In the wake of his death, thousands of friends and community members have taken to spreading “random acts of kindness” across town, including giving away NFL tickets, signing up to be a bone marrow donor and releasing dozens of balloons into the sky.

A Facebook group, “Actsofkindnessforderek,” started Thursday has almost 5,000 likes, and in addition to posting about the random acts for kindness, encouraged people to tweet at Bautista using the hashtag ‪#‎JoseBautistaGameForDerek‬.

“Let's keep these random acts of kindness for Derek going! It doesn't have to be for just one day! Let's perform one act once a month, week, or even day! Whatever each person is capable of doing! Let's keep spreading Derek's love everywhere!” said a Facebook group post.

“This page is a true blessing. It is of course a result of an enormous tragedy... and for that my heart bleeds,” said Sonja Haegele on Facebook.

Fennimore is a small town of about 2,500, an hour and 20 minutes outside of Madison.

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