There was a lovely Scott-Rolen-is-a-Saint story in the Toronto Sun yesterday. It’s about the camp he’s built for kids who are sick or who have sick family members who need a week of outdoorsy fun.

It is not specific to children attacked by one cruel disease.

“It’s for the kid walking home from school, head down, kicking stones,” Rolen said. “He may be healthy, but maybe mom is sick, or his father. It’s for kids who have spent too much time in the hospital.”

The Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis makes the recommendations.

Four cabins have been built, along with a man-made lake. There are paddle boats, a petting zoo, a lodge with a fireplace, two horses, a Little League diamond, a soccer field and a tree house. And they’re not finished.

“My brother, Todd, and I came up with the idea of building a camp for children and their families for a week,” Rolen said. “To have fun, have a blast. Let’s play. ”

That’s what they do.

It’s the kind of do-good-goodness that will have you furtively wiping away a tear before anyone walks by your cube and sees you crying like a little girl.

This little bit, right at the end struck me:

“This game we play, it isn’t real,” Rolen said. “The game has given me great value in my personal life. It’s like I always tell Joey Votto. There’s no karma in baseball: Bad guys can do well in this game. You can be happy in this game and not be happy in life.

“Would you rather be 4-for-4 with, two home runs and knock in six and be divorced? Or would you rather go home to your family?”

I just wonder: why single out Votto for this message? I imagine work-life balance would be particularly challenging when your work *is* a game. What do you do for relaxation? Lay bricks?