This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell's Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Think back to when you were a kid, heading to bed on a school night. For most of us, the thought of school was never a reason to be excited. But could you even imagine your eagerness if you knew your favorite athlete was coming to visit?

Only a handful of students can say they’ve experienced this. Last week, the kids at Tremont Montessori prepared for a third visit from Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez. And this wasn’t just a quick Q&A session with a famous athlete; this was a sit-down bonding experience unlike any other.

Giménez has made it a priority for the past three years to visit Cleveland schools during the baseball season and share his love of art with his Art with Andrés program. He often stops at schools with students who speak predominantly Spanish. Giménez created a partnership with local freelance artist Augusto Bordelois, who teaches each class he visits. Since 2022, Giménez has made multiple visits to five schools, including three to Tremont Montessori.

“I really like what we’re doing here,” Giménez said. “The time goes really fast when I’m doing this.”

The kids at this school have earned the multiple visits, and each time, they are prepared for Giménez’s arrival. Last year, the band lined the hallway and played “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” as Giménez walked in. The next visit, the band played “Cleveland Rocks.” Last week, it prepared a Spanish song for Giménez before leading everyone in a traditional baseball “charge” chant.

“I feel like this [school] has a really special place for me in my heart,” Giménez said. “They always do a nice welcome, and that’s special.”

This time, Giménez brought his wife and his 2-year-old son. As they walked down the stairs to the art room, they were greeted with a painted “Art with Andrés” sign and a duct tape/lawn bag/hot glue gun/tissue paper-constructed Gold Glove that the students built with their teacher, Christine Linn, as music filled the room.

“They do get excited because they don’t get to have professional athletes or anybody come to the schools and take time out of their own schedules,” Linn said.

Giménez and his family applauded the band after its performance and headed into the art room. The 2023 American League Platinum Glove Award-winning second baseman fielded a handful of questions from students about baseball, teamwork and everyday life before joining his classmates for the day to learn from Bordelois.

Giménez picks a photo to paint before showing up to class. This time, it was a glove that had a baseball with the Guardians' “C” inside it. Giménez followed the same instructions as the kids and tried his best to make it look like Bordelois’ painting as kids looked to Giménez to see how he handled each step.

“He uses art as a way to decompress,” Linn said, “and it teaches the kids there are other ways to decompress and relax.”

Competitor that he is, Giménez constantly lifted his canvas in the air to compare his to the professional’s, and he grimaced at his amateur status. But at the end, like all the other kids, he realized his painting was pretty realistic if he followed instructions.

“Showing them this part of ourselves is really important for us,” Giménez said, “because not everybody is connected with the game, but everyone can be connected with art.”

Growing up, Giménez fell in love with art through doodling on his papers in class when he was bored during down time at school. To this day, he still brings his papers, pencils and any other art utensils he can fit into his bag to pull out if he has a moment of free time on road trips.

“But doing it here with the kids is even more special,” Giménez made sure to point out.

When Giménez wasn’t hyper-fixated on perfecting his painting, he was looking around the room to see how the other kids were doing or looking to the back of the room to see his son working on his own art project.

The little man’s hand was painted in blue, and he pressed it against a canvas. His mom did the same. After Giménez posed for photos with the class, he added his handprint to the family masterpiece, as his son delighted in the fun. But as soon as Giménez washed off the paint, he returned to signing at least one autograph for every kid in the room.

“For me, I have to be the best example for my son just as a human being,” Giménez said. “And even for the kids here.”