I wish to go to the MLB All Star game
Christopher, wish granted, 2007
leukemia
Our 4,000th wish: Chris goes to the MLB All Star game
The Wish
On Christmas Eve in 2004, Chris was diagnosed with leukemia. It was a tough time for the 8-year-old and his family. Chris played in the Tiburon Peninsula Little League, "lived for baseball," and even developed a friendship with San Francisco Giants superstar Barry Bonds.
After Bonds went through a series of surgeries, Chris sent him an encouraging letter that touched and inspired Bonds during his recovery. In 2005, Bonds played catch with Chris when he took his position in left field for his first game back with the Giants. Bonds also featured Christopher in a segment of ESPN’s “Bonds on Bonds” last year. Having had that brush with baseball fame, Chris decided to go all out and wished to go to the MLB All Star Game. It was 2006, but he chose to wait a year for when the game would be held in then-named AT&T Park in San Francisco.
In July 2007, Chris and four other wish kids enjoyed a whirlwind All-Star week. Chris received a replica black 2007 National League All-Star Game jersey with orange trim with his first name and his favorite player’s number (25) on the back. Make-A-Wish guests and their families attended a private gala hosted by the Giants at the park and they were also VIPs at the All-Star FanFest at Moscone West Convention Center and attended the All-Star futures game and celebrity softball game.
On Monday, they were taken by van to another downtown hotel, where they met privately with at least 10 All-Stars who autographed baseballs for them. According to the Marin Independent Journal (subscription required), Chris was most impressed by having Detroit Tigers slugger and Home Run Derby participant Magglio Ordonez sign his baseball. The culmination was of course the All-Star Game held on Tuesday night, July 10, 2007.
“What’s special about this week is the way MLB has set it up with Make-A-Wish," Chris's dad, Dave, told the Marin Independent Journal in 2007. "Short of the games that we know we are going to, we don’t know moment to moment what’s going to happen. They do lots of surprises.”
After his wish, Chris wrote a thank you note to the Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area staff. It read: "Thank you so much for everything you’ve done. The All-Star Game was so awesome. The stuff I liked the most was the red carpet show and the All-Star Game. The other stuff I liked was the opening reception when we got all these bags. The bat and jersey were so cool. The autographs and meeting the players was fun too. It was also great to meet the other kids and their families. You made me feel so special and my wish really did come true! Thank you!"
Chris signing in during Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area's 4,000th wish celebration, celebrating his wish to go to an MLB All-Star Game.
The Celebration
To celebrate the 4,000th wish, the chapter hosted a private party at AT&T Park, where Chris and 15 other children who received baseball-related wishes were the guests of honor. Activities included private tours of the park, the opportunity to take a swing in the official batting cage, and the chance to meet Lou Seal. In attendance were former Giants shortstop Rich Aurilia and his wife Raquel, who sang and donated proceeds from her new single to Make-A-Wish, former Giants outfielder Randy Winn and his wife, then-Giants COO Larry Baer, and Barry Bonds. The party not only celebrated Chris's wish but paid homage to the chapter's long partnership with the Giants, which dates back to 1997.
"Next to wish granting, working with the Giants is my most favorite thing," Patricia Wilson, then-Executive Director of the chapter said of the partnership. "Everyone with the organization is so warm and accommodating. To see the sparkle and delight in children’s eyes when they meet a player or go into the dugout is so special, and it’s all due to the commitment of the people who help make it happen.”
The Update from Chris
"I'd like to first thank Make-A-Wish for granting such an amazing gift of going to the 2007 MLB All Star Game in San Francisco! My family and I were treated to an experience, one that none of us will ever forget! Enjoying this day during a really tough time for me, the wish gave me a lot of hope that things were getting better by being brave and that I had fun things to look forward to and not always worrying.
"I am fortunate that I am doing great! I went on to being co-captain of my high school golf team and went on to attend the University of California, San Diego, graduating in 2018 with a psychology degree and a business minor. I'm working currently in marketing here in the Bay Area and living in San Francisco.
"The challenge I deal with is I will never forget being sick for so many years, but always grateful and thankful for my family and everyone that helped me get better along the way!"