For the Love of the Game

And Padres baseball is at the heart of it. After his last surgery to treat his congenital heart disease, the first thing Levi wanted to do was watch his favorite team, the San Diego Padres, play. So, when Levi wished to be a Padre for the day, his favorite team rallied for their No. 1 fan.

After signing his one-day contract with the team and getting paid in sunflower seeds and gum, Levi hit the field, taking grounders, running bases, hanging out at his own locker and then watching his Padres play from a luxury box.

The highlight of his wish, however, was when his favorite player,
Hunter Renfroe, gave Levi his game-used bat and then player Craig Stammen scooped him up on his shoulder while the whole team chanted Levi’s name.

“When you have a kid with a dream and you can make it possible, it’s humbling,” said Padres pitcher Kirby Yates. “This is where he wants to be ... what his dream is. It puts it in the right perspective and puts baseball on the back burner.”