And that's exactly what he did.
He walked into the board of the Special Education Foundation and presented his idea for a golf
tournament to help benefit children and their families.
There's a lot for hockey fans to be excited about at the Winter Classic Alumni Game, but
at the top of every fans list is the opportunity to see their favorite players from the past
play on this outdoor hockey rink.
Cardinals players are not the only ones of fans at the ballpark.
Jen from Team Fredbird has developed a special friendship with five-year-old Sawyer who cheers
her on every game.
Tonight, the Cardinals take on the Milwaukee Brewers.
Tonight at 7-15.
All right, now I'm with Gabe from Publications.
Gabe has the new St. Louis Cardinals yearbook.
Okay, now you're also throwing out the first pitch tonight.
You a little nervous?
A little bit.
A little bit.
I think I'll be a lot more nervous when I'm actually on the mound.
We are celebrating the 1987 team all weekend long.
Now tonight, we are giving away some mystery jerseys.
We're going to go ahead and have these Cardinals fans open them up right now.
They could get anywhere from five different players from the 1987 team.
Let's go ahead and see who you got.
Who'd you get?
Gatto Kendo.
Now how often do these magazines come out?
I know a lot of fans ask me, they go, I want to pick up Cardinals magazine.
First of all, where do I get it and how often do they come out?
Now Chris, you won the Golden Ticket, what did you win?
We got the first pitch opportunity before tonight's game and four Champions Club passes.
I am inside Busch Stadium and fans are making their way through the gates right now.
Everybody's super excited for the game today, especially our little fans because they are
going home with a puppy from Build-A-Bear Workshop.
Hey everybody, we are outside the tour back residence and they have been seasoned ticket
holders since 1974.
We just want to thank them for being lifelong Cardinals fans, so we're going to surprise
them at their house in the middle of the day right now.
You guys ready?
Let's go.
Now, farming is really hard work, so I first want to thank you so much for all that you
do.
What is your favorite part about seeing a farmer?
My favorite part is that my children get to participate in what I do.
Hey Cardinals fans, welcome to Busch Stadium.
We have so much going on tonight.
Tonight is Farmer Appreciation Night thanks to Monsanto.
So if you're heading through those gates, you're going to pick up one of these awesome
Cardinals Pullovers by Monsanto.
They are awesome.
This is my favorite part of the band holding it up right now and I'm also with a Cardinals
fan named Kevin.
Kevin, what are you excited for for the game tonight?
We're really excited about the Margarita Bill night and seeing the boat drunk play
and then of course seeing the Cardinals kick some pirates.
Some of our youngest Cardinal fans enjoyed a special day at Busch Stadium.
Here's Emily Stevens with this year's Kids Club Day at the Ballpark.
Cardinals fans come from far and wide and in all ages.
Every year the Cardinals host their annual Kids Club party, allowing children to meet
their favorite players.
All the players are really nice, get a chance to go sit in the dugout, that's an experience
that the kids really enjoy.
And Jose Martinez signed their hats and we got Paul DeYoung and Carson Kelly to sign
a couple balls for us.
No party is complete without some fun and games.
We live about six hours from here so this has been the highlight of their summer.
It's a great program for the kids.
They love getting the package in the mail too with their hat and their duffel bag and stuff
so this is a great experience for kids who are a fan.
The Redwood rookies had a party of their own complete with a private practice session with
Dexter Fowler and Greg Garcia.
Who's your favorite Cardinal?
Dexter?
What?
You're his friend.
I knew I liked you.
The fun filled Saturday couldn't end without a Q&A with Cardinals manager Mike Matheny.
We're always trying to figure out how to make our team better.
The Cardinals Kids Club and Redwood rookies, creating lifelong fans and starting them
young.
For the St. Louis Cardinals, I'm Emily Stevens.
Welcome back.
One young boy in Arnold is a huge Cardinals fan.
Emily Stevens reports now on his special wish.
Wishes come in many different forms but for two and a half year old Blake, that wish was
for his very own Cardinals Clubhouse.
Today we're here to grant Blake, who's two and a half, his one true wish and that was
for an absolutely awesome Cardinals decked out man cave or kid cave.
Blake has already received a kidney transplant.
He's been battling with his medical condition since birth.
His condition requires him to be stuck inside during the colder months.
His immune system has been suppressed so he really has to be careful.
He loves the outdoors and he was really excited to have a space that not only reflected his
true love of the Cardinals but was a special place that he could invite his friends and
buddies over.
So make a wish teamed up with the Cardinals to grant Blake's special wish, his own ultimate
Cardinals Clubhouse.
What we're going to see inside the Clubhouse is an absolute exceptional space just for
him, all kids sized, completely decked out with all the Cardinals memorabilia.
There's a bowl of crackerjacks in there, there's a loft that he can get up in.
It really will be his special place and a place that he can invite friends.
The Cardinals and Make-A-Wish were happy to help make a difference for a young baseball
fan.
For the St. Louis Cardinals, I'm Emily Stevens.
And finally this week, here's Emily Stevens with how one young fan got to meet his favorite
member of Team Fredbird.
Cardinals players are not the only ones of fans at the ballpark.
Jen from Team Fredbird has developed a special friendship with five-year-old Sawyer who cheers
her on every game.
I've never had a fan until now, I didn't know I had a fan.
I've known Sawyer since I guess he was maybe one year old.
He came up to me and told me he's known me since he was a baby.
Jen and Sawyer just connected, so Jen decided to surprise Sawyer and ask him a very important
question.
What do you say if you just hang out with me all day and we just shoot t-shirts together?
I'd say that would be good.
Welcome Sawyer!
Sawyer's name was on the schedule and he suited up in his very own Team Fredbird uniform.
Are you ready?
Yep.
Alright.
Let's do it.
Sawyer around with me and it was so much fun, he had a great time, you know, he really
got to see what we're all about.
You know, his favorite girls and Team Fredbird he got to hang out with all day.
His first task, learning the proper technique of rolling t-shirts.
Pull that up, all the way around.
He can roll those t-shirts pretty well, it took me a few times but he got it down packed
pretty quick.
For the little one right here.
Next on the schedule was Flexcam followed by his very first t-shirt shoot.
He also did Press Your Luck which is an in-game promotion.
He got to do that with me and it was a lot of fun, I let him, you know, ask a question.
Press Your Luck!
Press Your Luck, that's right!
I'm really excited because he's a season ticket holder so we'll get to see him at the
next game.
So Sawyer, we'll see you then, hope you had fun!
Jen and Sawyer's friendship will last a lifetime, along with his memory of this special day.
For the St. Louis Cardinals, I'm Emily Stevens.
Keem stands for Kids Enjoy Exercise Now.
It's a group I looked up and just wanted to volunteer some time with.
What they do is create settings where children can play sports and hang out and get exercise
and just time in with people and have fun.
Craig and Matt did a great job, I told them about this, you just come in, just hang out
with the kids, let them have fun, play sports with you and they crushed it out there.
What they did was they played with every kid, they walked around, shot baskets, rode bikes,
played baseball and just hung out with the kids and had a lot of fun.
There is a kid named Anthony, he liked baseball and he was a little shy so I taught him how
to elevate and celebrate.
I'm a pitcher so I get that done on me but I taught him how to celebrate, he was throwing
the bat up in the air and having a great time with it and he went from pretty shy to he
came alive a little bit with that.
I think my favorite part of today was just seeing Craig and Matt with the kids because
I get to always do it from a person in perspective where I have a lot of fun, the kids laugh
with me, they make jokes with me, but it was really fun too to see now two more people
kind of come in and give their time and see them in their element working with the kids.
In today's Meet the Team, we get to know the always engaging George DiMaggio.
Not this aisle but the next, we'll 11 make a left, enjoy.
This is my 12th year and I wanted to become an usher because I retired from St. Louis
Public Schools, since I was a teacher I liked teaching geography and I quizzed people on
different things.
I love Australia, it's not, I say Canberra but it's not Canberra, my favorite question,
how many states go to Missouri, four or five, eight.
I had time on my hands so I got the job here and I enjoy the job very much, I like the
people very much that I work with and in the job I also standing where I do stand right
is the top of these steps, I take pictures, a lot of pictures of families and it makes
them feel very good, it makes me feel good too that they're happy and they're quite
content with what I do for them.
Two pictures to find out.
My job involved being around a lot of kids, but now they're adults and kids and most almost
all the experiences I had were very pleasant experiences with fans, him.
That guy, that guy, him.
Never.
We just came here to see the most handsome guy here, George, you're lucky to have him.
Keep coming back each year, even though family and friends saying are you going back next
year, I'll say I'll think about it, but the more I think about it, the more inclined I
am to come back because it's something to do and this is like an extended family here
at the ballpark.
