“I mean, [I wanted] something with sports, and baseball is my favorite sport,” he said.
On Sunday morning, Tovar and four other children were greeted by a cheering crowd that waswaving blue and white pom poms as they walked into the MLB store of Choctaw Stadium in Arlington. Through a partnership with Make-A-Wish, Fanatics and Major League Baseball, these five children were able to explore All-Star Villageand attend other festivities before Tuesday’s game.
“It’s amazing, the impact that you have on the kids, but also the energy it gives to the parents and the community that it creates amongst them because these kids realize ‘I’m not the only one,’ ” Orlando Ashford, chief people officer of Fanatics, said. “Here’s three or four or five other young people that are doing something similar. They may be in different corners of the country, but they create a bond that they keep.”
Make-a-Wish kids Holden Sisal, 11, of Toronto, foreground, Tyler Smith, 17 of Park Ridge Ill., left and Devan Huber, 16 of Demarest, N.J., right, arrive at a MLB All-Star Game merchandise store at the Capital One All-Star Village, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Arlington, as retail staff members welcome them to the store. The five Make-a-Wish kids received $250 gift cards from Fanatics to shop merchandise and they had their wishes granted to attend the MLB All-Star Game.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)Make-a-Wish kid Steven Long, 11, of Troy Ill. walks with former Texas Rangers slugger Prince Fielder at a MLB All-Star Game merchandise store at the Capital One All-Star Village, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Arlington. The five Make-a-Wish kids including Long received $250 gift cards from Fanatics to shop merchandise and they had their wishes granted to attend the MLB All-Star Game.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)Make-a-Wish kid Tyler Smith, 17, of Park Ridge, Ill. talks with former Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs pitcher Ferguson Jenkins at a MLB All-Star Game merchandise store at the Capital One All-Star Village, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Arlington. The five Make-a-Wish kids including Smith received $250 gift cards from Fanatics to shop merchandise and they had their wishes granted to attend the MLB All-Star Game.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)Make-a-Wish kid Devan Huber , 16, of Demarest N.J., second from left, and his father Michael Huber, left, talk with former Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs pitcher Ferguson Jenkins and his wife Kathie Jenkins at a MLB All-Star Game merchandise store at the Capital One All-Star Village, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Arlington. The five Make-a-Wish kids including Huber received $250 gift cards from Fanatics to shop merchandise and they had their wishes granted to attend the MLB All-Star Game.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)Make-a-Wish kid Steven Tovar, 16, of Bell Gardens, Calif., left, talks with former Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs pitcher Ferguson Jenkins and his wife Kathie Jenkins at a MLB All-Star Game merchandise store at the Capital One All-Star Village, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Arlington. The five Make-a-Wish kids including Tovar received $250 gift cards from Fanatics to shop merchandise and they had their wishes granted to attend the MLB All-Star Game.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)Make-a-Wish kids Holden Sisak 11, of Toronto, foreground, shops with his father Devin Sisak at a MLB All-Star Game merchandise store at the Capital One All-Star Village, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Arlington. The five Make-a-Wish kids including Sisak received $250 gift cards from Fanatics to shop merchandise and they had their wishes granted to attend the MLB All-Star Game.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)Make-a-Wish kid Steven Long, 11, of Troy Ill. poses for a photo with former Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs pitcher Ferguson Jenkins at a MLB All-Star Game merchandise store at the Capital One All-Star Village, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Arlington, as his father Robert Long takes a photo. The five Make-a-Wish kids including Long received $250 gift cards from Fanatics to shop merchandise and they had their wishes granted to attend the MLB All-Star Game.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)Make-a-Wish kid Steven Long, 11, of Troy Ill. walks with former Texas Rangers slugger Prince Fielder at a MLB All-Star Game merchandise store at the Capital One All-Star Village, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Arlington. The five Make-a-Wish kids including Long received $250 gift cards from Fanatics to shop merchandise and they had their wishes granted to attend the MLB All-Star Game.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)Make-a-Wish kid Devan Huber , 16, of Demarest N.J., left, shops with his brother Avi Huber, 17, at a MLB All-Star Game merchandise store at the Capital One All-Star Village, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Arlington. The five Make-a-Wish kids including Huber received $250 gift cards from Fanatics to shop merchandise and they had their wishes granted to attend the MLB All-Star Game.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)Make-a-Wish kid Tyler Smith, 17, of Park Ridge, Ill. shakes hands with former Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs pitcher Ferguson Jenkins at a MLB All-Star Game merchandise store at the Capital One All-Star Village, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Arlington. The five Make-a-Wish kids including Smith received $250 gift cards from Fanatics to shop merchandise and they had their wishes granted to attend the MLB All-Star Game.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)Make-a-Wish kid Steven Tovar, 16, of Bell Gardens, Calif., left, talks with former Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs pitcher Ferguson Jenkins at a MLB All-Star Game merchandise store at the Capital One All-Star Village, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Arlington. The five Make-a-Wish kids including Tovar received $250 gift cards from Fanatics to shop merchandise and they had their wishes granted to attend the MLB All-Star Game.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)Former Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, left, autographs a shirt for Karen Long of Troy Ill., grandmother of a Make-a-Wish kid Steven Long, 11, second from left, at a MLB All-Star Game merchandise store at the Capital One All-Star Village, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Arlington, as his father Robert Long, background, takes a photo. The five Make-a-Wish kids including Long received $250 gift cards from Fanatics to shop merchandise and they had their wishes granted to attend the MLB All-Star Game.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)Make-a-Wish kid Devan Huber , 16, of Demarest N.J., poses for a photo with former Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs pitcher Ferguson Jenkins at a MLB All-Star Game merchandise store at the Capital One All-Star Village, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Arlington. The five Make-a-Wish kids including Huber received $250 gift cards from Fanatics to shop merchandise and they had their wishes granted to attend the MLB All-Star Game.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)
While in the store, the children received baseball jerseys adorned with their last names printed on the back and their favorite MLB team’s logo written on the sleeve. Each child also received a $250 gift to spend on merchandise in the store.
They also had the chance to meet former Texas Ranger Prince Fielder and Hall of Famer Ferguson “Fergie” Jenkins.
As the two players mingled, the children, some of whom are in cancer remission, and their families took turns chatting with them, taking photos and getting autographs.
“Anytime you can put a smile on a kid’s face, and you’re the person that can do it, you might as well do it,” Fielder said. “So I just like being around, it’s good energy, like I said, having a blast, you always like seeing people happy.”
Steven Long, an 11-year-old Cardinals fan from the St. Louis area, said it took him a month or two to decide that he wanted to come to All-Star Village for his wish. But after spending Sunday morning with his baseball-loving family, posing for photos with Jenkins and talking with Fielder, he excitedly rushed off to their next activity.
Tovar and Long said there was much more they were excited to experience during All-Star festivities.
“Like the Home Run Derby [on Monday] is gonna be really cool,” Tovar said. “Yeah, and especially like meeting the players like, wow. That’s something I’m really looking forward to. It’s super cool.”