MESA, AZ (AZFamily) — A Mesa boy is now an official Arizona Diamondback, thanks to the team for making his dream come true.
On Friday, the team granted a life-changing wish to 8-year-old Ben Willis. Ben, who was diagnosed with kidney disease, wished to meet his favorite Diamondback, Ketel Marte, and spend a day with his beloved team.
“In August of last year, Ben went into kidney failure. Ben has two rare genetic disorders. He’s literally one in a billion. When he was in the hospital going through dialysis, having different procedures done to make sure dialysis was working, that’s one thing we were able to do is just watch the Dbacks and enjoy the Dbacks, have a sense of normalcy,” said Kenneth Willis, Ben’s father.
During the pregame festivities, Ben got to meet Ketel and the rest of the squad, get a behind-the-scenes tour of the dugout and throw out the first pitch! Ben and his family got to enjoy the game and cheer on the team from the best view in the house — front row seats behind the on-deck circle.
“Not too long ago he said, ‘I want to walk around the bases.’ We said, ‘great, do it.’ He walked all the way around and afterwards we said, ‘why’? And he said, ‘because I want to be like Ketel Marte,’” Kenneth said. “Because of the Diamondbacks, we’ve seen a lot of progress in who he is.”
Eight-year-old Ben Willis was named an official Arizona Diamondback!(Arizona Diamondbacks)
The young fan was decked out in the team’s new City Connect threads as he was named an official Diamondback — No. 4, Ben Willis! He got his own jersey and locker in the clubhouse, all while hanging out with his favorite players.
Ben got to see his team defeat the Colorado Rockies 8-0, led by Corbin Burnes’ dominant pitching.
Along with being a devoted Diamondbacks fan, Ben is also a star athlete! He plays baseball in the Miracle League of Arizona.
Ben’s wish is part of Make-A-Wish Arizona’s Summer of Wishes campaign, an initiative to raise money during the summer when wishgranting demand is high, but support may slow down. Over 550 Arizona children are currently waiting for their wishes to be granted. Learn how you can help make a child’s wish come true.
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