DETROIT (FOX 2) – A young Detroit slugger is heading to the World Series this weekend. He’s one of the best to Pitch, Hit, and Run among 9 and 10 year olds.
The backstory:
Meet Matthew Williams II, he is heading to Toronto to compete against the best kids in North America in his age group.
“I’m very excited,” said Matthew Williams. “I’m going to represent Detroit and, I’m going to try to, and have fun, and try to win it.”
Matthew is 10 years old from West Bloomfield, and he is an all-star on the baseball diamond.
The secret to his success: “Play hard. Play the game – and just have fun and stay locked in,” he says.
On Thursday he warmed up with the a few Wayne State University baseball players.
Back in August, he participated in Pitch, Hit, Run regional competition at Comerica Park
and won second place among 9- and 10-year-olds in the country.
Now he’s headed to the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada — to compete in the finals.
“How proud I am, I can’t even put it into words,” said his dad, Matthew Williams. “It’s just an exciting feeling knowing that we’re going to go to the World Series and really experience what the MLB has to offer.”
His father says he’ll never forget when they got the phone call two weeks ago that he was going.
“It was electric – honestly, my wife took a video of him and honestly he got up and ran around the living room.”
All that running around – his family says he’s been doing for years.
“Since he was a toddler,” said Michael Williams, his grandfather. “He doesn’t give up. He consistently wants to play. He doesn’t let grandpa rest.”
“He’s been doing this ever since he was like 2 years old,” said Cheryl Williams, his grandmother. “And he loves the sport. He loves the game. He loves to compete and he’s a team player.”
His family can’t wait to root him on.
On Saturday he will be honored on the field with other sluggers.
On Sunday morning Matthew will be in the big competition, up against kids from across North America.
But he’ll be keeping an eye on the World Series, even though it’s the LA Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays on the field, he’s not shy about who he roots for.
“I’m rooting for the Tigers,” he said.
You can catch him at Game 2, being honored on the field. Then Sunday he takes the field, hoping to return home a winner.
The Source: Information for this story came from the Williams family and MLB.
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