Fayette County, WV (WOAY) Earlier this month, 9-year-old Sawyer Rakes went to see his favorite baseball team, the Cleveland Guardians, play against the Chicago White Sox. With help from his sister, grandparents, and the right field crowd, Sawyer caught both the attention of his favorite player and the ball that Chase Delauter threw to him.
“Everybody sitting in my section was saying, ‘Chase,’ and then he threw me the ball, and my arm bent back, and I caught it,” recounted Sawyer, proudly holding his prize.
His 6-year-old sister, Sutton, who held the sign that caught Delauter’s attention, said her brother “was excited” when he caught the ball, and that the experience was “amazing,” even for her.
Their mom, Andrea Rakes, said the experience meant “the world. They’ll talk about it forever.”
Andrea was thankful to Sawyer’s grandparents for taking them to the game:
“…July 5th, my mom and my stepdad took the kids to a Cleveland Guardians game. One of his favorite players was Chase Delauter, and he plays right field, and they were sitting in right field. So they made a sign hoping that they could get his attention.”
Lucky for Sawyer, that sign worked wonders.
Just like Chase Delauter, Sawyer plays right and left field for his little league team, and he hopes to be a professional baseball player when he grows up. Like any avid baseball fan, Sawyer has kept up with his favorite player’s stats, and he will always cherish the treasure he caught in Delauter’s rookie season.
“I saw his 8th home run. And then he hit one like a day later: his 9th one. And then two days later, his 10th, and then a day later, his 11th.”
Sawyer said that he plans to proudly display the ball in his room, if not his dad’s.
