An 8-year-old girl completed her quest to become the first person to throw out the first pitch at all 30 MLB parks on Sunday when she threw out the first pitch before the Los Angeles Angels game
It really was a perfect setting. Jim Abbott was on hand to coach her. Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout caught her pitch. Hailey Dawson was able to do what many grown adults have only dreamed of doing once in one stadium – throw out the first pitch in every MLB stadium.
Hailey’s first pitch story began over three years ago. She originally hails from Nevada where she worked with students and faculty at UNLV to develop a robotic hand when she was born with Poland syndrome, which, among other things, stunted the development of the fingers on her right hand.
The college used 3D printing to design and print robotic hands that allowed Hailey to do the basic functions of a hand, and that’s where the dream began. Her father’s favorite team, the Orioles, invited her to throw the first pitch on August 17, 2015. That led to more invites around the league.
The pursuit led to a Twitter handle for her hand, as tagged by MLB in this video of her first pitch:
Salute to @haileys_hand, who completed her quest of throwing out the first pitch at every Major League ballpark today. ⚾️❤️ pic.twitter.com/KnjEpdpzcj
— MLB (@MLB) September 16, 2018
This brave little girl was able to go out in front of large crowds throughout the country with a prosthesis to do what has led to embarrassment for so many adults (and especially celebrities). The sky is absolutely the limit for where she could go in her future!
Congratulations to Major League Baseball, its teams, and specifically the Los Angeles Angels, who utilized the best player in baseball and arguably the best role model the game of baseball could give Hailey in finishing off her dream! This is what baseball should always be about!!