Wish Stories

Vince Becomes a Major League Baseball Bat Boy

An older and younger man hold a baseball standing on a baseball field.

Vince was born in the heart of Brooklyn, New York, in the 1950s. It was a time when the ethnically diverse-yet-segregated borough was mostly filled with small business owners, factory workers, and longshoremen. As the only child of a father who drove a New York City bus, Vince sometimes felt lonely and scared in the big city. But he was raised by two loving parents and found solace in the bond he shared with his father over baseball.

The spark of a passion

Vince still remembers the day his dad took him to his first baseball game when he was just eight years old: October 1, 1961. He sat wide-eyed in Yankee Stadium as Roger Maris hit his legendary 61st home run.

“That was the day it all began,” Vince recalled. “Baseball became more than a game—it became a part of me.” From that moment on, baseball was Vince’s constant companion. He devoured newspaper box scores and wrote letters to the Yankees and Mets asking to be their bat boy.

An older man in a baseball jersey holds a baseball on the Washington Nationals field.

A man in a baseball cap sits in a stadium.

An older man in a Washington Nationals jersey waves from the baseball field.

“I never got a response,” Vince remembered. Later, he landed a job as an errand boy for Donald Grant, then chairman of the Mets. Grant gifted Vince one of his most treasured mementos to this day—a signed 1969 Mets team baseball.

As he grew older, Vince set his baseball dreams aside. He went to college and started a career with the federal government. “It wasn’t glamorous work, but it paid the bills. I did what I had to do,” said Vince.

When Vince moved to the Washington, D.C. area in 1977, he began cheering on the Baltimore Orioles. Soon after, he met and married a young woman named Kathleen. For their first wedding anniversary, Kathleen gifted Vince Orioles season tickets. He went to as many games as he could, later taking his daughter, Courtney.

A man and woman in baseball gear smile from stadium seats.

When the Washington Nationals came to town in 2005, Vince embraced this team also, demonstrating that once again, his passion was more about the game itself than any particular team. He started attending Nationals games, back when they played in RFK Stadium. He familiarized himself with the players, cheered through the highs and lows, and cherished every moment he spent in the stands.

Moments of pain

Around the same time, Vince experienced the sudden death of his father, after which his mother moved in with his family. When his mother passed away in 2013 after living with the family for more than a decade, it was one of the darkest times of Vince’s life. That same year, he experienced a double pulmonary embolism. “If it wasn’t for my family, I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through that period of my life,” Vince said.

Then in 2023, Vince broke his back in several places as a result of a horrific car accident. At age 72, he now lives with chronic pain, yet his passion for baseball remains. In his retirement, he found himself reflecting on his childhood dream of becoming a bat boy.

“I think it would make me feel like a kid again,” Vince reflected. “To be that close to the game, behind the scenes … I have goosebumps just thinking about it.”

An older man in a bat boy jersey stands next to a young woman on the edge of a baseball field.

An older man in baseball gear stands at a microphone.

A childhood dream realized

When Vince’s wish nomination was received, Wish of a Lifetime jumped at the chance to make his childhood dream come true alongside his beloved Washington Nationals. Vince got to shadow the bat boys, learning how to set up gum and seeds for the players, clean shoes, and mud baseballs to improve grip for the pitchers. Afterward, Vince was announced as honorary bat boy, while he waved from the field in his new personalized jersey. Then Vince’s own voice echoed through the stadium as he shouted, “Play ball!” to kick off the game.

A man wearing a Nationals jersey and baseball cap shouts into a microphone in a stadium.

Two men ride in a Washington Nationals bullpen cart on a baseball field.

A man in a bat boy jersey looks out on a baseball field.

The Nationals staff provided a true VIP experience for Vince and Kathleen with seats in the luxurious Terra Club, the field-level area located right behind home plate. His experience was topped off with an opportunity to meet pitcher Cade Cavalli and ride in the bullpen cart during the 2nd inning.

It was a tribute to the boy who never stopped believing and to the game that never stopped giving back to him. “There is a spirituality when I walk into a stadium. There is a renewal, a hope, a promise of better days to come,” Vince shared. “Baseball, to me, is a reflection of life. There are good days and there are bad days. But every bad day holds out the promise that tomorrow will be better.”

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The Nationals are proud to team up with Wish of a Lifetime® from AARP, offering exclusive and unique experiences to older adults, like Vince, across the country.