Freddie Freeman made a wish of his own.
“I have one more wish, you gotta do it for me though,” the Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman told Make-A-Wish kid Kaylyn “KK” Alves, a 14-year-old with epilepsy. “Do you promise to throw out the first pitch to me tonight?”
Alves was happy to grant Freeman’s wish after he had just made hers come true did indeed take the mound for the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium that April evening, capping a day in which her wish came true by getting to meet Freeman.
Kaylyn “KK” Alves throws out the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium. (Gary A. Vasquez/Los Angeles Dodgers)
“When you play the game, you become role models for people, and that’s what I got taught from wonderful parents and grandparents, to try and carry yourself the right way,” Freeman told her. “And for you to look at me like that and to want to meet me and spend your day here with me, it means the world to me.”
As it did for Alves, a Rancho Cordova resident who suffers from seizures caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. She inherited her love for the Dodgers from her father David, and she became the 1,000th wish granted in a partnership between Make-A-Wish and Fanatics.
“To see her light up and have so much fun on a day where if we were home she might be struggling, having multiple seizures, just not feeling good, just being down, just to see her just like the light of the world it means everything in the world to me,” David said.
Alves was standing on the field while members of the team were warming up before the game when she saw Freeman approaching.
“I can’t believe he’s right there,” she told her family. “Do you see him right there? He’s right there!”
Freddie Freeman introduces himself to Kaylyn “KK” Alves and her family. (Gary A. Vasquez/Los Angeles Dodgers)
“I heard your wish was to meet me,” Freeman said. “Well, I got a jersey for you.”
He gave her a personalized Dodgers jersey with “KK” across the back – and later autographed a jersey of his own for her. She also got to take a tour of the stadium, was given her own custom Topps card, and met other players and manager Dave Roberts.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Roberts told her. “So, do you love Freddie as much as I do?”
Kaylyn “KK” Alves and Freddie Freeman. (Gary A. Vasquez/Los Angeles Dodgers)
Alves and Freeman then held a mini press conference where she was asked to name her favorite World Series moment.
“When he did the walk off,” she said.
“That was a fun one, wasn’t it?” Freeman responded with a laugh.
Freeman, when asked what it meant to him to be part of granting wishes, mentioned his son, who in 2025 at three years old was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder that left him temporarily paralyzed.
“Life gets put into perspective,” he told Alves. “It’s a blessing that we get to put this on, and I get to play this game and have fun. But when you meet people that are really going through it and grinding and doing the best they can each and every day, and to meet you and see that smile. You haven’t had a smile come off your face since I’ve seen you today. That’s what makes life. And for me to be able to be a part of your life for a few hours — and maybe, who knows, maybe longer, we get to be friends — so, it means everything to me.”
The couple already bought tickets to the Dodgers game next Monday. Amber Frias reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on March 27, 2026.
