Cubs hold special meet and greet with Advocate Children's patients

This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- As Pete Crow-Armstrong worked his way along the table in the Cubs’ interview room at Wrigley Field, chatting and exchanging autographs with the four boys in the spotlight on Tuesday afternoon, the center fielder was informed that he was each kid’s favorite player.

“Sorry to everyone else,” Crow-Armstrong quipped, eliciting laughter around the room.

Crow-Armstrong walked out of the press-conference space with a few new favorites as well after being blown away by how comfortable and confident the four boys were around the long list of Cubs who went in to meet them. They were VIPs as part of a “reverse signing” event that Nico Hoerner helped bring to Wrigley Field for a second straight year.

With the help of Cubs Charities and Advocate Children’s Hospital in Chicago, the Cubs had 8-year-old twins Ben and Noah Prepelica, 13-year-old Jackson “JD” Stocking and 8-year-old James Solotorovsky, all pediatric patients, in the interview room to give their autographs to Chicago’s players. Each had a stack of custom baseball cards in front of them to sign and trade.

“It makes it more about them than about us,” said Hoerner, who noted that the inspiration for the event stems from Mitch Haniger hosting a similar day while with the Mariners. “And because it’s here, they’re able to meet a lot more players. I’m grateful for teammates who give them even a couple minutes of their time. It all adds up to a pretty cool thing.”

The Prepelica twins were both born with a congenital heart defect known as aortic stenosis and both have undergone echocardiograms every six months for the first seven years of their lives. Stocking sustained a serious brain injury earlier this year. Solotorovsky was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia earlier this year, but is currently cancer-free after months of treatment and hospital stays.

As the boys all joked around with Crow-Armstrong, he came away impressed given all they have experienced at such a young age.

“They’ve battled through some stuff and are clearly doing well enough to even show up here,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I think it’s important that you roll it out for them. It’s funny. I was just talking to them about how much a pain signing a lot of cards can be sometimes. They were loving it. It’s nice to switch up their view.”

And switching up their view hopefully has a lasting impact.

“They’re going through all different health struggles,” said Lee Batsakis, a communications specialist for Advocate Children’s Hospital. “Some of them are actively going through things right now. So, to not only bring them some normalcy, but something so cool, it shows that caring for them isn’t just in the hospital. It’s beyond that. They’re all super deserving.”

“I hope it humanizes us for them,” Crow-Armstrong said. “And we get to see it from a different side of it, where it’s a little more special.”

All four boys received custom Cubs jerseys with their names on the back, and the tops were covered in autographs by the end of the day. Reliever Daniel Palencia brought each of them necklaces. Later, as the kids watched the Cubs going through pregame work on the field, Hoerner came out of the dugout holding four of his bats.

“This is for me to keep!” Solotorovsky exclaimed after Hoerner signed one and handed it to him.

Hoerner, who is signed through the 2032 season, hopes to keep finding ways to give back to a city that has given him so much already.

“There’s been a really nice tradition of guys finding ways to impact this city outside of baseball,” Hoerner said. “I think we all benefit so much from being here and from all the people who support us, so turning that around is kind of a no-brainer.”