11-year-old realizes dream of meeting Trout thanks to Make-A-Wish

ANAHEIM -- The Angels and Make-A-Wish helped 11-year-old Jensen Vaught realize his dream of meeting superstar Mike Trout before Wednesday’s game against the Astros.

Vaught is an avid baseball fan who last year was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and finished chemotherapy in November. His parents, Chris and Kellie, who joined him on the trip from their hometown of Corryton, Tenn., were ecstatic to see their son so happy on the field interacting with players during stretching and batting practice -- especially with Trout.

“Ever since we got on the plane Monday, he's just been hyped up,” Chris said. “So for him to actually be out here watching these guys do this, it's awesome.”

Vaught first became aware of Trout four years ago when he read a book about him during second grade, which is also when Vaught first started playing baseball. He’s been a huge fan of Trout ever since, and baseball has always been an outlet for him.

“He loves Mike Trout,” Kellie said. “He started baseball at 7 and it became an obsession. And then, one of the first books he picked up in the library was Mike Trout. And since then, he's just been obsessed, and he’s always been his favorite.”

Jensen also had the chance to sit with manager Kurt Suzuki before the game and helped lead Angels players during their stretch routine. He watched batting practice up close by the cage, which allowed him to meet with several players, including Trout. The family also supports University of Tennessee athletics, so former Vols players Ben Joyce and Christian Moore recorded video messages of encouragement from Triple-A Salt Lake.

“It was just really cool to see him leading the stretches with the players and it was like, ‘He's in it,’” Kellie said. “And he can probably name all those players, and knows exactly who they are, and it's got to be so cool for him. He knows so much about baseball. You can ask him anything, and he knows.”

Jensen has been cleared to return to playing baseball this year and told Suzuki that he likes catching and that his favorite number is eight, which is Suzuki’s jersey number. His parents were excited to see Jensen taking everything in and noted how he’s always stayed positive.

“Last year was pretty terrible,” Chris said. “Watching him go through stuff that no kid should ever have to. But he came through with a big smile, even during chemo. He would’ve played on his baseball team if he could. He just never gave up.”

The family is making the most of their baseball-centric trip to Southern California, as they also have tickets to go to San Diego’s Petco Park on Thursday and Dodger Stadium on Friday. It’s a trip they’ll never forget, and they were thankful for Make-A-Wish making it a reality.

“You hear about Make-A-Wish and you hear about the stuff they do, but you never really know,” Chris said. “And then when you experience it like this, you're blown away. There are no words to be spoken, the amount of stuff that these people have done for him. Make-A-Wish making this happen all the way on the West Coast is a dream come true.”