ANAHEIM -- It's an Opening Day tradition at Safeco Field that touches hearts every year, the sight of a Make-A-Wish child running the bases before the first pitch and reaching home plate to the open arms of several Mariners players to help start a new season.
But Monday afternoon, it'll be a particularly poignant moment for Felix Hernandez when he greets 8-year-old Sophia Robinson at the end of her 360-foot journey in front of 45,000 fans moments before Seattle faces Houston in its 2:10 p.m. PT home debut.
The Mariners star met the youngster from Anchorage, Alaska, four years ago as part of a previous Make-A-Wish arrangement when she and her family asked if they could get the chance to meet some players before a regular-season game at Safeco Field.