Baseball superfan Sunny Botello is traveling across the country with his family on an annual baseball trip with a goal to visit every big league ballpark at some point in his life.
The mission brought Sunny to Cleveland on Wednesday, but just eight months ago, he was in a hospital battling kidney failure. He was on a ventilator and even on life support.
The baseball dream that the 86-year-old envisioned seemed out of reach, but despite being on dialysis, he is not only still alive and fighting— he's thriving.
"Last year I felt it was the end of my baseball traveling, but thank God I came back strong and thanks to my son here and his family...they always take me to a game so I'm in, I'm in," Sunny said.
Sunny, a San Francisco resident, is a former Minor League Baseball player. He said he's been able to love and appreciate the game even more later on in life, and this journey of resilience and joy is something that goes beyond the diamond.
"He's 86 years old and travels like a 40-year-old. He loves road trips, still loves seeing new cities [and] obviously still loves going to the ball game," said Anthony, Sunny's son. "And his strength is up, he's healthy so we are just taking advantage of that every summer."
Sunny only has 5 stadiums left to visit before he completes the list of 30:
- Toronto
- Kansas City
- Denver
- Miami
- Tampa Bay
Sunny hopes to finish the list by the end of the season.
