Boy's Love For T-Ball Earns Meeting With President

INDIANAPOLIS -- Danny Hall, 6, plays baseball for fun, but he didn't know it would lead to a fantasy.

Hall and his sweet swing are preparing for the privilege of playing T-ball with President George W. Bush on the south lawn of the White House, 6News' Derrik Thomas reported.

Bush has been hosting T-ball since May 2001. Fall Creek T-ball President Bob Christiansen wrote a letter nominating Hall for the honor, praising the boy for showing up for every practice and game with his eyes wide open, as if it were Christmas morning.

"It wasn't a double take, it was a triple take," said Rick Hall, Danny's father, referring to when he got a response to the letter. "I read the second paragraph and it said he had been selected and I said, 'No, that's not possible,' and I had to go back and read it again."

About 800,000 children play T-ball in America.

"It's very important. I think it shapes their futures. They make new friends, lasting friends forever," Christiansen said.

Children from all 50 states will get an audience with Bush and an autographed baseball. Hall said he will keep the ball "forever."

Hall's proud mother, Olga Hall, is originally from Russia but is now a U.S. citizen. She captures her son's games on videotape and plans to do the same when he visits Washington.

"Not every American gets this opportunity, and here we are," Olga Hall said. "We get some personal touch."

The Hall family makes their journey on July 16. In addition to T-ball, they'll get to tour the White House and have a picnic on the south lawn.