ARLINGTON – The Rangers had an extra staff member on Friday.
Stockton Watson took part in Rangers batting practice with the coaching staff and then shagged fly balls in the outfield with Wyatt Langford as part of his Make-A-Wish wish fulfillment.
“This means everything to him,” his mother, Brittany Stockton, said. “This is a lifelong dream for him. He eats and breathes Texas Rangers baseball. He knows all of the players, where they are from, where they were traded from, and he doesn’t want any of them to ever leave.”
Stockton was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, in which the left side of the heart is too small and underdeveloped to pump blood properly to the body. Though his family lives in Utah, Stockton was actually born in Houston so that doctors could address the issue. He will eventually require a heart transplant.
“I asked him the other day what’s the hardest thing he’s had to deal with in his life,” his mother said. “And he said ‘nothing.’ He’s got a great point of view and a very positive outlook.”
“He doesn’t let the heart condition define him,” said his father, Seth Stockton.