SANDPOINT — The Seattle Mariners' showdown with the Cleveland Guardians on March 28 will be far from the first Mariners game Chase Miller has attended, but it might be the most special. 

Not just because it’s a Cal Raleigh bobblehead night, but because right before the Mariners’ starting nine take the field, Miller will take to the mound and throw out the first pitch, thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. 

“I’m beyond excited,” Miller said about the opportunity to meet his favorite team and throw out the first pitch. “Just super grateful and excited.” 

Miller learned the news as he walked into Powder Hound Pizza, thinking it was dinner with his grandparents. After being asked specific questions all week, he said he guessed there might be an announcement, but he didn’t expect to learn that his wish was granted. 

At the dinner, surrounded by friends and family, volunteers from the Make-A-Wish Foundation made one more announcement. Instead of Raleigh behind home plate, Miller would be throwing out the first pitch to his dad, Jeremy Miller, who feels confident his son will be able to deliver a pitch across the plate. 

“I’m nervous, I was fully expecting to watch this whole ordeal and have him be out there, but I’m excited,” Jeremy Miller said, still flushed in the face from the announcement of catching the pitch. “[So] grateful we are in the position that he is here with us and then grateful that the Make a Wish people do this kind of stuff.” 

Miller’s mother, Becky Miller, said the parents found out about the wish being granted last Thursday. Becky Miller said she was glad to hear that the foundation wanted to hold the surprise reveal party soon, since the secret was hard to keep for even a week. 

Jeremy Miller said the community’s response to Chase’s diagnosis with stage four Hodgkin Lymphoma has been overwhelmingly helpful. A Kickstarter organized by Tamie Edens, Miller’s grandmother, raised over $46,000, which helped pay for his treatment.  

In addition to the money, Becky Miller said local residents have dropped off meals, and Jeremy Miller’s coworkers even donated time off so he could be with Chase during treatment. 

“We know quite a few people in the area, but I would say many more people that we’d never met who were willing to help and come by,” Jeremy Miller said. “For me, it was completely overwhelming to see complete strangers helping with this.” 

On Dec. 18, Edens announced on the Kickstarter that after a year of treatment, Miller was cancer-free and in remission. 

Michelle John, regional manager for Make a Wish in North Idaho, said La Riviera Construction, a Kootenai County-based construction company, will be paying for Miller’s entire experience. John said that the surprise “wish-grantings” are her favorite part of her job. 

Last year, John said Make-A-Wish granted 116 wishes in Idaho, with around 16 of them being from this region. John said the foundation serves all kids with a critical illness, not just terminal ones, and encouraged the community to reach out and refer any kids they knew who were battling an illness. 

A lifelong Mariners fan, Miller said he can’t wait to meet the team, especially stars Julio Rodriguez, JP Smith and Raleigh. While he hasn’t thought about what to say to them yet, one thing is clear: he can’t wait. 

"I never thought about what to say,” Miller said. “It’s just going to be a cool experience to be down there and everything." 

    Chase Miller stands with volunteers from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, who put together his "wish-granting party."
  

    Chase Miller walks into Powder Hound Pizza to learn that the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted his wish to meet the Seattle Mariners.