Hailey Dawson, an 8-year-old from Henderson, Nev., who was born without three fingers on her throwing hand, threw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Rockies’ series finale against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night at Coors Field.
It marked the ninth major-league ballpark in which Dawson, whose missing fingers and underdeveloped thumb and pinky finger are from a condition called Poland syndrome, threw out the first pitch. She did so with the help of a custom, Rockies-themed prosthetic hand.
“I don’t get nervous,” she said pregame in the dugout, dabbing occasionally on her purple prosthetic. “I just focus on the catcher.”
Dawson began her pregame journey at a Baltimore game on Aug. 17, 2015, throwing out the first pitch to her favorite player, Manny Machado. She is headed to Seattle’s Safeco Field next, with the ultimate goal of tossing out the first pitch at all 30 major-league ballparks.
