Daniel Hilfiker thought he was heading down to Penfield Little League's complex for some batting practice with his father. Moments later, he learned that he had been chosen for a little leaguer's trip of a lifetime. 

Before you knew it⁠— faster than a Pete Alonso dinger can leave the ballpark in Cleveland⁠— there was 12-year-old Daniel, helping the New York Met slugger cool down between rounds of the Major League Baseball All Star Game HR Derby.  

"It was loud and I was like, I didn't know what to do," he said.

Daniel and his Webster family headed to Cleveland over the weekend. The whirlwind trip to the all-star extravaganza made amazing memories. 

Major League Baseball provided the opportunity through Penfield Little League to host of the next three regional championship series. The league could send one player to join seven others from around the country who would serve as water boys and girls to the stars. 

League president Greg Kamp picked Daniel because of his team spirit and humble nature. 

"I can't even get my head around it yet. I was just watching and just shaking," Kamp said. "He represented us proudly, and we're proud of him."

"When he found out he was not "hey we're going to Disney World. He just kinda took it in stride," said Doug Hilfiker, Daniel's father.

"Sitting on the field with all the other players and their teammates and getting a picture with them and stuff. That was amazing," Daniel said.

Kamp quipped that after telling Daniel about the assignment, he would be either the most popular or most envied player in the little league.

Players who attended a summer baseball camp at the complex Tuesday bore that out. 

"Beautiful stadium. Pro players. I bet he would have seen some cool stuff out there," Maxwell Rand of Penfield said.

"What a lucky guy. I was jealous," said teammate Blake Smith of Penfield. 

"It's insane," said teammate Paul Rizzo.  "I'm probably going to remember him meeting one of the most remarkable home run hitters this year."

Daniel got to stay on the field for the opening round, then joined his parents higher in the stadium for the rest of the derby to see Alonso win the contest. 

"I thought he was going to do it because he was hitting it far and stuff," Daniel said. 

A third-generation Cleveland sports fan, Daniel had visited the area before playing travel baseball. His family knows he made lifetime memories. 

"The smiles on his face," his father said. "And becoming friends with kids from other states, other countries that he had never met before 12 hours before."