Dylan Dreyer had a proud mom moment to remember when her 8-year-old son Calvin stepped onto the pitcher’s mound at Boston’s iconic Fenway Park to throw the first pitch before a Red Sox game.
On May 17, the TODAY Show meteorologist and her husband, Brian Fichera, enjoyed a special family outing with their three sons — Calvin, 5-year-old Oliver, and 3-year-old Rusty — as the Red Sox prepared to take on the Atlanta Braves. But it was Calvin who stole the spotlight that night, confidently tossing the ceremonial first pitch and winning hearts in the process. The moment was one of pride and joy for the Dreyer-Fichera family, captured in photos and videos that quickly lit up social media with love and support for the TODAY star’s milestone family moment.
TODAY captured a video of the moment Calvin threw the baseball alongside his mom, who also tossed a pitch. Dylan smiled and gave her son a high five after. The mother-son duo then celebrated with Red Sox catcher Connor Wong and coach Jason Varitek, who caught their pitches.
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In another sweet clip, Dylan met the Red Sox mascot, Wally the Green Monster, who rewarded her by allowing her to sport his giant baseball cap for a few moments.
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Dylan also uploaded a joint Instagram post with TODAY that included an adorable family photo of her, Brian, Calvin, Oliver and Rusty posing together on the baseball field. The entire family wore custom Red Sox jerseys with the number 25.
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The game held special significance for Dylan’s family as it marked Fenway Park’s first-ever Celiac Awareness Night.
The TODAY meteorologist has opened up in the past about Calvin being diagnosed with celiac disease when he was about 6 years old.
Before making their way to the game, Dylan posted a slideshow of photos of her boys enjoying some gluten-free donuts and visiting the New England Aquarium.
“Tonight is Celiac Awareness Night at Fenway Park!! Had to hit up the gluten free donuts at @kanes_donuts for breakfast first!! And the @newenglandaquarium too!” she captioned the carousel and added the hashtag “backinboston.”
The family of five watched the Red Sox beat the Braves 7-6 after a thrilling walk-off home run. Later, Dylan shared more snaps from their unforgettable day, including a couple of Calvin smiling wide as he tossed the ball around.
“Calvin said ‘today was the best day of my life’. I couldn’t agree more buddy!!” she wrote in the caption. “Hard to top today!”
She added “Thank you to the @redsox for making this the most special day ever!!! And to top it off, it’s Celiac Awareness Night!”
Dylan previously spoke to TODAY.com about Calvin, whom the family affectionately calls Cal, suffering from frequent stomach pain before they received his celiac diagnosis.
“There was one time the pain was so bad that we thought maybe he had something like his appendix burst,” she recalled. “He was hunched over in pain.”
The family quickly took him to the emergency room. After multiple appointments and tests, Calvin’s blood work confirmed he had the digestive and immune disorder.
“I knew nothing about celiac disease. I knew a friend of a friend had it, and she couldn’t eat bread. That’s basically the knowledge I had,” Dylan shared at the time.
She learned more about the condition and her family made changes to help Calvin switch to a gluten-free diet. The mom also filmed new episodes of the TODAY segment “Cooking with Cal” with her oldest child, where they started to make recipes he could enjoy.
“I want him to still be able to enjoy food and not just settle for something,” she said. “There’s a lot of recipes that just don’t have gluten. I can cook a lot that doesn’t involve breads and flours.”
Dr. Lisa Fahey, co-director of the Celiac Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, previously explained to TODAY.com that celiac disease is an autoimmune condition where “eating gluten triggers an immune response, and that can create a variety of symptoms for patients.”
She added that the condition essentially causes the body to fight “against itself.”
Dylan said she hopes the “Cooking with Cal” series can help other families also experiencing the same challenges better understand how to manage celiac disease.
