Brewers fan receives special gift from Christian Yelich ahead of life-saving surgery

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — For as long as Grace Croft can remember, Milwaukee Brewers baseball has always been part of her family's life. What she didn't expect was that the team she grew up loving would one day become her source of comfort during a life-threatening health battle.

"I've grown up coming here since I was a little kid," Croft said, standing in front of American Family Field. "My dad was a season ticket holder in the 80s. Our whole life has been baseball."

The 21-year-old has been battling Crohn's disease for nearly a decade. While she may look healthy on the outside, her condition has become life-threatening, requiring major surgery.

"It kind of became like whenever I was in the ER or urgent care at an appointment, the Brewers would usually be playing, so it's kind of like became that outlet for me," Croft shared.

Watch: Brewers fan receives special gift from Christian Yelich ahead of life-saving surgery

Her intestines have become severely damaged from the chronic inflammatory disease.

"A normal intestine is pretty thick," she explained. "Mine have become the size of a pencil, so very teeny tiny due to scarring and causing internal bleeding… so the only option is this full resection, which is kind of scary."

With surgery approaching, Croft took a leap of faith and posted a message on X to her favorite Brewer, Christian Yelich.

"I've been a Yelich fan since 2018," Croft smiled. "That's the first jersey I got when I was in high school, and I put it out there just kind of as like a, 'hey, it probably won't go anywhere, but what if it does?"

The power of social media and the baseball community quickly took over. In just one week, her post received nearly half a million views.

"It went so much further than baseball, like these fans from Cubs fans, Cardinals fans, Padres, Nationals, like everything," Croft shared. "They were all commenting, tagging Christian, tagging the Brewers, but also just saying like, we're with you. We got you like praying for you. Hope it goes well."

While a hospital visit isn't possible with the National League Division Series underway, Yelich made sure Croft knew she wasn't facing this fight alone. The Brewers organization surprised her with a signed baseball from the star outfielder.

"It says to Grace. Hope surgery goes well. Go Brewers, and it's signed by Christian!" Croft smiled after receiving the gift.

The gesture left her overwhelmed with gratitude.

"This is just like above and beyond," she expressed. "I know he's got a lot more on his plate right now than you know, worrying about someone on Twitter. So yeah, I'm just in awe."

As Croft prepares for surgery on Tuesday, she plans to bring the signed baseball as her good luck charm. She's also excited to watch the Brewers continue their playoff run in the NLDS against the Chicago Cubs while recovering in the hospital.

The story serves as a reminder that baseball isn't always about the game, but the way it can bring people together during life's most challenging moments.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.

Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.

Report a typo or error