9-year-old loses A's memorabilia to wildfires, A's redevelop

Nine-year-old A's fan Loren Smith wrote a letter to his favorite ball club detailing the memorabilia he lost in the North Bay Fires. The resulting move by the A's is one Smith will never forget.

A's President Dave Kaval saw the letter and invited Smith out to a little league field in Santa Rosa where he was presented with ball caps, shirts, a new glove and more. The visible excitement was touching. For Smith, he said all the attention and items that make up his new collection was a bit overwhelming.

"My mind was just going a 'round and 'round, like this is so much stuff," Smith said, who added that it was his grandmother who encouraged him to write the letter.

Joining Kaval was A's manager Bob Melvin, Catcher Bruce Maxwell and Stomper, the mascot. Smith even got to play catch with Maxwell. And along with the fresh gear form the A's, there was an outpouring of donations for Smith that came in from fans across the nation, other teams in the league and Topps.

But the gifts didn't stop at that field.

Kaval invited Smith to throw out the first pitch at a game next season and included season tickets.