CLEVELAND — The Guardians are everything to 26-year-old Peter Knab. The team knows that, too.
Hours before Friday's game against the Kansas City Royals, Vice President of Communications Curtis Danburg draped Peter in postseason swag. Knab's passion for the team began as a young boy, tuning into the action with his dad.
"Always listen on the radio," he says. "We listen on the radio a lot."
But Peter was ready to actually go see a game. He has cerebral palsy, and credits his dad for helping him build his confidence by signing him up for competitive sports like sled hockey.
After Knab's father passed away in 2016, he started traveling to home games on his own. Then, he wanted even more.
"I kind of decided, 'Well, it's time for a different challenge,'" Peter remembered, "and I started looking into trying to travel independently."
He didn't just try; he succeeded: Anaheim; Los Angeles; Arlington, Texas — going to hundreds of the club's games in the U.S. he knows dad would be proud.
"It's kind of funny to think that, you know, he was nervous about me coming down here by myself," he said, "and now I've been all over the country."
When he saw the Guardians clinch in Texas last week, Peter felt it in his soul.
"Really special," he told us, "because I've seen this team grow, right in front of my eyes."
It hasn't always been a smooth road, but with this independence born from his love of the game, Peter has a message for anyone else facing challenges.
"You are not an inconvenience, you know?'" he declared. "I'm going to do something until I exhaust all the possible options that I [can]."
Editor's Note: The following video is from a previous, unrelated report.