For George Drallos, baseball is more than just a sport. It has been a teacher, counselor and friend for his entire life. Drallos, a native of Highland, Mich., played on his high school team, summer leagues and even tried out for the Tigers. He instilled his passion for baseball in his son, John, and coached his baseball teams for 10 years. John then went on to play baseball at Valparaiso University in Indiana, and he later coached at Clarkston High School.

In November 2011, Drallos received devastating news. He was diagnosed with ALS and frontaltemporal dementia. With so much unknown following his diagnosis, he and his wife, Linda, made the decision to live life to its fullest. That is when Linda reached out to the Tigers, submitting her husband’s story for the Dreams Come True event at Comerica Park, knowing that it would fulfill one of his biggest dreams.

Due to coronavirus, this Dreams Come True was a little bit different -- it was virtual. Drallos entered a video chat with radio play-by-play voice Dan Dickerson, thinking he was participating in a series of fan interviews. Dickerson asked Drallos who some of his all-time favorite Tigers players were. He responded with a list including Al Kaline, Willie Horton, Kirk Gibson and Alan Trammell. Then, much to his surprise, a familiar face emerged on his screen: Alan Trammell himself.

“What a blessing it is to see you, you are such a great person and were a great player. Congratulations on the Hall of Fame,” said Drallos, moments after the surprise.

During their conversation, Drallos told Trammell about how much those Tigers teams meant to him and influenced his life.

“Watching you guys be teammates, help each other, build each other up, give each other confidence, it was so wonderful,” said Drallos. “It helped me through baseball as a kid and when I grew up, I worked at General Motors as a manager for 36 years, being a teammate ... you guys taught me all of that.”

As the conversation concluded, Trammell invited Drallos to join him at Comerica Park when baseball returns.

“Let’s do this in person, when things get back again, let’s make that a date.”

Drallos, emotional and excited, graciously accepted the offer from one of his favorite Tigers.

“Oh I would love that, that would be a true blessing!”