Five-year-old Daniel Alarcon of Bloomingdale got the opportunity of a lifetime when he walked onto Wrigley Field, before a crowd of more than 40,000, to throw the first pitch of a Chicago Cubs game.

Despite the gravity of the experience, his mother said he was a “cool as a cucumber.”

“He was so cool about it and wasn’t nervous one bit,” Debbie Alarcon said. “As we were doing interviews, he was saying stuff like, ‘when are we going to do this already?’”

Daniel, 5, is a member of the Bloomingdale Park District’s T-ball program. He was chosen from dozens of other kids to throw the first pitch at the July 10 game against the  Cincinnati Reds.

“It was neat,” Daniel said.

The opportunity had a special meaning for Daniel because his stepfather, Army Pfc. Christopher Raya, 26, has been serving in the Army in Sadir City, Iraq since October.

“This was a big honor because my family (members) are huge Cub fans,” Debbie said.

Park District spokeswoman Anita Escalante said the opportunity was made possible by the Illinois Parks and Recreation Association, which has been hosting group outings with the Chicago Cubs since the mid-1980s.  Daniel was chosen randomly from one of seven area park district T-ball programs.

Not only did a representative of the association get tickets to the game and get to throw out the first pitch, but several teams were given the chance to play ball in the Wrigley Field outfield before the game, which the Reds won by a score of 12-7.

Since he was too busy giving interviews with news organizations, Daniel didn’t get to play in the outfield, Alarcon said. Although, he did manage to get his picture taken in the Cubs dugout before the game.

The Illinois Parks and Recreation Association began the outing to promote parks and recreation in Illinois and let children experience playing on a Major League ball field, said Matt White, marketing and communications director with the association.

Association officials said they had no idea that Daniel’s stepfather was in Iraq until after they contacted his mother to tell her Daniel would make the pitch.

"That’s when I told them about it, and that’s when it really became more emotional,” Debbie said.

The family keeps in touch with Christopher through a webcam at his base, and Debbie said he was really proud of Daniel.

Daniel’s pitch brought a bright moment to a family going through a difficult time. Since Christopher left for Iraq, Debbie  has been battling postpartum depression  after giving birth to their daughter earlier this year.

“Things are going better now, and Christopher did get a brief chance to see his new daughter last February while on a short leave here,” she said.

Her husband is scheduled to come home this November, but she said that may change.