Mathew Miller never stopped dreaming.
The Queens native, 13, had enjoyed a wonderful 2013, traveling the country, while starring for several travel baseball teams and hitting over 70 home runs. His brother Christopher loved the game just as much, the two playing it nearly every day, with the 7-year-old looking up to Mathew, in hopes of growing up to be just as good.
But on the morning of Jan. 1, a fire which destroyed their East Elmhurst home took the life of Christopher, while Mathew crawled out of the house, in critical condition with second and third degree burns on 62 percent of his body.
“It’s a nightmare,” said their father David Miller, who was coming home from work when the fire started. “You got to live life all over again.”
After nearly four months in multiple hospitals, Mathew’s health has improved, allowing him to live out a fantasy, as he met the Mets on Saturday — hanging out with players in the clubhouse, touring Citi Field and standing on the field — and will receive the honor of throwing out the first pitch before Monday’s game against the Cardinals.
“It’s going to be awesome,” said Mathew, a third baseman, who was particularly excited to meet David Wright.
Mathew’s dream is the first day of “Play Ball Week,” organized by SNY, whose “Play Ball” initiative is a year-round community outreach program which gives back through donations, clinics and volunteer work. A different story will be highlighted on-air each day this week during SNY’s GEICO SportsNite and during Mets broadcasts.
Mathew said the pain is starting to go away, his father saying his son already has begun running around and throwing a baseball. Mathew will be officially released from the hospital on Thursday, his dream still in tact, and even easier to visualize after a memorable experience.
“Mathew deserves it,” his father told The Post’s Howie Kussoy. “It’s tough for anyone but the kid is incredible…He just wants to get back to his normal activities and his normal life. He’s not going to let this stop him from pursuing his dream.”
Those looking to help the Millers can make donations online.
Mets’ Gee to visit N.Y. VA hospital
Dillon Gee can’t think of a better way to thank veterans than by spending a Monday morning with them at the VA New York Harbor Healthcare Hospital in Manhattan.
“My family has been dedicated to serving,” said Gee, whose father is a fireman in Texas. “Any chance I can to honor veterans who put their life on the line for our country is one I have to take.”
Gee will be accompanied on his visit by general manager Sandy Alderson, who served as a Marine Infantry Officer with a tour of duty of Vietnam. Mets radio broadcaster Josh Lewin also will go.
The visit is part of the Mets’ Military Mondays, a program the team created to salute U.S. service men and women this season. The team also will offer complimentary tickets, retail discounts and other community outreach events. Military Mondays will take place on April 21, July 7, July 28, Sept. 8 and Sept. 15.
For more information, go to http://www.govx.com/mets.
Duguay remembers wars vs. Philly
Former Rangers star Ron Duguay, who is part of MSG Network’s postgame coverage following NBC’s national broadcast of Game 2 at noon on Sunday, knows what it’s like to take on the hated Flyers in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Duguay’s Blueshirts faced Philadelphia four out of five postseasons between 1979 and 1983 and again in 1987 when he returned to the Rangers after time in Detroit and Pittsburgh. The flashy center tallied 31 goals and 22 assists over 10 playoff runs in his career, but remembers the bumps and bruises more than lighting the lamp.
“The Flyers were nasty. If you took a shot at one of their guys, you had better be prepared to go.
“After one warm-up session in Philly, as I skated off the ice, a fan lunged at me and my reaction was to defend myself, so I punched the guy right in the face. Security ended up kicking the fan out of the building. If that was today, I would have gone to jail.”
Nets to Knicks: We’re only show in town
The Nets have struck again — with a subtle dig at a Knicks club already on the golf course. In the Nets’ digital and social-media postseason campaign, one of their imageries reads: NBA Playoffs. Only in Brooklyn.
Indeed, there will be no NBA playoffs at the Garden for the first time in four years following last summer’s war or words regarding which New York team was better.
The Nets opened what they believe is a long playoff run Saturday with a 94-87 win over the Raptors in Toronto. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has tweaked the Knicks on many occasions in the past, including placing Brooklyn Nets billboards on buildings by the Garden.
Contacted by The Rumble, Nets spokesman Barry Baum said the imagery “speaks for itself.”
Play ball!
The NYPD First Precinct vs. Boomer [Esiason] and [Craig] Carton celebrity softball game to benefit the PBA Widows and Children’s Fund is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday, April 26 at Con-Ed Field.