Mets rookie pitcher has the opportunity to do something most kids only dream about

When New York Mets rookie pitcher Steven Matz takes the mound tonight against the Chicago Cubs in Game Four of the National League Championship Series, he will have chance to do something that kids all over the world dream about: bringing the team you grew up rooting for to the championship.

With the Mets up 3-0 in the seven-game series and needing only one more win to reach their first World Series since 2000, Matz is in a unique position to be the hometown hero.

Matz grew up in Stony Brook, New York on Long Island, the heart of Mets' country. He and his family are "huge Mets fans," his father Ron, a service manager at a local Jeep dealership, told The Daily News before the beginning of the 2015 season.

The fandom runs deep, according to Ron.

"My father is a huge Mets fan, and it's just special just to be 45 minutes to an hour away from the field," Ron Matz told CBS New York.

In the days before his July major league debut, Matz told The New York Post that pitching for the Mets was "a dream come true."

"Growing up watching Endy Chavez make that catch over the wall [in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS] is probably the most vibrant memory I have," Matz told the Post, referencing the last time that the Mets were in the playoffs.

Matz was 15 at the time and just starting to receive buzz from professional scouts.

Here's Matz talking about growing up a Mets fan before a start in September: 

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