Tyler Lawson was hopeful that his letter to his favorite baseball team, the Boston Red Sox, would garner some kind of response. He never imagined that his letter would hit a home run.

Tyler and his fellow students in teacher Shannon Gwaltney’s sixth grade computer class at Sedalia Middle School completed a persuasive letter assignment in September; students selected a celebrity, store, sports team or restaurant and wrote a letter requesting a response that would include some kind of item. Tyler picked the Red Sox and requested an autographed baseball card or a team picture.

Several students received responses that included T-shirts, magazines and other items. On Monday, Tyler’s response arrived and left him in awe.

The Red Sox sent a box of goodies that included a bobblehead doll and photo of second baseman Dustin Pedroia, a bag of Fenway Park dirt and a Fenway poster, an autographed picture of outfielder/first baseman Daniel Nava, and a collection of Red Sox items, including a bracelet, calendar, 2015 schedule, magazine, stickers and foam baseballs.

Gwaltney said the activity was planned for the early part of the school year to ensure that students would be in school when responses started coming in. The assignment was an opportunity for the students to sharpen their keyboarding and communication skills.

Tyler said it took him two days to draft his letter, which was his “first big experience” writing to an organization. He was sitting in class Monday when Gwaltney presented the box to him.

“I tried not to act too excited,” he said.

Tyler’s favorite item is the autographed photo of Nava, a rising star for the Red Sox.

“I just asked for a couple of things,” he said, “and they sent me a lot.”

(Courtesy of Sedalia School District)

More From AM 1050 KSIS