Why Is This Baseball All-Star Attending Tonight’s State of the Union?

Jonathan Lucroy is a slugging catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers who was selected as an All-Star in 2014 for his accomplishments on the field. Tonight, one senator wants to honor him for his work off the field.

Lucroy, 28, will attend the State of the Union address as a guest of Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a recognition he told ESPN was a “huge honor.”

“I’m going to do something not a lot of people get to do. I’m going to do something or see something that a lot of people won’t be able to watch or see,” said Lucroy.

Johnson said in a statement that Lucroy wasn’t invited for his play on the field, but because he is “an even bigger hero off the field: He is using his baseball fame to highlight some great Wisconsin charities.”

“Mr. Lucroy’s charitable service illustrates [American] ideals by shining a light on the good work Wisconsinites are doing for their communities. It is an honor to in turn honor Mr. Lucroy,” said Johnson.

According to ESPN, Lucroy is a frequent visitor to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, and has volunteered for organizations like the Muscular Dystrophy Association and Brewers Community Foundation.

Lucroy told ESPN that military and veterans’ charities became particularly important to him after one of his best friends, John Coker, was injured during his service in Afghanistan. The Lacrosse Tribune reports that he helps raise funds for Milwaukee’s Fisher House and invites veterans to Brewers games.

One of the military charities he works with is the Honor Flight Network, an organization that brings veterans to Washington to visit the war memorials on the National Mall.

“When I heard about that, it became personal to me,” Lucroy said. “It’s one of those things that I take it serious. I take it personal. I want them to feel important. I want them to feel good.”

According to the Tribune, in November, Lucroy volunteered to travel with 41 World War II and 47 Korean War veterans to Washington, D.C.

“The thing about World War II and Korean War veterans, they’re getting up in age and they won’t be around for much longer. Any time I can spend with them I will treasure for the rest of my life,” Lucroy told the Tribune.