As part of Caden’s baseball tournament, we were able to attend a game for the College World Series and the game the team went to was Game 1 of the final series which had the University of Florida vs LSU. I brought one baseball there hoping to get a particular player to sign it and watched him from the moment I walked in until I found success.
Alex Faedo was the 16th player chosen in the MLB draft a couple weeks earlier and he played for Florida. Cami, Cayden H, and I walked to be above the tunnel over the Gators’ dugout waiting for him to come in from the field. When he did, we asked him to sign but he kept on going. Cayden H then went to the LSU side to try to get a player from that team he wanted. Cami and I followed Alex to the bullpen and tried to get him there. He signed for someone but we were too late for him and just missed him. We then stood by the railing out front of the bullpen and after the pitchers warmed up, he came over when Cami asked him to and signed her program and a baseball for me. It was awesome. He even posed for a picture with Cami. I wish Alex much success and good health in his career.
Category: Cami
Two Players and a Bear
Cami and I went to the Twins game today. As is the Twins Sunday tradition, two players sign autographs for kids. We got to the ballpark and Cami got in line. She got Tyler Duffey to sign his 2017 Topps card and Drew Rucinski to sign her team ball. Later in the game, it was announced that TC was signing autographs in the Digital Clubhouse so she took her TC card that we got walking into the ballpark and got him to sign it. It was a fun day at the ballpark until the 9th inning when the Red Sox scored 10 and buried the Twins.
Wow! What an Opener!
Today was the Twins Season Opener and it was Cami’s turn to go to the game. I had asked her earlier in the week if she wanted to skip the entire day of school or get picked up at noon. She said she wanted to go to school but wanted to be picked up at 11:30. As she walked towards me at school, she was smiling from ear to ear and was so excited she could hardly contain herself. We got to the ballpark at about 12:15 so we had about a 45 minute wait for the gates to open. Once we got in we walked to the Twins side of the outfield. Cami decided that she was going to go after the Royals for autographs. She said the Royals are her second most favorite team. She has been a fan of them for the last few years so I knew it was not just the team in front of her at the moment. She asked for a baseball and went over to the Royals side hoping for an autograph. Meanwhile, my buddy Tony and his group entered the ballpark and Cami called me to say “I just got the Royals manager’s autograph!”. I was thinking ‘Ned Yost… not bad for her collection!’ I got over to her just after Tony and his crew found her and talked with her. I then toss her a new baseball and she tossed me the one she got signed. I looked at it and could not figure out who it was. I knew it was not Ned Yost. Some Royals fans around us said it was Doug Henry, the bullpen coach. I just laughed. She was happy though so I guess that is all that matters. She now has a sweetspot Doug Henry baseball in her collection.
We had a blast for the rest of the afternoon watching the Twins beat the Royals 7-1. The day was one that will become a special memory for Cami years from now!
2017 Spring Training- Nationals Day
Today was our fourth and final baseball game of the trip. We got to the new ballpark of the Nationals and Astros to watch the Twins play against the Nats. We did not know what to expect but we knew that we would have to get there early to see the ballpark and try for autographs. When we got to the complex, the Nationals pitchers were working out on the first field we say. When they were done, they walked right by all of us as they went to the mounds to throw their bullpens. I was after Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer but neither stopped. Caden had a couple wants but those guys did not stop either. I showed Cami that he spring training passport had a section at the end for autographs so she took that and got about 20 autographs on it. She was going up to any player who would stop to get them to sign her book. She was so excited and had so much fun. She does not know who any of them are (we will have to research) but her page is full of autographs. For the second game in a row we got to see the Budweiser Clydesdales gallop around the warning track too. That was neat. Oh, and the Twins ended up winning 4-2 so it was an all around great day!