2009 Baseball Trip

Tues. May 5-South Bend, Indiana: Our first trip to Coveleski Stadium in South Bend pitted the home Silver Hawks against the Cedar Rapids Kernels. We fought off the rain all week, and it started here with some drizzle, but the rain actually held off and we got the whole game in. Trevor made the trip with us this year, and he was successful in getting two game balls. The stadium is a little plain, but cut into the ground which I like and had good seating. We had good seats right in the front row. The Silver Hawks fans were good to us, and probably in a good mood because the Hawks won.

Thurs. May 7-Indianapolis, Indiana: We experienced out first rain out Wednesday, but if one of our games was to be missed, that would be it because we planned on returning to Victory Field on this day for a morning game anyway. The Indians played the Scranton/WB Yankees in a double header starting at ten in the morning. Again, rain threatened us, but it turned out to be a beautiful day. The home town Indians got beat both games, but this is a great ball park and we would love to back here again. Pictured is me and Trevor in the upper deck. Trevor got a foul ball here, too.

Louisville, Kentucky: Heading to Louisville Slugger Field for a night cap, gave us a record setting three games in one day. We did it, though, and enjoyed every second. As nice as the park is in Indy, this one is just amazing. The facade is build into an old rain road warehouse and it's just another great place to watch a ball game. The Bats beat up on the visiting Rochester Red Wings, too. We got another foul ball, as I took Trevor to the play area, it just happened to bounce in there to me. We've been having lots of luck with this. This is another AAA ball park I would love to visit again. Pictured here is Trevor from the outfield, but out seats were front row down the third base side. Not a bad seat in this house, though.

Friday, May 8-Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum: This was just awesome seeing how these famous bats are made. We got to hold unfinished bats of some of the best players in the game today, and saw older bats swung by the likes of Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio. The factory tour was interesting and we each got a souvenir mini-bat when it was all over. Lots of stuff for kids, so Trevor had a great time, too. I highly recommend this to anyone in the Louisville area. A ballgame and the museum are a great combination. I dropped a little coin at the gift shop here, too.

Fort Wayne, Indiana: We can at least say we were at Parkview Field during it's inaugural season here in 2009. The newly named TinCaps also helped by beating the Peoria Chiefs, too. This is a beautiful park, and maybe the class of the single 'A' circuit. Really nice sight lines around Fort Wayne, too. As you can see by the pic, we were right next to the TinCaps dugout and got a game ball here, too. Still lucky on the weather front, as it rained when we got here, but actually cleared up for the game. Trevor got to run the bases afterward which made it even more special for him.

Sat. May 9-Lansing, Michigan: Ending our trip in our home state. Like most of the days, it rained all the way up to Lansing, so we dreaded that we'd get this far and miss some baseball. The 'baseball gods' must have been looking out for us, as is cleared up as we got to Michigan State. In probably the best ball game we saw, MSU beat Prudue 6-5. Oh, yeah, you guessed it, Trevor got a foul ball at the newly remodeled McLane Stadium also. Our trip finally ended at Oldsmobile Park featuring the Lansing Lugnuts and the Beloit Snappers. The 'Nuts got beat and it was a bit cold, yet we're happy it didn't rain and we got the game in. This is the only game we got shut out on getting a foul ball. We were all pretty tired by this time, but stayed for the post game fireworks, which seemed like and fitting end to our trip.

This is the first year we missed a game in Grand Rapids watching the Whitecaps, but we'll be down there later this summer. Next year we're looking into heading to Iowa or maybe the other teams in Ohio we haven't seen. It's never too early to start planning.

Practice Makes Perfect Fun

Baseball practice for Sault Little League has started up for this season. So far, we've been stuck inside as we're still getting rid of our last bit of snow and now dealing with rain. The kids are having a lot of fun with it and I've been pitching in when I can. I'm moving Trevor up this season from t-ball to Minor 1(7-8 yrs) to be on the same team as Lily. This solves a lot of problems in determining which team I was going to coach. Also, having them play on the same night at the same time is a lot more convenient. Both kids are handling the move up nicely so far. Lily still gets a lot of recognition for her talents the last two years. It will be tougher for her this year, as it looks like she'll be the only girl on the team as most moved over to the all-girl softball program put into place last season. I'm keeping her in baseball basically because I want to coach both of them, and she can handle baseball just as well as the boys with no problem. We should be getting outside soon as the weather clears up, and Trevor will be starting soccer at the first of May, too.

RIP Mark 'The Bird' Fidrych

Yesterday in a tragic accident, former Detroit Tigers pitcher Mark 'The Bird' Fidrych lost his life while working on a truck on his farm in Massachusetts. The details of the accident arn't as important as the fact that he was only 54 years old, and left behind a wife and daughter. Our prayers go out to his family and friends.

I was actually only four years old when he made his major league debut. I can still remember how much fun he was to watch as a kid. I went to my first Tigers game in 1977, a year after Fidrych won the Rookie of the Year award, and made baseball fun again for so many fans. Due to injury, I never did see him pitch live, but that didn't stop him from being my favorite player back then, and even now. One of my most prized possessions is an old baseball card of him that my mom cut off the bottom of a Twinkie box. The price guides will tell you it's worthless. It's bent, beat up, and doesn't fit the mold of a 'mint' baseball card. To me, though, it represents a part of my childhood. I used to carry that card in my back pocket everywhere I went when I was in gradeschool. It was as important to me as my Star Wars toys that I cherished at the time.

I did have the pleasure of meeting Mark in 1995 at a card show in Mt. Pleasant. He was great with his fans and signed a card for me. I have always wanted my kids to meet him, too, but that isn't going to happen now. I did actually send him two cards in the mail to sign for Lily and Trevor (before Brian came along). He was nice enough to sign them and send them back. Mark is Lily's favorite player, too, basically because she's heard all of the stories from me and has seen all of the things I collect of his. All I can do, I guess, is keep telling the stories, showing the pictures, try to keep his legend living on.

RIP Mark 'The Bird' Fidrych. You will be missed, but never forgotten. In my opinion, the Bird is STILL the word.

http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/mlb/news/tributes/obit_mark_fidrych.jsp

Last Game For The Lakers

Papa and Nana came to visit us from Cadillac and to take in the final Laker hockey home game of the season. Trevor was too sick to come, but Lily and Brian took up the slack. This might be Brian's last game for awhile, as next season he will be entering the 'terrible two's' stage and will be a handfull to take care of at a game.

Pictured here are me and Brian, and Brian with Nana and Papa. Maybe we'll try to get to a Greyhounds game in Canada, or the Soo Eagles down the street at the Pullar before hockey is officially over for the season.

The Lakers won Friday night 7-4(after being up 6-0), but lost 4-1 on Saturday while Nana and Papa where there. Here's my article (probably my last one) from MiCHO:

http://michigancollegehockey.blogspot.com/2009/02/lakers-fail-to-sweep-broncos.html

Globetrotters Spin Magic In The Sault

Wow, I don't know where to begin. The kids and I all had such a great time, and I'm not sure which of us was more excited. To start the game, Lily and Trevor went out on the court and played musical chairs with the Globetrotters' mascot, Globie(pictured). They had a lot of fun with that. When the game started, we were all amazed at tricks and skills that the 'Trotters were doing on the court. Lily was expecially impressed with what was going on. In the third quarter, Trevor got to go back onto the court and try to steal the basketball from one of the Globetrotters with three other kids(video above). This time, Trevor came away victorious and won an autographed ball by the team. After the game they were also able to meet members of the team and get autographs and pictures. The whole game was non-stop fun and action. They are already wanted to see them again if they come to the area. The Globetrotters won the game 76-72 over the Washington Generals.

Spring Training in January

The kids and I started spring training over the weekend, going to the college and getting a pretty good work out in. We were able to play some catch and the kids got to practice some hitting. Lily will be hitting live pitching this year (coach pitch) so we did some soft toss drills to work on her hand-eye coordination. She also got to use her new purple baseball glove she got for Christmas. Trevor is still hitting off of the tee, and picked up where he left off last season, as you can see in the video. He also is sporting his new batting glove. We'll be alternating doing this and going skating probably until April or so.

New Year's News

As we enter 2009, we have a lot of things to look forward to, and a lot that has happened so far this year. On Jan. 11, we celebrated Brian's first birthday. Everyone had a great time at his party, and he loved eating the cake.

Also pictured, is Lily getting her ribbon and medal for cheer leading. Don't know if she will continue to do this, but it was fun for her the first half of the year.

I had my gall bladder taken out on the 16th, and am still recovering from that. I hope to be back to work in a few days, but we'll see how I feel.

On the 28th, we'll be heading to Canada to watch the Harlem Globetrotters. In May, I have the baseball trip to look forward to, and the kids big tap dance production. I'm excited that Trevor will be a part of that this year, too. Also in May baseball and soccer start up. Lily will be playing ball, and Trevor will play both.