By: Austin Alexander – July 3-13, 2014
Very seldom do I choose to put personal thoughts on paper…But very seldom do I have a week like the one I just experienced!
Here at DP, the baseball season begins with a calendar flip from December to January and we run a very strong race through the month of June before picking the pace back up right about now into mid-November. So, those of us with very understanding families, await our window of time with few distractions! We all eagerly mark that time, sprint toward that time and truly enjoy that time spending time together.
For yours truly, 2014’s window became July 3-July 13. I don’t do Facebook or Twitter, but do have a website called DP! So, here is a glimpse of my last ten days of heaven on earth, stay with me, it gets really good toward the end, though I enjoyed every moment along the way too.
Thursday, July 3: Hurricane Arthur rolled past us prompting a Rocky I-IV marathon, a family Uno tourney, then bowling re-match, which I lost… My wife noticed that the Cubs will be in DC for three days.
Friday, July 4: Hoisted a scoreboard (donated by a friend) in my backyard right up against the DP Headquarters, aka ‘Daddy’s Office’. The scoreboard now accompanies foul lines, foul poles and dimension signs for our little ‘field of dreams’.
Saturday, July 5: Drove to Washington, DC with my wife and two sons to see a week of MLB games. Upon pulling into the nation’s capitol at 4:00 PM, we realized the Cubs/Nationals game began at 4:05, so what is a baseball family supposed to do? Yep, we arrived in the bottom of 2 and saw a 13-0, 19-hit, double-fest by the Nationals.
Sunday, July 6: Back to Nationals Park for the conclusion of the Cubs series. No BP before the game but had the opportunity to see some Nats get early work done on the field. Nationals win 2-1.
Monday, July 7: What a day! My crew of four walked downtown DC, was able to see the White House, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and Capitol Building, along with many of the other historical sites. From there we hit the Metro train for the opener between the Nats and cross town rival Baltimore. The field was littered with talent and Stephen Strasburg was on the bump. It was 2-2 after 9 and the Orioles won it with three homers in the 12th. Great game and ending to a long day.
Tuesday, July 8: Our good friends, Austin and Jessica Smithwick and two boys, were driving up to join us on this day and got to DC that afternoon. It was set to be the first MLB game for their boys Tucker (11) and Campbell (9). We entered early and enjoyed BP but ended up sitting through a two hour rain delay, ending in a postponement. But huge positive…Austin Smithwick, now a coach at Conway HS, was able to hook up with a former college player of his, Nick Markakis, this would prove to be a very valuable re-uniting as the series shifted to Baltimore for the next couple of days.
Wednesday, June 9: After a humbling trip through the Arlington National Cemetary, we took the short commute to the beautiful city of Baltimore. After checking in to our new hotel, we hit the Inner Harbor’s Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant before heading to Camden Yards where things really sped up for our crew of eight. Markakis had left us field passes for batting practice which gave us access to the warning track area between the dugouts. As luck would have it, it was ‘Markakis t-shirt giveaway night’ and the whole ballpark was donning his likeness. 
So we took the elevator down into the bowels of the stadium and quickly saw Anthony Rendon and Denard Span heading back from the cage as we signed in beside the family nursury for players (right). Nick greeted us at the on deck circle and signed autographs for the boys…so did the rest of his teammates. One by one, almost all of them stopped by to sign baseball’s and take pictures with our sons. As amazed as we were at how forth-coming these guys were, it quickly became the norm for the remainder of the week. Nats won that one 6-2.
Thursday, July 10: After a morning at the famed Baltimore Aquarium, it was back to The Yard for another day around the batting cage. This day proved valuable again as our boys were able to spend some time with phenom Bryce Harper (left). While they met many others, this young man was very engaging and a real treat to be around. Adam LaRoche and Jayson Werth also stopped in, not something they normally do. Another good game, Orioles 4-3.
Friday, July 11: On the 100th anniversary of the date that Babe Ruth made his MLB debut and with the Yankees in town, what were we to do but visit The Bambino’s birthplace and museum? After lunch at Dempsey’s at the base of the right field B&O Warehouse, we walked five minutes to this landmark to see where The Sultan of Swat was born and lived until being sent to boarding school as a child. When 4:00 struck, it was time to shoot back and re-gain access to the field for a third consecutive day. 
The next five minutes were interesting! As we exited the elevator to sign-in again (which was right beside the baby O’s nursery) Harold Reynolds was standing there on the phone confirming his next interview. Before I could ascertain who he was talking to, I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard ‘excuse me.’ It was Derek Jeter trying to make his way past us to make his interview time with Reynolds! 
As we entered the field again, I learned the name Bill O’Reilly. I had zero idea who he was, nor did I recognize him, but he ended up standing beside us for 45 minutes as a guest of our same guy, Nick Markakis. 
Buck Showalter spent some time with the boys too which was really cool for our son’s fathers. The Orioles walked off the Yankees in extras, 3-2.
Saturday, July 12: Getaway day, drove back, began returning phone calls and the afternoon was a reflection moment for our crew.
So what did I gain/learn during this period of time away from high school baseball?
1 – Most importantly, I was able to spend quality time with my wife and kids, while only returning a few calls, emails, texts…a monumental feat!
2 – We were able to enjoy great experiences with another family that is close to us. I highly recommend the duel family excursion, it worked well for us. Quick hint: this philosophy only works if the parents and children really do like one another and have similar interests!
3 – Major League Baseball players are very, very good. Watching them operate day after day, before and during games… those guys are supremely talented, period.
4 – While they make far more money per game than most people make in a year, the vast majority of them are extremely humble. Ultimately, almost all are just ordinary people with extraordinary ability (Right, Nelson Cruz with his son and our band of brothers).
5 – Did I mention how much our God has blessed all of us?
Notables: Others who signed and/or took pictures with us… Chris Davis, Ian Desmond, Ross Detwiler, Jerry Hairston, JJ Hardy, Manny Machado, Tony Pena, Brendan Ryan, Steve Pearce, Wilson Ramos, Ryan Ruocco, Rafael Soriano, Zealous Wheeler
Running times: Ichiro (4.3 turn on double), Denard Span (3.83 on groundout), Derek Jeter (4.4 on every groundball), Brian McCann (6.8 on fly ball)… Pop Times: None. Zero stolen base attempts in six games…
Kudos: Two hitting coaches Rick Schu (Nationals) and Jim Pressley (Orioles) volunteered bringing their Batting Practice Card to my friend Austin Smithwick, it was pretty cool to view how they operate before most of us turn the channel toward their game.
Feeling Nostalgic: When you run across something older than yourself, you tend to take notice, even if it is a pair of field markers! The groundskeeper I spoke to said these two were used in old Memorial Stadium during the 1969/1979/1983 World Series’ and had lined every single Oriole home game since the early 60’s.
Fist Bumps: The first goes out to Nationals scout Paul Faulk for reasons known to him… Nick Markakis for granting us access to things most fans never sniff… So many thanks to the kind players that took a few minutes apiece to make our children feel important. Any parent is appreciative when their kids smile and memories are made.
It is impossible to summarize any family vacation, especially this one, but I hope you have enjoyed seeing what was going on when DP takes a break!