2018 VDO Blue Jays

As some of you may know 2018 was Trevor’s first year playing organized ball. But the game runs deep in our family. Twenty years ago I was a first-year member of the Padres Entertainment Department, specifically the Pad Squad. If any of you recall the Padres flag charging across the Plaza Level concourse at the Murph whenever Hells Bells played, that was me. It carried over to Petco Park and ironically, Trevor Hoffman himself retired from Major League Baseball just weeks after I walked away from the greatest job I’ve ever had and likely will ever have. I have since joked with him that he retired as soon as he learned I wouldn’t be around to ride his coattails anymore!

Each Opening Day brought with it new excitement and hope, just as the last game of the season would bring a heaviness to my heart that could only be completely cured by the next opener. This went on for thirteen wonderful (and some not-so-wonderful) seasons and even though I became accustomed to the offseason doldrums, I never quite got used to it.

From 1998 thru 2010 I worked over 1,000 games; and was blessed to befriend some of the most cherished names in Padres and even Chargers history. I still keep in touch with more than a few members of that 1998 team. I fondly look back on those years as A Thousand Games, a Million Memories.

There was a brief handshake with Joe DiMaggio during the World Series, a short but amazing conversation about duck hunting with Ted Williams and a slightly awkward moment in the men’s’ room “trough” next to some short guy I soon realized was Ozzie Smith.

I’ve stood for Our National Anthem next to Navy Admirals and the Commandant of the Marine Corps; met nearly every living member of the MLB Hall of Fame and once risked my job by breaking company protocol and all but demanding that John Moores allow a dozen Pearl Harbor survivors be escorted to the owner’s box from their nosebleed seats on an unseasonably warm Memorial Day.

I have as many other great memories as there are total hits in MLB history and I share these with you not out of bragging but partly out of humble gratitude and mostly to tell you that this 2018 VDO Blue Jays season has rivaled and at times surpassed anything I’ve experienced at The Murph and Petco Park. And the biggest thing I have learned is being a baseball fan is a totally different world than being a baseball fan and parent.

Yet as much humble pride we take in watching them grow into ballplayers and young men, as much heartache we share after heartbreaking losses like last Saturday, I cannot help but have my thoughts consumed by how much our Little Leaguers remind us of Big Leaguers.

What other team at VDO is blessed enough to have Rickey Henderson; I mean, Marcello leading off for them? You can be lacking in one or two areas and still have a good team. But you cannot be a great team without a great leadoff hitter. And Marcello is just that. Even more important than being a great leadoff hitter, he is a leader…

During that game vs. the Cubs on May 12^th, was that Damian on the mound, or did we somehow channel Kevin Brown in the 1998 LDS vs. Houston? I’ve watched Nolan Ryan, Jake Peavy, Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez and so many other dominant pitchers absolutely own opposing teams, but I have seen no pitcher more dominant than Damian was that afternoon. He might as well had pulled a Satchel Paige and asked our outfielders to come sit down in the infield…

And what about #21? I’m not sure if Justin chose the number in honor of Ken Caminiti, but most days he looked like Cammy without the goatee. Even I would grow a little nervous whenever we made eye contact during a game. They called Cammy Mr. Intensity, Justin is Little Mr. Intensity…

Every time Isaiah “BamBam” Concha came to the plate, I would hear in my mind the “If ya smellllllllllllllllll” entrance music of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.  I have never seen a man or boy have more fun on a baseball field. I cringed as a watched him take enough bumps and bruises for an entire team, I relished watching him come right back into the game, with a smile on his face. Great job, Brianna…

We almost had a no-hitter and I cannot ignore the irony in watching Cameron break it up. When he went for that steal I had visions of Dave Roberts in the 2004 ALCS. Still can’t figure out how this kid can have a heart four times the size of his body…

When I first started watching the 2018 Blue Jays, I looked down toward first and thought to myself “You can’t have a short kid playing first base!” Shows how much I know. If VDO gave out Gold Glove awards, Buddy would have won it hands down. Day after day, the rare throw that wasn’t right at his chest were caught in a way reminiscent of Wally Joyner. Great job kid, and I stand corrected…

No team can succeed without a strong bullpen, and Joey “The Snowman” brought up memories of a Dan Miceli or Scott Linebrink. In watching a few thousand games in person and on TV, I would get nervous any time we brought our starter out for a reliever. Not so with the kid affectionately known as “Olaf”…

Speaking of nicknames, Isaiah “Gonzo” Gonzalez carried himself much like a big leaguer on the field. I’ve seen guys in The Show get rattled by fans in the stands, Gonzo always carried himself with a stoic determination that belied his age. Spring Valley's own Ichiro...

After battling through the season in the #8 spot, Sam produced one of the biggest hits of the season on Friday and scored the tying run in a game that took over 24 hours to play. He is the epitome of what it means to never give up. Giving it his all for the entire season, it paid off in dividends and helped send the Blue Jays to the Championship Game…

Does anyone remember the final game of the 1996 Padres season? Chris Gwynn had a tough year coming off the bench and in the 11^th inning he made one of the most important hits in team history. On the way home Friday night I told Trevor his bases-loaded triple to break the game open reminded me of Gwynn. There was no prouder man in history than I when Trevor walked in the bottom of the 9^th and came home on Marcello’s game-winning double down the left field line. Greatest baseball moment of my life…

There was a morose feeling in our home after Saturday's game. For me personally, it was more about the end of the season than it was about the actual loss. I see Trevor's Blue Jays hat hanging on the hat rack and think of that day in January when we went to assessments, a Little League rookie and a rookie Little League parent not knowing what to expect. I think of my daily routine of sneaking out of work early to get my hot dog and Pepsi from the snack bar before the first pitch. I think of watching over our little ones on the hill every time a foul ball bounded over the fence. But most of all, I think of how you all have helped create so many memories for our boys.

As Tony Gwynn said moments before stepping off the Major League Field for the last time,

Thank You.

Thank You,
Thank You,
Thank You...

Thank you Valley de Oro Little League for making my son's dream come true.

Thank you parents, friends and family for making our team the best supported in the league.

And most of all, thank you Blue Jays for giving me the greatest baseball season of my life...