Welcome back Spring Training!

It’s here!! Well honestly, for us, spring training (ST) has been here since he officially reported to the complex on January 17th. MLB spring training just started on Sunday for pitchers and catchers. Addison has yet to be a ST “non roster invitee”, which is all of the minor league players that are not on the 40 man roster who are extended an invitation to participate with the major league team. Even though he has never been an official invitee, every year they have randomly called him over to play/practice with the big league club on a day to day basis. It’s fun and exciting but so unpredictable (story of my life)! I remember our first ST in 2009, we had absolutely no expectations of being invited or even being called over just for a day. Low and behold one day he came home with the news that he was going to be playing in a ST game the next day in Kissimmee vs the Houston Astros! We were thrilled to say the least. I was still in college then and I skipped my classes just so I could go watch him! He played short stop for the last three innings of the game, after all the MLB regulars were switched out and after most of the people in the stands had gone as well. If you have ever been to a spring training game you know that the team regulars don’t usually play a full game, only about 6 or 7 innings, and once they leave the game the crowds do too. Not us minor league lovers, we hang around until OUR stars get into the game! But while he was in the game he got only one ground ball (he made the play of course) and only one at bat (he knocked the ball all the way to the fence, but the Astros had a very fast center fielder..bummer!). It was still AWESOME! I had the craziest emotions during the game, I got all goose-bumpy and teary eyed from happiness when he was out on the field. Since then he has played in several ST games, I’m pretty sure he will play in a few more this year and hopefully A LOT more in the years to come, but I will never ever forget that first game he played in a big league uniform.

I was way too excited to take a picture of him while he was actually at bat, so this pic of him on deck is the best I’ve got! :-)

Love & Baseball

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

I don’t care how anyone feels about this day, but I think it’s wonderful. Any day all about celebrating love is OK in my book! I just want to throw it out there that I LOVE MY HUSBAND and I can’t wait to celebrate this day and every day with him for the rest of our lives together. But making a relationship work isn’t easy, add in a professional sport and it gets even more complicated. For starters there is the crazy work schedule. During the six month season, he goes to the field at around 1:00 pm and doesn’t come home until after the game is over which is usually around 11:00 pm. He goes to bed late, at around 1:00 or 2:00 am, and wakes up right before he has to go to the field. Not a lot of extra time to spend with the one I love, huh? He has one or two off days per month, and he usually wants to spend those days doing absolutely nothing (who could blame him?!). After the season is over it’s like culture shock…he is around ALL THE TIME! Now I love the off season because I do get to spend so much time with him, but going from barely seeing him for six months to seeing him constantly is a big change.  Another fun complication is learning to share my man. This was probably one of the hardest parts for me because I admit that I’m a bit of a selfish and jealous person. I want him to be mine and mine alone, but alas, he also belongs to his other love – baseball. I have to share him with his organization, his teammates, his coaches, and the fans. All of which are pretty much forced before me throughout the entire season. His teammates want to hang out, his coaches want him to come in for early work, the fans all want to talk and get an autograph (or 100..HAHA! True story.), and his organization…well we won’t go there ;-) . It’s not easy, and some days I want to scream “HEY, I’m right here!! I have feelings and needs too!!!”. But I don’t scream and I get over it, because I have to. I’ve learned how to (mostly) handle this life over the past few years, and I agreed to marry Addison because I love him and because I accept our life for what it is, the good and the bad. I will continue to learn how to better deal with my emotions that are ever amplified by the constant change in our relationship that is caused by the everyday normal stuff and the not so everyday normal stuff that comes with baseball.

Would you live in a batting cage?

Google is an wonderful thing, especially when I find awesome articles like this one titled “Life in a Cage: Baby Sleeps, Mom Cooks, Dad Bats”…

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/01/sports/01cage.html

When I read it, my thought wasn’t “oh my goodness, how could they live like that”. My reaction was more of a “yeah, I get it”. Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a normal situation even for baseball players and their families, but it is completely understandable. Baseball life is all about sacrifices, and most people would consider our “normal” completely insane! We do what we have to do to get by, even if that means living in a batting cage. We live our lives on the edges of our seats. We never know what the next day is going to bring us. It could be a new team, a new city, an injury, release, promotion, demotion…you get the point! But you know what?! It’s all good! I love the craziness of it all and I look forward to the curve balls that baseball throws us everyday (hahaha, I know..sooo cheesy :-) )!