I do come by it naturally. Growing up in Milwaukee, I spent many hours of my youth at Milwaukee County Stadium watching the Brew Crew. Those were the days when we still had double-headers and Opening Day was an official holiday---or maybe just a good excuse for skipping school;) I was a teenager when I discovered that I did love a man in uniform...a baseball uniform, that is;) What sweet memories!
Fast forward to the mid-'80s, when I met the man of my dreams who (of course) loved baseball too. Never mind that he was a Rangers fan...he promised to love the Brewers too, so what's a girl to do? Our courtship included many happy times at the ball park. Many evenings spent watching the Texas Rangers at Arlington Stadium and eventually a couple of 'Baseball Road Trips'. We traveled to see the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Midland Angels, San Antonio Missions, Tulsa Drillers, Oklahoma City 89ers, and the El Paso Diablos. We almost made it to see the St. Louis Cardinals, but that's another story for another day. Perhaps the best memory was our 22-hour straight drive to Milwaukee to watch Nolan Ryan pitch his 300th win. We even had cameos on WFAA-TV (ch. 8) out of D/FW and an ESPN MLB promo!!!
Wrigley Field - It's magic!
Terry making his sign for Nolan's 300th win in Milwaukee
Representing Texas at Milwaukee County Stadium - July 31, 1990
Today, my baseball journey is better than ever because we have discovered that our son is completely and totally OBSESSED with baseball. Oddly enough, we were not the parents that had our son equipped with a glove and a bat before he could walk. We didn't even get him started in tee ball or machine-pitch. In fact, we waited until he was 10 years old to get him into organized Senior Midget Fall Ball. We gave him the opportunity to try almost every sport first and then he chose baseball. PRAISE THE LORD!!! Lucky for me because it's the only sport that I understand;) It's the sport that my husband will never get tired of. Even my dear daughter finds sitting on the sidelines somewhat tolerable (she's 13, after all).
I have to admit that I had feared organized ball because of the stories that I had heard about out-of-control parents, tyrannical coaches and all the nasty political machinations that seem to go with the territory. It is my opinion that each of these issues do play out in Central Texas at every game...just sayin'. However, we were blessed to find Alliance Baseball. Their mission is to bring integrity back to baseball. What an amazing experience we have had. This is an organization which will make a lasting impact on the game and I am proud that my son is a part of it. BTW, Alliance 10U earned bronze medals after a 10-2 season. This group came a long way in a short time.
Still love a man in a baseball uniform---my little man, #9 (front, left)
So, for now, we're ALL ABOUT BASEBALL! GO RANGERS! GO ALLIANCE!
God Bless America and God Bless Baseball!!!
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