25th Annual Triple-A All-Star Game!

Every year, there's a period of time in the middle of baseball season that all players and their families get ridiculously excited about; it's called the All-Star Break.  What it consists of, is two to three complete days off, meaning absolutely no baseball at all.  Keep in mind that although baseball season is of course the absolute best, it's also very, very long.  Our husbands report to Spring Training in February/March and their seasons run through September/October.  Even then, some go on to play in fall and winter leagues, those of which play out through the end of December... Whew!  If that doesn't justify our case of being overly excited for this mid summer break, I don't know what will.  Anyway, the All-Start Break is usually a time where players can visit home(if they don't live too far away and if they can afford it), or when their significant others come to visit, under the impression they'll actually be able to spend some quality time together...baseball free.

This year, the Triple-A All-Star Break was July 9th through the 11th.  Ty and I decided the last week of June that we'd spend our "baseball free" time in New York City! We figured the hour and a half drive from Lehigh wouldn't be too far for us, so we began looking into hotels and planning out our adventure.  Fortunately, we hadn't booked our trip yet when we received the following handout, instead, informing us of our upcoming trip to Buffalo, NY - home to the 25th Annual Triple A All-Star Game!!

Holy cow, what a surprise!  We had both mistakenly assumed he wouldn't be eligible since he had only been in Triple-A for two months.  Now, however, not only was he a part of the 2012 International League All-Star Team, he was also elected as their starting pitcher.  That was really an honor to him, as being elected for that position meant Tyler received the most votes from ballots submitted by club's field managers and general managers (1/3), members of the media (1/3), and online fan voting (1/3).  Also announced representing the IronPigs on the All-Star roster were infielder, Kevin Frandsen, and manager, Ryne Sandberg...this was going to be fun!

Before actually entering the All-Star Break, the IronPigs would be heading to Rochester for two games, upon wrapping up an 11 day, 12 game homestand.   The GM of the team informed us that the All-Stars and a guest would normally be flown to the city of the event, but since the team would end the first half only an hour or so drive from Buffalo this year, another form of transportation would be set up for the players.  Ryne's wife, Margaret, and I were still given the option to fly from Lehigh to Buffalo to meet up with our husbands after their stop in Rochester, but Margaret had another idea up her sleeve.

"Let's ride the bus to Rochester with the team and then head over to Buffalo with the boys!"

Such a great idea!!

...and so our journey began...

Friday the 6th was the team's getaway night, meaning you come to the field packed for the road trip because immediately after the game, and showers - thank you Lord - you get on the bus and head to the next city.  Giant, pink suitcase in tow, I made it!

Ty's Triple-A team travels with two buses.  One, known as the quiet bus, is pretty standard with wide, comfy, reclining seats.  The other, known as the loud bus, is more of a tour bus with sleeping bunks and roomy areas for playing card games - aka: a pro baseball player's pastime.  Wives were to ride the quiet bus, so Ty and I hopped on and took what was left...the very back row.  Yeah, that row; the one just a few feet away from the bathroom, the only row where you can't recline the seats all the way back, and the row where, "No kissy kissy back there you two," instantaneously occurs as you take a seat with your husband.  Oh joy, haha.  We had fun with it though, even when I had to "go" in the middle of the night!  Fortunately for my bladder and I, I conquered my fear of the team bus bathroom, as it completely surpassed all my expectations of a team bus bathroom.  The ride to Rochester was such a funny memory I will always remember, and the two days we spent there were so much fun! Ty even pitched the last day there, giving up no runs on three hits through six innings, and lowering his ERA to 2.01. It was a great end to the first half of the season!

_______

Off to Buffalo...
(Pictures posted at the bottom)

The IronPigs' GM surprised the five of us with a limousine for our 90 minute ride.  I'll admit, since we didn't know them all too well at the time, we felt pretty unworthy riding in a limo across New York with Ryne & Margaret Sandberg and Kevin Frandsen. That wasn't exactly something that happened everyday. Ha! 

After arriving in Buffalo that evening and checking into our room, Kevin asked my husband and I to dinner.  We gratefully accepted and had some awesome conversation I will never forget.  Kevin shared so much of his story with us, some of which you should read about by clicking here, and he also continued on about his baseball career, including his first call-up to the Big Leagues.  Catching us completely off guard, Kevin directed that part of the conversation towards Tyler, giving him some words of advice for his upcoming call-up, because, "of course it would be happening this year," Kevin was just so sure of it!  Now, don't get me wrong, Ty and I completely understood that a call-up at the Triple-A level means, "Welcome to the Big Leagues," but it wasn't something we really talked about together because we wanted to remain grateful for where we already were, that being in Triple-A.  It was cool though, that Kevin brought us to a realization that Tyler's childhood dream of playing in the Big Leagues might actually be on the horizon. 

The next day we were given plenty of free time so we decided to try out Anchor Bar - home of the original buffalo chicken wings. Mmmm mmmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about them!  They were seriously so good that we cleaned our plates and licked our fingers dry, probably within five minutes of being handed them.  The rest of the day we had time to relax, until the Home Run Derby later on that night. Tyler was told we weren't required to go since he wasn't participating, but we were so glad we did because it ended up being a blast! The stadium was jam packed with fans eager to see the All-Star Home Run Derby, along with the Celebrity Home Run Derby.  Both were quite entertaining! It was especially neat for us because the players, wives and kids were able to watch from the dugout. The laid back atmosphere made it easy for the players and their families to get to know each other since we were all from different teams throughout the league.

The second day was the Excursion to Niagara Falls, followed by the All-Star Gala. I'll be honest in saying, I've never really felt compelled to go to Niagara Falls because my parents went there for their honeymoon, and well, that just seemed silly. After given this opportunity to go however, I was so grateful because I realized I was missing something so beautiful!!!  It was also cool because we were all given passes to the numerous attractions on the American side, including Maid of the Mist - a boat ride that took us up close and personal to the falls!  Tyler and I spent our day adventuring around with the Sandbergs, which ended up being such a funny double date; those two are just adorable! We definitely felt blessed for the chance to get to know them better that day though, as it lead to a great relationship that would come through at a time of need later on in the season. The All-Star Gala was such a fun event for my husband and I because it was kind of like a wedding reception experience... well, sort of, just without the dancing. Ha!  Just being given the opportunity to dress up and go to an evening affair together was a simple pleasure because in baseball, those times are rare.  Wives go to weddings dateless all the time and formal date nights are pretty unheard of during the season, so we took full advantage.  The whole atmosphere, including the food, entertainment, and company made for an amazing night! 

The following day was the All-Star Luncheon and the All-Star Game!  We woke up refreshed and spent some time thanking God for all the amazing memories we were making. We then got out of bed and began getting ready for the luncheon - another event we had the joy of dressing up for. :) The players had to report to the ballroom sooner than their families because they were going to be formally introduced as part of the introduction. I had kissed Tyler goodbye about fifteen minutes prior to heading down to the ballroom myself, and was completely blown away by the crowd I saw gathering as the elevator doors opened to the main lobby.  There must have been 400 to 500 people making their way to the luncheon!  The families, management, media, and fans were so excited for this day, as they should have been.  The buzz was already going around about our guest speaker, Tom Seaver - a former Major League Baseball Pitcher, Rookie of the Year, Cy Young Award winner, and inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992. All I knew about him at the time was that Tyler looked up to him so I was excited to hear why.  I followed the crowd to the ballroom and found Margaret at our table where I was delighted to meet her friend's she was introducing me to.  After spending some time talking with them, the All-Star introductions began, and soon Tyler, Kevin and Ryne joined us at the table.  Almost immediately I noticed Kevin and Tyler acting a little strange. 

"What's going on?" I whispered to Kevin. 

"Do you know who we're sitting at the table with?" he asked.

"I met them already but I forgot their names," I said with embarrassment. 

"It's Marv Levy and Bill Polian," Kevin whispered excitedly. 

"Oh neat!" I exclaimed, but humbly followed with, "Should I know them?"

Kevin laughed and went on to explain that I probably wouldn't know them unless I was a huge football fan.  He took the time to inform me that Marv Levy was a former NFL coach and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001, and that Bill Polian is an American Football executive that had almost everything to do with the Colts signing Peyton Manning. 

"Oh neat!" I exclaimed again, this time actually understanding who they were!

Soon after my lesson, Tom Seaver began to speak, and did an absolutely amazing job! He really set the tone for the rest of our time in Buffalo enjoying all of the All-Star festivities. After the luncheon the boys headed over to the field and I went back up to the room to get ready for the night ahead. 

A couple hours before the game, Margaret and I walked over to the field to spend some time at a pre-game party. It was so cool to see the stadium fill up with 10,000+ fans and watch the TV crews getting ready to go live. After walking around some and buying myself a simple, men's gray t-shirt, as I do for every team Ty plays on (I'm kind of in love with gray t-shirts...there is just something so comfy about them!), I finally made it to my seat, eager to watch my husband pitch.  We were told from day one that he was only pitching the first inning since he ended up pitching the last game of the first-half of the season, so I didn't want to miss it. Here's how it looked:

International League All-Stars
Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Tyler Cloyd (L, 0-1)	1.0	3	2	2	1	1	0	18.00

Well, that didn't go as we hoped, but thankfully I have a husband who puts things behind him in an instant.  I can really appreciate that from him because it instills a calming sense of encouragement in me that there is no need to worry.  Whether I'm watching him pitch an incredible inning, or watching him battle through a rough one, I am always so impressed by his poise on the mound.  It reminds me that he is a complete man of faith and that whatever happens will not affect him on a personal level anytime after. That demeanor of his is seriously something I will always respect and admire him for.

After the game, I met up with Ty to head to the post-game party. As we walked along, we laughed together about conversations he had in the dugout, and also joked about his time with the media.  I began my best impression of how I thought it probably went, asking him ridiculous questions and then putting my closed fist in front of his mouth as if he had to answer into a microphone.  We had so much fun together during that walk to our final event in Buffalo.

Later that night, our All-Star Break finally came to a close. Tyler, along with Kevin and the Sandbergs, caught a flight out the next morning to meet the IronPigs in Virginia and I headed back to Lehigh.  During my ride, I had time to realize how much of an honor the week had truly been.  I was so proud of Ty and extremely grateful for our time together there. To see his first-half achievements earn him the starting pitcher slot in the 25th Annual Triple-A All-Star Game was so awesome! Tyler chose to humble himself however, not wanting to get a big head, and also chose not to worry about what our futures had to hold.  The only thing Ty wanted to do was keep the first half of his season going, and Glory be to God, that's just what he did...

    

Newly Drafted?

I'm fully aware it's now August and that I'm running a bit behind on my blog.  I have a lot I've been working on, but I wanted to get this post out sooner than the others. That's because throughout the month of June, I took notice that I was getting a lot more visitors viewing my blog than normal.  From the collection of traffic sources I was able to see, my conclusion is that many of those newcomers would have to be either the players or girlfriends involved in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft, which took place the first week of June.  Because of this, I thought I'd take some time to write a quick post about our experience and the emotions Tyler and I went through when he was first drafted. Maybe some can relate, maybe none at all, but here's what happened to us, along with some advice for those who are new to the baseball life…

EXCITED

It was June of 2008 when Tyler, my boyfriend of just over a year at the time, unexpectedly received a phone call stating he'd been selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the eighteenth round of the 2008 draft.

It was five minutes later when we took this adorably, silly picture:

We were young, in love, and thrilled beyond belief! Can you tell?

I'm sure anyone can see that from viewing this photo, but as I look back at it, I remember even more from that captured moment in time: the confidence, excitement, joy, and trust…the most worry-free moment of our entire lives!  The moment where "Better Life," by Keith Urban became a favorite song.  The moment where the title, Professional Baseball Player, became a reality. The moment where being proud and feeling accomplished became a complete understatement.   The moment where life simply became more awesome.  This is how it was, as this is how it should have been. We were proud dreamers, truly living in the moment with an incredibly naïve outlook on Ty’s new adventure in life.

SCARED

As soon as the draft was over, things became real for us.  We learned the cold, hard truth that Tyler was 21 years OLD; he was not a high draft pick, and he did not receive a big signing bonus. He was not an overnight sensation in the sports world and the Major Leagues were nowhere in sight. He would sign his contract knowing that this childhood game was now a business in the real world, and that the scout that had just signed him was already out working on finding the next player better than Tyler. We learned that signing a contract means pretty much signing your life away (i.e. springs, summers, falls, weddings, vacations, holidays, family reunions, etc.) and reporting to your team immediately.  We also learned that worrying about money anytime in life prior to your first minor league paycheck was simply hilarious...as in now was the time to begin worrying.  But most of all, we learned that the “seeing each other everyday” relationship you once had, has just promptly turned into “a daily phone call” relationship, which sometimes didn't even seem possible due to being on different schedules in different time zones; therefore, we learned that a long distance relationship was not exactly going to be easy.

CONFUSED

 We were trying to make our relationship work, when word began to spread back home that Ty had recently been drafted. All of a sudden that boyfriend of mine went from a nobody to a somebody. People that I had never even heard of before were coming out of the woodworks claiming they were Tyler's friends. Friends? People were constantly telling me that I was so lucky. Lucky? People began rumors that Tyler would be in the big leagues soon.  Soon?

What?

No.

Those people didn't know.

No one knew.

 But should I tell them that?
What would I say?

"Excuse me, but you're all wrong.  Being drafted does NOT mean you go to the big leagues within a couple months.  Being drafted means riding on crappy buses to crappy towns, to play on crappy fields and stay at crappy hotels, while spending your crappy paychecks on crappy food, and having no time at all to deal with your now crappy relationship.  Oh and by the way, you're not his friends."

Right babe?

Babe? 

Oh no...

ANGRY

My boyfriend was falling for it…that hometown fame, woodwork friends nonsense.  I understood that people would be proud of him, but I was not prepared for how too much of it could affect Tyler, myself, and our relationship.  I diagnosed Ty with a bad case of big head syndrome and became completely disgusted by his new cocky attitude.  I tried so hard to bring him back down to Earth but nothing was working.  I didn't like the boy I was dating anymore, so of course, I didn't like hearing about him from other people.  I'd spend all day forcing myself to smile when everyone wanted to talk about how awesome life must be for us, and then I'd spend all night full of anger towards Ty and cry myself to sleep. I was only 18 years old trying to figure everything out and keep it all together, not wanting to accept the fact that he and I weren't on the same page anymore. I thought maybe if I could just see him then everything would be all right again, but deep down I knew that wasn’t the case. I was tired, hurting and becoming very, very bitter.  One day, over our daily phone call, we finally just broke up…
______________

So now, let’s comprehend all of that.

Not the ending you were expecting, or did you see the break up coming?  Why?  Did anyone notice how key words throughout our season changed drastically?  I sure did.  Take another look:

Young, excited, joy, confidence, trust, worry-free, proud, dreamers, naïve, old, scared, contract, business, worry, difficult, long-distance, confused, angry, disgusted, hurting, bitter.

It was real, it was stressful, and it was emotionally exhausting; it was our first year in the baseball life.

As Tyler and I reflect back on that time in our lives, we immediately recognize where we went wrong and remember what it took to get to where we are today, that being four baseball seasons later and happily married for almost two already! :)

(That of course, you can read about in other posts, as this one is strictly about rising above the negative elements during your transition to this lifestyle.)

So, back on topic…

Tyler and I ended up spending an entire year broken up to really refocus on ourselves as individuals.  It gave us time to figure out what we wanted and what we were truly missing in our lives. During that process, it just so happened a movie came out titled, Fireproof; or as we like to call it, “our movie.”

My husband and I are exceptionally grateful for this movie, as it changed our lives forever.  We are also exceptionally grateful for God’s incredible timing; we feel so blessed that Fireproof was released during a time in our lives when we needed it most.  The message this movie revealed to us was the sole purpose of why Tyler and I yearned to be together again.  By that, we didn’t want to just give our old relationship another go, in hopes of it maybe working out a second time around. No. This time we wanted to start a completely new relationship.  This relationship would not only include Tyler and myself, but also, God; in fact, this relationship would be centered around God.

Realistically, Tyler and I already knew God before watching this movie since we were both brought up in the church.  However, church is only a fraction of what makes up our society, and frankly, our society makes it difficult to bring church and God into the dating scene and juvenile relationships. Unfortunately, the world of baseball doesn’t make it any easier; in fact, it has the possibility of making it even harder.  With the pressures, temptations, demands, & expectations, it’s effortless to turn away from God and get caught up in all the hype.

Understanding that baseball was still going to be Tyler’s career, we knew we needed to find support from people who understood what we were going through.  After some personal research (because of course they didn’t tell us about this when Ty was drafted, although maybe they tell you nowadays?), we were able to find a couple organizations that would do just that:  Pro Athletes Outreach and Baseball Chapel.   

Check out this section from the Vision of Pro Athletes Outreach:

We have a unique understanding of the world of pro athletes (defined as the athlete and their spouse, if married) because we are pro athletes. We appreciate both the inherent opportunities for influence as well as the challenges posed by being a pro athlete today.  We understand that the typical career span of a pro athlete is short and that the financial and public profile in athletics is unique.

We also understand that the pro athlete “micro-environment” exists within the context of the much broader “macro-environment” of our ever-changing culture and world, which are both drifting further and further away from God and His Word.

We recognize the challenges of integrating faith, family, and career as a pro athlete today. We know that a life in the spotlight can be toxic to the soul. We understand that pro athletes tend toward isolation and encounter a decreasing number of places they can go and people with whom they can be themselves. We understand that over time, if left unchecked, the glory bestowed upon pro athletes today can shift their focus toward that which perpetuates their public image at the expense of their real self. We understand that pro athletes naturally become skeptical of everyone they meet and question the real motivations and interests of others. We understand that pro athletes tend toward a sense of entitlement because the world of pro sports indulges their every want and need. We understand that pro athletes easily come to place their own value in their role as an athlete and struggle to break free from that sense of performance- or identity-based value. We understand that the spouses of pro athletes face unique challenges related to loneliness, isolation, distortion of identity, and a social environment – including friends and church – that does not provide them the safety to be wholly authentic. 

You see, they get it, and through them, you can meet other couples in baseball that want to stay on track the same way you do.  (There are a ton of Major and Minor League couples involved in this, so don’t think you’re the only ones!)  Same goes for Baseball Chapel; here’s what they do:

Baseball Chapel is an international ministry recognized by Major and Minor League Baseball and is responsible for the appointment and oversight of all team chapel leaders.

It's great! Team chapel leaders are at the ballpark every Sunday to hold services for the players and their spouses.  They also hold Bible studies and have daily devotionals that you can receive via email.  Having service at the field on Sundays is also nice because sometimes baseball schedules get in the way of your regular church. 

Now, I’m not a preacher or a spokesperson for either of these organizations, so if you’d like to find out more, you can visit their websites (posted at the end of this post along with the Fireproof trailer).  On the other hand, if you're not into any of this at all, that's fine too. I’m just hoping that I can shed some light on what these organizations have to offer for any of you newcomers that might not know about them. I know Tyler and I would have loved to know about these during our first year!  

________

Remember... Being drafted is a really big deal and should be a very exciting time in your lives.  Just know that if you catch yourself or your relationship a little off track, you can always turn to these support systems in baseball to help better yourselves as men, women, and couples, on and off the field. 

http://www.pao.org/
http://www.baseballchapel.org/

What Just Happened?

It's now past the middle of May, meaning my husband's 2012 season is well underway.  Although still fresh in the season, Ty has already been causing quite a commotion.  The only words I can think of to best describe our whirlwind April would have to be crazy and overwhelming...

In April alone, Tyler was awarded all of the following:

International League Pitcher of the Week(4/5-4/9) 

Player of the Game(4/11/12)

Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week(4/5-4/15) 

Player of the Game(4/24/12)

Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week(4/23-4/29)

Eastern League Pitcher of the Week(4/23-4/29)

Strike Thrower of the Month(April)
&

Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Month(April)

Holy moly!

I am so so so proud of him!  I have known my husband to be great at what he does, but this has been quite a month.  It literally all started happening the second we left Florida...

Myself, along with two other wives, dropped our husband's off at the complex for the last time during Spring Training 2012.  The boys were then flown with the team directly from Tampa to Philly, while we girls began our drive up the East Coast in caravan fashion.  Although we were each in separate cars, we still had a lot of fun following each other and also felt extra safe staying together.  We were welcomed to stay the night in North Carolina with the coach's wife, and then the next morning she, along with their four kids and the family dog, joined us on our journey.  We made sure to take our time and arrived safe and sound to our husbands at the team hotel in Reading, PA.  

The boys were scheduled a doubleheader on Opening Day, and Tyler was told plenty of days in advanced that he would be starting in the second game.  I'm not sure if I've mentioned in my blog yet the fact that I went to school for massage therapy, so if not, now you know.  With that being my profession, I take the benefits of massage very seriously and therefore choose to give my husband a massage every night before his scheduled starts.  Now that you're aware of that, you can bet the night before his scheduled start on Opening Day,  I was giving Ty his routine massage.  In the middle of his session however, at about 9:30 at night, his phone rang.  Out of reach, he didn't answer.

Once I was done working on him, he checked his phone and realized the call he missed was from his manager and that he had a new voice mail.  We listened to it together as his manager said, "Hey Tyler, it's Dusty.  It's about 9:30.  Call me back when you get this, I need to talk to you about some stuff."  Clearly nothing out of the ordinary, Ty thought maybe he would have to pitch the first game instead of the second, or that maybe the game times were being changed altogether.  We sat down on the bed together as Ty called him back.

I listened as my husband's voice changed from it's normal flat tone, to a little something more, as he spoke the following words before hanging up: "Yeah. Okay. Really? Alright. Sounds good! Will do. Thank you."

"Well?" I asked him.
"I'm not starting tomorrow," he said.
"Why? When do you start then?" I asked.
"Well, I'm not starting tomorrow......here in Reading," he said cleverly as he smiled,  "I'm starting tomorrow for Triple-A in Lehigh!"
"Oh my gosh! How exciting!" I exclaimed as I jumped on him and gave him a big 'ol hug!

The following morning, life was so sweet in the passenger seat as Ty and I made the thirty-three mile drive to Allentown, PA.  Together we packed an overnight bag, but nothing more because Ty was told we were only going up for the one game; no matter the result of it, he would be reporting back to Double-A the next day.  That was perfectly okay with us!  We were just excited to be able to spend a day in Triple-A.  The Phillies put us up in a hotel for the night, and we quickly realized as we pulled up that it was a hotel we would otherwise not be able to afford.  We opened the door to our room and I got that feeling I haven't had since I was a little kid; you know, the one where a hotel room seems like a giant play ground with a bed to jump on and furniture set up specifically to play tag around?  Of course there was no jumping on the bed, but it was all just really neat and an extra blessing for Ty and I.  After dropping off our bag in the room, I took my husband to the field.  I gave him a hug and kiss and told him to do good, not realizing that the time frame between that moment and the next time I would get to see him would be a little longer than normal.

I got to the game a half hour early dressed in my heavy winter coat and wrapped in my giant fleece blanket.  Unfortunately, April 5th in Pennsylvania is not as warm as April 5th in Florida.   The stands were packed and the atmosphere was so exciting!  As I sat in my seat looking around, I felt so proud of my husband for making it all the way to Triple-A.  Although we knew the move wasn't permanent, and that the very next day we would be heading back down to Reading, it seemed like such an achievement to get the call up!  In the midst of all my thoughts, I heard Ty's name announced to the crowd and then saw him and the rest of the team run out onto the field for the National Anthem.  Game time!

Top of the first: fly out, strike out, ground out.
Top of the second: strike out, strike out, ground out.
Top of the third: strike out, ground out, strike out.
Top of the fourth: fly out, strike out, ground out.
Top of the fifth: ground out, strike out, ground out.
Top of the sixth: strike out, ground out, fly out.
Top of the seventh: new pitcher replaces Tyler Cloyd.

"Tyler James!!! Omgosh!! You did unbelievable!!!!" - I sent to him via text after he was taken out of the game.  I was so thrilled for him!  Ty had just pitched six perfect innings in his completely unexpected Triple-A debut on Opening Day, on a team managed by Hall of Famer, Ryne Sandberg, on less than 24 hours notice! Whoa!!

Also, that night, Coca-Cola Park, named 2012's Best Ballpark in Triple-A Baseball, held a crowd of almost 10,000 people!  As soon as Tyler was taken out of the game, that number was made clear to me as I heard the fans begin to roar....

"What??!!!  New pitcher??  Eighteen up, eighteen down, eight strike outs, zero walks and only seventy-three pitches.  Why in the world would they take this kid out when he is pitching a perfect game??!"

No worries guys!  It was the first game of the year, which means low pitch counts.  Ty and I knew they wouldn't let him pitch a complete game that early in the season, so it was not a surprise nor a disappointment to either of us when they took him out.

What was a disappointment however, was the fact that I was still freezing even with all of my winter gear on!  Luckily, I was offered by a staff member to move up to the suites in hopes of warming up under the one condition that I stay clear of the media room.  I agreed.  The staff member laughed a bit and I quickly realized that that "one condition" was apparently not a normal request.

"What's going on in there?" I asked him.
"The media is all over your husband right now.  They're trying to find out as much as they can about him," he said, "We don't want them to know who you are or you'll never hear the end of their questions."
"Oh gosh," I said worriedly.
"Yeah," he laughed, "They've already started their articles and all of them want to interview him separately after the game.  It's probably gonna be awhile until you get out of here tonight."

Boy was he right!  Thankfully, after the last out of the game, he took me down through the dugout so I could get a couple pictures with my husband before the majority of the media got to him.  As we rounded the corner though, Ty was already in the process of an on-camera interview so I waited off to the side.  That's when I saw it coming...the shaving cream pie. It was so funny to watch Ty's teammate sneak up behind him and smash it all over his face.  Ha!

After a looong wait by myself in the car, the boy was finally ready to go. We went out to dinner to celebrate our exciting 24 hours and then headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.  Early the next morning, we were already on the road back to Reading.  We had left Allentown as the same two people who arrived there the previous day and all was back to normal... but something odd was happening around us.

Articles started pouring out, phone calls started coming in, texts and friend requests from people we hadn't talked to in years became overwhelming.

"Well this is new," I said to Ty confusedly.
"Yeah, weird," he replied.

On top of everyone still not understanding why the decision was made to take Tyler out of his perfect game, they now didn't understand why he was being demoted back to Double-A.  We tried to explain the situation, but no one wanted to accept it - especially the media, who was now referring to my husband as a young prospect that's been sliding under the radar, when earlier they were calling him old and not really a prospect at all.  It was a nice, yet very sudden change. Our personal lives even seemed to take a hit, when almost all of our family and friends were getting a hold of us only for reasons like autographs or hats or shirts or balls or baseball cards or programs or tickets...oh my!  Of course we knew how proud everyone was and we truly understand how lucky Tyler is to have so much support, but we realized people weren't taking into consideration that they weren't exactly the only one asking us for something.  I had to put my foot down; otherwise, I'd literally be spending Tyler's entire paychecks on his team's merchandise, ordering him to sit down and sign it all, and then making trips twice a day to the post office, only to be told by everyone that they would pay us back later.  Not exactly doable. :/

Nevertheless, even with all of the wonderful support, there were still plenty of people out there saying that Ty is still never going to make it.  They've practically made a hobby out of waiting around for him to fail. Unfortunately for those people, my husband and I keep in mind that if our God is for us, than who could be against us?  Together, we know to stay humble through whatever happens, and in every circumstance we make sure to say, "Thy will be done."  Whether Ty gets a chance in the big leagues or not, is not our decision to make, but until we find out, I thank God every day for my husband's health and talents and I pray that he will prosper in this career that God has chosen for him at the moment.

Ty has kept his momentum going and has already been recalled back to Triple-A after going 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA at Reading!  Since being recalled, one of Ty's starts was aired live on the MLB Network and he is now 7-1 with a 1.89 ERA on the year.  We firmly believe that all good works come only through Christ; therefore, we give Him all the honor and glory.   The start of this season has been such a joy!  I am so proud of Tyler and we are so blessed to be able to live this life together!  He is doing so well at his job, and better yet, he's an unbelievable husband.  Thank you to everyone who has helped him and I get to where we are today!  You have all been such a blessing to us!

Thank You!

Another Spring down in the record books for Tyler as his 2012 Spring Training quickly came to an end.  What a fun-filled couple of months in the Sunshine State!

My husband and I headed down the first week of February, barely escaping a ten-inch snow storm that hit the very night we left.  Of course Ty was thrilled to get out of town just in time, since all he had on his mind was throwing a baseball around in sunny Clearwater, FL.  I, on the other hand, absolutely love a giant snowfall, thus giving me an extra reason to cry my little heart out!

After waiving goodbye to my parents and our pets as we drove off down the street (hoping you're picturing that scene from the movie, Homeward Bound), I spent a good fifteen minutes crying in the passenger seat.  Soon enough however, I was content, remembering that I used my time wisely the night before downloading The Hunger Games audiobooks onto my iPod. I would finally be able to start these books that everyone was talking about! I leaned forward, plugged my iPod into the car stereo and sat back smiling, eager for the first book to begin.  After maybe the length of a paragraph, I looked over at Ty, prepared to tell him for the hundredth time just how excited I really was for this.  Before I could say a single word however, I realized I was being given "the look."  Now let's not confuse this with, what do you call them, bedroom eyes??        Nope.       I was being given the, "Really babe? I'm not too thrilled about this", look.  I was then persuaded to spend the rest of our car ride listening to my audiobooks through my own personal headphones.  Boooo.

We were welcomed again to stay a few nights with some of our family and friends during our journey to Florida.  It is always so great to have stopping points where you know someone!  Our friends in Georgia even have a pet deer that loves to give kisses and is also allowed in the house! Her name is Buttercup:

So cool!

Once we got to Florida we were welcomed with open arms by our new "host family."  They're an older couple that are Clearwater Thresher's (Phillies Class A Advanced) season ticket holders.  We had the honor of meeting them last year before my husband got moved up to AA.  If you remember, I even wrote about the Mrs. in my post from last season, as she helped me pack up the car when Ty got moved.  They absolutely love the players and genuinely care about them.  They even had some of us over last year for Easter, knowing that we couldn't be home with our own families on holidays like those.  Seriously, such wonderful people!  We were so blessed and even a little bit spoiled staying with them.  There was breakfast every morning and dinner every night.  They are both quite the awesome cooks. We had a whole wing of the house to ourselves and they even have a pool we were welcomed to use!  They were great companions to us too, as I would hang out with the Mrs. often and Ty would watch shows nightly with the Mr.  On top of all of that, they live about 30 seconds from the field; so literally, everything about it was perfect for us!  As we thanked them continuously time and time again, we were always told by the Mr. that this was their thank you to us.  Confused at first, I had him explain:

"We love to do all we can for you kids!  You've got to understand that your husband, and the rest of the ball players that come up through the system, are our nightly entertainment six months out of the year.  We love that we get the chance to watch these guys play ball and we are so appreciative that they actually play to their fullest!  These boys in the minor leagues are trying to get to the majors and we see that in their passion to play hard night after night.  We are happy to be a part of it and watch them grow, and we are happy that you wives share them with us.  So this is us giving back to you guys and letting you know that we appreciate what you do for us!"

What in the world?  I hadn't heard anything like that before.  These kind and enthusiastic words were so invigorating to me; therefore, I'm taking them and running with them...

In my latest post, "I Am Only Human", I was really giving yall a serious look inside our married life in minor league baseball.  It only speaks the truth about how time together with my husband is most certainly cut short during these crazy, beautiful baseball seasons.  NO calling in sick, NO days off, NO nights off, NO weekends off, and NO holidays off.  (Well technically they get at least one day off a month, although sometimes it's used to travel, but you get the picture.)  If you look at a baseball schedule, it's crazy. No matter how much we truly cherish this lifestyle we live, we are still faced with our own share of challenges.  After listening to what the Mr. had to say to us however, I found a new(actually old) way of looking at all of those "NOs," by looking through the eyes of the fans.

What better way to achieve that than to think back on the days of being a fan myself?

So...

I started by reminiscing back to my childhood years, back to when I was quite the shy, dorky, seven-year-old tomboy:

Awe yes, there I am! 

Note: No, I'm not adopted, and yes, my sister and I are holding our pet rabbits upside down. Now please, no more questions about this Christmas card worthy picture. :)

My cute little family lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado - home to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Rockies Triple A).  Every summer we'd all go out to that ballpark on numerous occasions, supplying myself with a lifetime of fun-filled memories.  It's funny though when I think back, because all of those memories really only consist of hotdogs, cotton candy, Bark in the Park (where fans are allowed to bring their dogs to certain games), and of course, my dad pushing my sister and I to ask for autographs from the random baseball players we knew nothing about.  Secretly however, I knew those players had to be a big deal; I mean, since practically every little boy looked up to them as their hero.  So I was always happy with my autographs when my dad gave me the courage to get them.

Then one day during my middle school years, my dad took one of my best friends and I to an actual Colorado Rockies game in Denver!   The atmosphere at that stadium is something I will never forget.  I remember walking in and being so overwhelmed by how much excitement the field had to offer.  After watching some of the game, and of course, downing our hotdogs and cotton candy, my dad gave us the brilliant idea to try and start the wave.  Yes, two ten-year-old girls trying to start the wave at a Major League Baseball game.  Hey Dad, let's be honest here, were you just trying to set us up for failure?  ;)   Well, we began our attempt.  At first, we had a couple fans yell at us as they were trying to keep book from the outfield, letting us know we were in their way and that if we wanted to do the wave then we should go to a football game.  A little discouraging.  Thanks to the help of a random, ridiculously drunk man in our section however, the wave was a success!  Obviously a very proud moment of my ten year life, I can still remember that wave going around all three levels of the stadium seven times!

Alright, so where am I going with this exactly?

In my story above, I have already explained.  What it all narrows down to is that the fans of baseball love their baseball, and for many different reasons at that.  The history, the team, the players, the stats, the food, the music, the atmosphere, you name it!  Baseball is in fact America's Pastime, which is why you're guaranteed to look around the diamond and observe the following almost every night: a father taking his son to his first game, a couple enjoying a date night together, a few old men conversing about top prospects while keeping book and reminiscing about the good ol' days, a group of beautiful girls trying their best to get the cutest baseball player's attention, a family eagerly awaiting the post-game fireworks show, and a man and all his buddies obnoxiously pounding down beer after beer after beer after beer.  You see, the fans will always come, and no matter how different their reasonings might be, they'll all be wearing the same jersey and singing the same song during the seventh-inning stretch.

Goodness that pumps me up for the next home game already! :)

Can I just take a second to say thank you though?
Because I sincerely mean it.

Through a fan's passion for the game, I have come up with a new way of looking at all of the minor challenges we are faced with; it goes like this:

Although there is NO calling in sick for my husband, I know there are fans out there that call in sick solely to attend my husband's place of work.

Although my husband has NO days off, I know there are fans out there that spend their days off at my husband's job.

Although my husband has NO nights off, I know there are fans out there that spend their nights off in my husband's "office."

Although my husband has NO weekends off, I know there are fans out there that spend their weekends off traveling on the road to support my husband on his "business trips."

and

Although my husband has NO holidays off, I know there are fans out there that spend their holidays at my husband's place of employment.


(Now obviously I'm not talking only about Ty's actual games he's pitching in. I'm using these expressions as a whole, meaning somebody somewhere is heading/has headed to a baseball game at some point in one of these circumstances.)

You fans truly make all the little sacrifices that Ty and I are faced with on a daily basis completely worth it!  Thank you so much for enjoying baseball, because if it weren't for the fans, my husband might have NO job at all.  I will gladly accept all of those other "NOs" I've mentioned above to avoid that one! The opportunity I have to go to a baseball game every night to watch my husband do what he loves to do is such a wonderful blessing.  What's even better to me though, is knowing that he can share that with people that are eager to attend a baseball game as well, whatever their reasoning might be. So thank you for attending, and see yall out at the field this summer!

I hope everyone enjoyed Spring Training 2012 as much as I did!  I really can't complain about all of the beach time I got in with the other wives; it was such a blast!!

My husband also had a great spring.  He was officially told the day before camp broke that we would be starting out the season in AA again with the Reading Phillies.  We were very happy to be heading north, but we never quite got the time to settle in.

Holy April...