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!
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!
Tonya,
ReplyDeleteMy son attended the Eric Valent Baseball camp last year and in Reading in which Tyler was a counselor. My son has loved him ever since, for the exhibition game this year between the Iron Pigs and Reading Phillies Tyler signed an autograph and my son told him about the camp. Tyler spoke to him for a few minutes and made my son's day. It is great to see good things happening to good people. Hopefully we see Tyler in Philadelphi real soon. Thanks!
Really, really great stuff.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
And once again, welcome to Allentown!