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!!
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)
(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.
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...
