Take Me Out to the Ballgame

A healthy family lifestyle was what we dreamed about for two years as we commuted 60 miles in traffic daily. The possibility of a move to Colorado was presented and we approached it enthusiastically. When the dream became a reality, it was the spring of 1996. Much anticipation surrounded this move; one of them being sports teams that we could actually root for and games that we could attend. With our young family of four, children aged 1 ½ and 3½, we trekked to our first Rockies game and sat in the Pavillion. We tried to explain the game to our two young daughters, but the highlight seemed to be watching the fountain in center field erupt when the Rockies hit a homerun. It soon became evident that this would be the focus of our cheers. Thus the beginning of the chant from Lauren, our youngest daughter, "Hit one to me Vinny!"

Though the homerun fountains entertained our girls, it was our youngest daughter, Lauren, who cued in to the fact that ballplayers have nicknames and instantly became a fan of "Big Cat". You see, she is a cat lover and is drawn to anything having the word cat in it. Thus her first favorite player on the Rockies was Andres Gallaraga. As she grew older, she began to play softball herself. When asked by her coaches where she would like to play her immediate answer was first base of course. Thus her preferred position came from watching and cheering for "Big Cat" as a young Rockies fan. Upon his trade and retirement, she transferred her allegiance to Todd Helton, who she continues to admire for his defensive and offensive abilities. Yes, at age 12 Lauren still plays softball at where else? First base!

Over the years we have attended many home games with our family and watched; the Blake Street Bombers perform their magic, Brett Mayne, the last position player, get a win in a game when we ran out of pitchers, and the return of Vinny Castilla to finish his career as a Colorado Rockie. Although many years have passed, our enthusiasm for the game of baseball and cheering on the Rockies has not waned. In fact it has grown exponentially. We faithfully listen on the radio or watch the games on television from April to September and conversations center around various players depending on the night. Our "heroes " in baseball have changed over the years, but Todd Helton has consistently remained at the top of the popularity charts, with this year's successes prompting more players names to appear on the ballot. Troy Tulowitzki, Matt Holliday, Jamie Carroll, Yorvit Torrealba, Jeff Francis, and Kaz Matsui typically are the focus of dinner conversations.

As another baseball season draws to a close, a wonderful surprise for our daughter Lauren would be attending a Rockies game on her 13 th birthday, Sept. 7, in a suite surrounded by her friends and seeing her heroes play on the field.