baseball buddy

so it was soccer night at the loons game the other night...and as we have four soccer players, we were afforded some great opportunities to participate in special events at the game...

first, molly's team played a little game on the front lawn of Dow Diamond...

does the girl know how to strike a pose, or what?!

while she was playing out front, i ventured inside with Porter, who was selected as a Baseball Buddy for the night....



we checked in at guest services and he got his special 'baseball buddy' tshirt...he had a little bit of time to relax (so we watched some of Molly's game out front) before he had to report back and get his 'instructions'...

he ventured down through the grounds crew entrance to the field, and i was directed to the best picture taking spot...and i didn't know how perfect it would be until later...

he had a bit of time to wait in the tunnel, but apparently there was plenty for him to watch...

and then they moved out in front of the dugout...where he had a much better view of...well...the dugout!

and the bullpen!

and at one point, the catcher missed one of the balls...and it rolled RIGHT TO PORTER. and he picked it up. and he threw it back to the catcher. and i swear i thought he was going to wet his pants. he threw a ball to a professional baseball player.
and then another pitcher from the bullpen made a little walk to the dugout...and he high-fived the baseball buddies on the way.

and then it was time....the starting line ups!!

i had no idea who Porter's buddy would be...but they had the kids all lined up in order...and then suddenly the announcer says
"PORTER BAKER AND FIRST BASEMAN, #36, JAMIE ORTIZ!"

first base! the closed position to picture-taking zone...the shortest run (that poor left-field baseball buddy....)

(and being soccer night, all the players were 'superimposed' in Manchester United uniforms, etc...which just so happens to be our fav professional soccer team)

porter chatted jamie up (though i'm not sure how much english he speaks...) porter was swinging his arms like he was up to bat and had lots to show his buddy...i asked him later what he talked about and he said "i told him how hard i could hit the ball"...

porter stood relatively patiently during the star spangled banner...but he is 6...and a boy...AND WAS STANDING NEXT TO A PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYER ON THE FIELD...so, there's that. the camera man did include him in a bit of the 'big screen montage'...however, one camera-happy mom can only focus her lens in one place at a time...

and the moment the national anthem was over, you could tell that he followed directions to immediately exit the field. unlike some of the other kids who shook hand, or high-fived their buddies before taking off, i think porter just wanted to show jamie his speed.

as luck would have it...jamie hit a home run at his first at bat...we later discovered that he was drafted by the dodgers in 2006 and played for the Loons in 2008. this was his return to this team and his first game with them this season.

porter's soccer team was next up for soccer night duties as they were 'assigned' to lead the singing of the famed 7th-inning stretch along the 3rd baseline...well, a small group of 6 year old boys is not necessarily fit for that, so Jason (and our head coach, Doug) recruited all of our kids (and a friend or two!) to join along...

and some new, strange twist this year is that the 7th inning stretch ends with a 7th inning dance party...which the girls thoroughly enjoyed...and the video of Jason and Doug dancing will provide me years of enjoyment.

another great night at the ball park!