Thoughts Of A Golden Glover

Sorry I haven't written more frequently during the camp, it's because I've been very very busy. The camp had 2 days with double headers, 1 game before lunch and one after, and all the other activities going on, I was either eating, sleeping or playing baseball..... It Was Awesome! From the group talks with Randy Johnson, and an MLB Umpire, who's name escapes me, to the mini golf outing, and the coaches dinner, when we weren't playing, they still they kept us busy. 6 games over 7 days, with 2 double headers, and truth be told, my team lost all of our games. Yup, "Pitch Slap" got bitch slapped, there's no way around it. Still, despite that, I'm extremely happy with the way the week turned out. For me, it really wasn't so much about the competition, it was more about playing the game, the people I met, the friends I made, the camaraderie with the other campers, and finding out that all of the 17 Coaches, are just like regular folks off the field. ...

 I decided to break up these posts into 2 day chunks, so that I don't have to clog up your timelines as frequently. You're welcome. * Tuesday was the busiest day so far. There is a Double Header scheduled. A game in the morning, then lunch, change uniforms, and go out in the afternoon for Game 2. It's not as tough as it sounds, since there  are 12 Camper Players, plus 1 coach pitching, we decided to  rotate the 4 outfielders, since Outfielders do the most running around. I play the outfield, so it works out that I'm mostly playing every other inning. All 12 Campers bat. The batting order is determined by The Coaches.  * Some of the baseball rules are slightly modified for safety and/or increased fun. There is no called strike 3, only a swinging strike 3 applies. There are no "Walks", since your own coach is pitching. There is an "L Screen" in front of the Pitcher, so hitting the screen on the fly is an automatic 1st base, however hitting it on a grou...

Day 1 * The Diamondbacks Baseball Fantasy Camp has begun. Day 1 was relatively unassuming. After training for this for the last 2 months, I think I'm ready. I checked in to The Talking Stick Resort Hotel, then there was a dinner, and an orientation + meet the Coaches meeting. There are 94 Caampers (a sellout), and there are 17 Diamondbacks former players coaching us, including Luis Gonzales, Mark Grace, Matt Williams, Jay Bell, and Greg Colbrunn to name a few. This was my first time staying at The Talking Stick Resort, and of course the room is really nice. It ought to be at the $200/day rate. I called it an early day, because I have a feeling tomorrow will be busy. Day 2 * I was right, busy day. The shuttle to The Talking Sticks Fields Baseball Complex picked us up at 7:30am. Did I mention that the Camp is being held at The Spring Training Facilities shared by The Diamondbacks and The Colorado Rockies? It is, and I can really tell there is an upgraded quality of the fields and the...