We all have multiple ways to follow every MLB player and MLB team on the field - but how about off the field? 

Here is a very small sample of recent community activities that don't show up in the boxscores...

The Chicago White Sox Volunteer Corps participated in a large-scale service project today at Wendell Phillips Academy High School/Ida B. Wells Preparatory Elementary School on Chicago's South Side.  Nearly 500 members of the White Sox Volunteer Corps, along with players, front office staff and members of Chicago Cares assisted in the transformation of the historic Bronzeville neighborhood school on the South Side of Chicago, blocks away from U.S. Cellular Field. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, alongside Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White and Chicago Fire Commissioner John Brooks, kicked off the day's activities with words of encouragement for volunteers.  White Sox players Daniel Hudson, Alexei Ramirez and Randy Williams, along with coaches Don Cooper, Jeff Cox and Juan Nieves joined volunteers at the school during the transformation.

Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek will host his annual Celebrity Putt-Putt charity event on Monday, September 14, 2009.  The event will take place at the Ferncroft Country Club, 10 Village Road, Middleton, MA.  The event is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m.  Proceeds from the event will benefit Celebrities for Charities and the Saints Medical Center in Lowell, MA.  Participants will include Varitek's Red Sox teammates and other celebrities.  To watch, participate or sponsor the event, please visit the Celebrities for Charities website at http://www.cfctickets.org/tek_golf/sponsorship.htm

The Cleveland Indians announced that Shoes and Clothes for Kids raised $19,903 today for their cause as part of the Tribe's new community initiative "Fill the House for Charity". The Indians "Fill the House for Charity" has partnered with 11 of the 13 scheduled non-profit organizations with a year-to-date donation and in-kind total of over $509,000.

Each Wednesday home game this season, Houston Astros' shortstop Miguel Tejada hosts 20 Houston-area kids from low-income families as part of his Tejada's Troops program.  Purchased by Tejada, each participant receives a field-level ticket to the game along with $10 in Astros Bucks that can be spent at Minute Maid Park.  The experience also includes Astros batting practice viewing from the field and the chance to spend time with the six-time All-Star shortstop.  During the meet-and-greet with his young guests, Tejada shares his story of growing up in extreme poverty in the Dominican Republic and encourages them to pursue their dreams even in the midst of their current situations.

Arizona Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall present a $100,000 Grand Slam Award grant from the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation to Teleos Preparatory Academy Headmaster Reggie Johnson. Teleos Preparatory Academy is the newest of the six Great Hearts Academies in the Phoenix area and just recently opened their doors for the 2009-10 school year. As a partnership between Great Hearts Academies and Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, Teleos Prep will be the first of its kind in the Metro Phoenix area to deliver a top-tier, college prep education in a low-income community. The Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation's Grand Slam Awards were established in 2002 to make a larger impact on community organizations by providing a grant in the amount of $100,000. The grant is made possible through the fundraising efforts of the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation and by contributions from the D-backs General Partnership Group.

This is how you can get involved: http://mlbgobeyond.mlb.com/gb/

"Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don't, then you are wasting your time on Earth" - Roberto Clemente

I have nothing against Little League.  In fact, I played my youth baseball in East Abington Little League - 3 hours southeast of the site of the Little League World Series since 1947.

Little League has become the Kleenex of youth baseball when in reality it's just one of the major youth baseball organizations in the country.  The 8 others (AABC, AAU, Babe Ruth, Dixie, NABF, PONY, USSSA, Super Series) comprise the Major Youth Baseball Alliance and their 10-and-under and 12-and-under national champions comprise the 16 participants in the 2^nd annual New Era National Youth Baseball Championships - NYBC - (http://www.mlb.com/youthmajors/) held at First Tennessee Fields in Memphis.

LLWS teams are all-star teams chosen from within the local recreational leagues and participate in tournaments to advance to Williamsport.  We've all watched these kids - some 11, some 12, some 13 with the cut-off date moved to May 1 from August 1 in 2006 - we've allowed ourselves to live through these kids and get lost in the innocence of the game.  But be honest, if you had the chance to watch the players of the same age compete at a much higher level under modified Major League Baseball rules, you'd grab the clicker and change the channel, right?  Exactly.  Next August, grab the remote and turn on MLB Network, or turn on your computer and log onto MLB.com.

Nearly 90% of all major leaguers (and Michael Jordan - Dixie) played their youth baseball in one of the eight leagues that participate in the NYBC, not Little League.  Some of the teams at the NYBC were all-star teams just like Little League, others were straight travel ball teams and these teams will play close to 100 games over a season from Los Angeles to Orlando to Cooperstown.  The NYBC teams simply play a more advanced game of baseball - but at the same time, their organizations do not neglect children who just want to play 15 games with their friends in their local parks.

Take a look at the differences in field dimensions between the LLWS and the 10U and 12U divisions at the NYBC.  Remember, LLWS is 12U and the outfielders are taller than the fence.  At Mark Neel Field (12U Championship field) in Memphis, the outfield wall is 20 feet high.

The dimensions at the NYBC allow for extra base hits - the longer baselines gives defense a chance to turn double plays - all age groups at the NYBC can take leads and steal bases.  I saw 10-year old catchers nail baserunners at 2^nd and 3^rd.  I saw shortstops sneaking behind the runner at 2^nd and executing a back door pickoff play with the pitcher.  These teams are so well coached, disciplined, and talented that I found myself forgetting that the players were between 10 and 13 years old.  The coaches and parents told me the same thing - that often times their boys make such incredible plays and then make a silly mistake that reminds their elders that they really are just kids.

Take a look at some of the videos from this year's tournament - full games and daily recaps available: http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?topic_id=6609548

And some photos that captured the championship moments (courtesy of David Minkin - In Focus Sports)

11-year old Wes Harris (5'6, 200lb - size 13 shoe - no joke) hits a walk-off HR for AAU (North Texas Bulldogs) in the 10U Championship Game.

Vinny Micucci interviews 10U MVP Wes Harris live on MLB Network/MLB.com - on rounding the bases: "I was just real happy and stuff"

10 year olds know all about the Gatorade shower

So do the 12-year olds - Super Series champions (Team Rattlers, Texas)

The highlight of the 12U Championship game was the ceremonial first pitch thrown by Ben Sherman to Brandt Burrows (Forrest Hills, FL - Cal Ripken WS Champions, representing Babe Ruth at NYBC).  Brandt survived multiple operations when doctors found brain tumors when he was 4 years old.  Ben is a 7-year old from Jonesboro, Arkansas who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in 2008.  Ben spent time at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital where he underwent chemotherapy, a procedure he now endures orally every week. 

Ben is an all-star on his baseball team and is a triplet.

When asked where he wanted to throw the pitch from, Ben answered very confidently: "From the mound"

On Wednesday, Jeff Nelson and I were part of a group that visited St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital - a place that if it didn't have the word 'hospital' in it's name, you wouldn't know that's where you were.  It's a place that promotes healing and smiling in the face of the scariest time for many families worldwide.  No one is turned away from their doors and no one has to reach for a penny either.  It costs the facility $1.4 million a day to function and the average donation is $30.  I urge you to read more about the remarkable life-changing and life-saving work of the hospital at www.stjude.org - and donate here:

https://shop.stjude.org/GiftCatalog/expressdonation.do?fnl=don_sin&plt=STJGENLKALSAC1000002

"Growing up is never easy. You hold on to things that were. You wonder what's to come. But that night, I think we knew it was time to let go of what had been, and look ahead to what would be. Other days. New days.  Days to come. The thing is, we didn't have to hate each other for getting older. We just had to forgive ourselves... for growing up." - Kevin Arnold, The Wonder Years.

Over the past 2 years, Pete Parise has called 8 different places 'home' - 9 if you count the mound.  10 if you count the outfield.  Starting in 2007, the now 24-year old went from tracking down fly balls at the University of Pittsburgh to taking the ball in the 9^th inning for the Panthers.  After 10 days of Indy ball for the newly formed Slippery Rock Sliders, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals where his rise through the system began in Johnson City, Tennessee and has continued in Batavia, New York - Davenport, Iowa - Palm Beach, Florida - Springfield, Missouri - and presently in Memphis, Tennessee - over 11,000 miles from where 'home' will always be in Bronx, New York.

Despite growing up across from the basketball courts, it was always baseball for Pete.  As a 10-year old, he'd travel 40 minutes to Brooklyn and over an hour to Long Island to play competitive baseball.  As a 12-year old, he had "an amazing experience" with a New York City All-Star Team playing 2 weeks of baseball in Tokyo.  "We spent 4 days with a host family and the first day, they tried to make a traditional American breakfast," Pete told me, "but on the second day, it was back to rice."  He was also quick to recall a trip to an open-air market that sold, among other things, "huge crab legs...I devoured that."  One of his teammates on that All-Star Team was Mike Baxter - born 2 days after Pete - and now playing in AAA for the San Diego Padres. 

It wasn't until his junior year at Cardinal Spellman High School that Parise realized that his talents could lead to a baseball career.  He was 16 when the first pro scout came to one of his games.  It was the late Buddy Paine, who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer less than a year ago.  Buddy was the first to tell Parise that his baseball career would be made on the pitcher's mound, not in the outfield or behind the plate as a catcher.  Pete told him that he appreciated the advice, but he was a hitter.  "I guess he was right," he says now with a laugh. 

The college recruiting process was as painless and stress-free as everything else seems to be for Pete.  "I wanted to go to Fordham, but I walked to my recruiting visit and my Dad told me to get out of the city."  He could have gone to St. Johns or Stony Brook, but it was his first visit that ultimately could have been his last.  "Pittsburgh is a great sports town, great people, great fans - something I wanted to be a part of."  He wanted to catch, that's what he loved to do, but there was a senior ahead of him, so when Head Coach Joe Jordano asked him if could play the outfield to keep his bat in the lineup, Pete thought to himself "yeah, that's not that tough" - but out loud was happy to say "yes." 

From his first series down at the University of New Orleans through the end of his college career, he made the outfield look pretty easy while doing the same at the plate becoming the school's all-time hits leader.  But pro scouts were still convinced his future was as a pitcher.  On April 13^th, 2007 - in front of a hometown New York crowd at St. Johns - with Pitt holding a 10-9 lead with the bases loaded and 1 out in the bottom of the 9^th, Coach Jordano threw Parise right into the fire.  The 6'1" righthander walked to the mound from his place in right field and started throwing 90-92 mph on his fastball and mixed in a slider that he learned in Little League - the same slider he uses now one step away from the majors.  That combination worked as he struck out the first batter he faced for the second out.  Now with 2 outs and the tying run on 3^rd, "the kid put down a swinging bunt in between the mound and first - I picked it up, and it was a bang-bang play that won us the game," Pete said as recapped his first collegiate save. 

Draft day came and went for Parise, and after not hearing his name called, he was packed up and ready to go to Florida where his parents had moved.  That's when he did get his name called - by the Slippery Rock Sliders of the Frontier League.  Parise upped his workouts, starting to feel his arm loosen by the day and was hitting 94 on the radar gun, working in that slider and a new 2-seamer and was "loving throwing to wood bats."  Life in the Frontier League didn't last long.  While on the road in Evansville, Indiana - Manager Greg Jelks, a career minor leaguer, called Parise to tell him that the Cardinals wanted to sign him.  Done deal.

Pete Parise isn't a high-energy reliever.  He's serious, but remains even-keel.  "Whatever happens, happens.  I can't beat myself up - no reason to put extra pressure on myself, just let it ride," he says.  Parise's never been one to agonize over game tape, but found himself spending a lot of time with pitching coach Ace Adams at the start of the 2008 season at Quad Cities.  Adams made the necessary mechanical adjustments for Parise to add late movement to his pitches and most importantly, was patient with his student as Pete got used to the new style and was trying things out with the game on the line.  13 saves and a 2.23 ERA later and the student moved on to the Florida State League. 

"The biggest jump was to AAA because the hitters are just better," Pete told me over the phone from his hotel room in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  "They're actually kind of annoying because they're too patient at the plate."  It may be his most challenging level of organized ball, but he's treating the opponent the same way he has since signing.  In 11 appearances spanning 11 innings, he's 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA while getting ground ball out after ground ball out and holding the opposition to a .244 batting average.  After his first Winter Ball experience in Columbia this past offseason, he came into spring training feeling great and is enjoying this rise up through the Cardinals system.

Not once in our conversation did we talk about what it would be like to play in the majors, but he's not shy asking teammates Jess Todd and Clayton Mortensen for their advice on how to get his hands on the big league spread.  For now, he's sampling the grub down South eating catfish and gumbo for the first time and putting down a ½ rack of ribs from Blue City Café.  "We were in New Orleans yesterday (6/30) and there was a big bag of crawfish in the clubhouse.  I crushed that."

The way Pete's going, he's going to be crushing the post-game meal at Busch Stadium sooner than anyone expected - even Buddy Paine.

Stay up to date on Pete Parise by going to his player page - http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=520868

Other notes:  Pete has lived with Brett Wallace for 2 years and says "he's legit" - as if Cardinals fans needed to hear any more reassurance about their first round pick from 2008.  Also, the Memphis Grizzlies drafted Parise's friend from college - Sam Young - who threw out the first pitch at the Memphis Redbirds game on 6/26 - http://memphis.redbirds.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090630&content_id=5617874&vkey=news_t235&fext=.jsp&sid=t235

I'm off to St. Louis on Thursday for the All-Star Game festivities and will be there through the 15^th - then back in the MLB.com studios on the 17^th. 

2 quotes for you since it's been a while since the last post -

"A hot dog at the ball game beats roast beef at the Ritz." - Humphrey Bogart  

"As I grow older, I pay less attention to what people say. I just watch what they do." - Andrew Carnegie

My grandfather used to get the newspaper at around 5am every morning and when putting it on their kitchen counter, Pop would separate the Sports page and tell my grandmom that she should read it "in case you speak to Noah today."  Pop passed away during my Sophomore year in college - and on Saturday, Bub read her last boxscore. 

Bub lived in Florida, about 45 minutes from Miami, and when I was down there for Mother's Day, she was very adamant about the absurdity of building a new stadium for the Marlins since the school systems need so much money.  When the Marlins started off 11-1, she would say "How about the Marlins!"  Like my mom, Bub watched games that people close to her had a rooting interest in.  She was glued to this past Super Bowl since my dad's from Pittsburgh.  She would watch some NBA All-Star coverage each of the past few years since she knew I was there.  And when we finally convinced that the internet wasn't "a bad place" - she got a laptop so she could see pictures of her kids, grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren.  And she got the chance to watch my MLB.com work - whether it was a live show or taped features, highlights, and interviews. 

She worked at the day camp where I spent my pre-teen summers, and it was never a surprise to find her behind the dugout of my baseball game or checking in during instructional swim to add a little encouragement as I learned how to dive.   Bub watched as I dribbled circles around Pop in the basement.  She watched as Dad and I threw a ball around or played hoops after dinner.  Fortunately for our entire family, Bub was always around - and a large part of our family is what it is today because of that. 

Bub makes the highlights every so often - http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2009_06_03_cinmlb_slnmlb_1&mode=wrap - from Reds/Cardinals game last week: click the video with the team logos - Bub gets in around the 50 second mark. 

Bub couldn't swim, whistle, or make pancakes - but those are the only things she couldn't do.  On the day before the MLB Draft, the team above us got itself an early jump on a first round pick with a proven track record of success but with still so much more to offer.

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.  It's the life in your years" - Abraham Lincoln

He doesn't eat chocolate, but still served it at his birthday parties because everyone else liked it. He chose rice cakes instead. After reading the sports page in the New York Daily News, he catches up on politics. For his Kindergarten interview at Village Community School in Manhattan, he was asked to draw a picture - so he took his crayon and wrote "I'll do this later" and handed it to the supervisor. He was accepted on the spot.

Everyday people across the world walk into their places of employment, say hello to their co-workers - maybe ask how they are - and go about their day. How much do you know the person who sits 15 feet from you for close to 40 hours every week? A simple 'hello' goes a long way - but sincere curiosity without prying - goes even further. So this week, I sat down with Zach Steinhorn - Assistant Producer for MLB.com's Fantasy 411 - a researcher, a writer, an only child who liked high school chemistry, but hated biology.

Zach sits 15 feet to my left, on the backside of the structure that houses Major League Baseball's Instant Replay booth. He turns 25 on May 23rd - sharing his birthday (not the year) with the Senior Producer who sits 5 feet to my right. He grew up in Manhattan - his parents met at Brooklyn College in the late 1960's and have been married for 26 years. Zach's a fairly private person when it comes to his life-changing experience at age 8 - but he's not shy talking about his first time walking into Madison Square Garden to see his Knicks on March 4th, 1993. There are certain days that we remember everything about and March 4th is one of those for him. "Knicks beat the Jazz 125-111," he told me. The Knicks won that game as part of a season-long 9 game winning streak - a season that saw them fall in the Eastern Conference Finals in 6 games to the Bulls. He liked Patrick Ewing on the court, but not as much off. His favorite player was John Starks - "just seemed like a regular guy. He went from bagging groceries to playing the NBA,  easy guy to like," he recalled. Starks hit 4 three-pointers that night scoring 22 points after suffering a broken nose in the first 2 minutes of the game only to return early in the 2nd quarter with a facemask. Starks said after the game, "It didn't hinder my play at all. In fact, I think it enhanced my play." Easy guy to like is right.

When Zach watched the games at home, he'd take notes on the Knicks and their opponents - his first scouting reports. Those scouting reports reached the desk of then Knicks Head Coach and Hall of Famer Pat Riley. On February 1st, 1994 - before the Knicks dismantled the Celtics by 35 points - a family friend had arranged for Zach and his parents (his Dad has matured into a casual sports fan and his mom likes it because her son does) - to meet 'Riles'. This wasn't a simple "hi, nice to meet you" - it turned into 30 minutes in the coach's office, talking hoops and of course Zach brought his journal. Riley turned to one of the pages that featured a scouting report on his team and signed it for the 9-year old kid. He was introduced to then Assistant Coach Jeff Van Gundy who was made aware of the Knicks undefeated record with Zach in attendance. The former Knicks and Rockets Head Coach and current TV analyst on ABC/ESPN said "Zach, I think we need to take you on the road with us."

Zach (or Z-Bo as I call him after former Knick Zach Randolph - the two Zach's have zero in common) doesn't keep a journal anymore - but he stomached a few fourth quarter collapses from his team this season which was always the topic of our discussions over the Winter.

The same year that Z-Bo sat in Pat Riley's office, he took a seat for the first time in Yankee Stadium - August, 1994 - the week the sport went on strike. His got hooked on baseball and specifically the Yankees in 1996 with his team's first of three titles in the '90s. Growing up, Zach would go to a few games a year with his dad who remembers the gut-wrenching feeling of watching Bill Mazeroski's World Series winning home run in Game 7 of the 1960 Fall Classic. They'd get to the park an hour early for batting practice - and now they mostly watch the games together at home. He spends a lot of time with his parents - "They're not intrusive - just normal," he told me. That relationship is one of the reasons why when it came to applying to college, NYU was the only application he mailed.

After graduating from Friends Seminary in New York City with a class of 62 - he was ready to live in the dorms and have the college experience while staying close to home. He co-hosted "Cheap Seats" - a sports talk show on NYU's student radio station - and his ultimate goal is to get back into broadcast journalism. He graduated with high honors in December, 2006 with a 3.7 GPA and after a few months of enjoying not having to go to class or the dining hall - he landed a paid internship with MLB.com and has been here since.

As part of the Fantasy Baseball team in the office - he is constantly doing research for the Fantasy 411, updating the blog, and dispensing advice to baseball fans across the world (he plays in 4 leagues - 1 has been going since sophomore year in high school). He predicts a Red Sox/Dodgers World Series in 2009 with Boston getting another ring - but the hesitation in his voice is obvious considering the events of the past 10 days in LA and the fact that he's a fan of the Pinstripes.

Major League Baseball began handing out the AL and NL Manager of the Year Award in 1983.  From Lasorda to LaRussa, Sparky to Dusty, Whitey to Zimmer - the best on the bench have been recognized for their contributions over a single season.  2 years before MLB started this tradition, 2 managers started their careers on exactly the same day - my parents.  With both of them turning 60 in a span of 10 days - Dad last Thursday, Mom on Saturday - and with their 35^th wedding anniversary on the same day Heath Bell turns 32 and Ken Macha reaches 59 - it's time that these two managers of my life picked up their award.

I could read a box score before Cat in the Hat.  I learned how to dribble a basketball before my ABC's - ok, that's an exaggeration - but the point is, my parents let me follow my passion from day 1.    Grades always came first - as did please and thank you, and Mr. and Mrs. - which all led to me never doubting my parents judgment and decision making as I witnessed first-hand how they treated others and how others treated them in return.  To say I'm fortunate would be like saying Albert Pujols is a decent ballplayer - it's an extreme understatement.  Since this is blog is hosted in the MLBlogs community - let me take you to the little league fields, the basketball court, the hockey rink, and to Thanksgiving Day football field.

I'll start at Old York Road Hockey Rink because that's the quickest story of them all.  I was 5, my brother Max was 8 - and it was time for our first ice skating lesson.  45 seconds into the lesson, I determined this would be my last and that was that.  My feet were freezing.  We weren't moving yet, but I didn't care to stand on the ice anymore.  All I wanted to do was go home and take off the 6 pairs of sox I was wearing.   It was a fight my parents were not going to win.  Of course I should have listened as they suggested that I stay, but my mind was made up.  I regret that decision to this day as I didn't put on skates again until last winter in Central Park.  They were right - "once you get moving, you'll be fine."

Starting in 2^nd grade, my dad on the bench coaching my basketball team.  He was on the bench for 5 of the 6 championships (1^st title came in 1^st grade playing for the Bucks - didn't miss a foul shot all year, and even jumped center once) - including a 3-peat.  I was always in the backcourt with my best friend growing up with his dad next to mine as the coaches.  My mom never missed a game or a moment to cheer.  There was never a doubt whose voice was above the rest when our team scored a basket, blocked a shot or won a game - but Mom also cheered for the other team when one of my friends contributed.  I used to wonder why she clapped for an opponents' success, but I came to understand that despite it being a competition, it was all just a game in the end, and as much as she wanted my team to win, she never wanted to see someone that upset over a loss, and neither did I.  Neither one of them ever raised their voice at me during the game - but my dad and I did both get technical fouls on the same play during high school.  I went to the basket when my defender stuck his knee out to try to force me to lose my balance - he didn't - I scored and called out "get him off me!" after the whistle blew for the And-1 situation.  Another whistle quickly followed with the ref giving me a T and Dad popped off the bench, his chair hit the floor, and without swearing at the official, he made it clear that the official better get his act together before someone gets hurt.  That's when I somehow heard the third whistle over my mom not yelling, but just raising her voice enough so that the man in stripes understood what he was in for.  They always had my back, and still do.

Thanksgiving day football game at Rydal Elementary School in 1999 produced a short, but classic story.  After counting 5-Mississippi, I rushed the passer and his left elbow came through and hit me square in the front teeth.  If Mom found out anything happened to her baby, that would likely mean no turkey for dad.  And holding out the turkey on Dad isn't a smart idea.  My front right tooth was slightly chipped in the middle and a doctor suggested that when we get home to take a nail file and smooth it out - and that's just what we did.  Mom was walking the dog when we got home, so we hustled upstairs, got her nail file, stood in my bedroom and dad filed my tooth.  Problem solved.  Well, until right now when my mother reads this. 

I started going to my Dad's softball games when I was 3.  At the time he wore the number 4 - but not for very long.  He played in a modified fastpitch league with a doubleheader every Sunday morning and still plays once a week wearing the number 29 for their wedding date.  The games were a family outing.  Mom was always willing to have a catch while Dad took batting practice - and of course Mom had snacks for the entire team of grown adults.  Those guys were my Sunday family and now, just like Dad, I pitch in the same type of doubleheader league every Sunday in New York.  Aside from those games - we spent lots of time down at Veterans Stadium - especially on fireworks nights in July.  My father grew up in Pittsburgh - a lifelong Pirates fan who was at Forbes Field for Bill Mazeroski's World Series winning home run in 1960 and who has the physical box number hanging at home from his seats at the stadium.  Some of the first stories I remember him telling me were those of Roberto Clemente - the ballplayer and the man.  Mom finds it incredible that Dad remembers details from the 1959 All-Star Game in Pittsburgh, but not what she wore yesterday - but I understand.  My parents never pushed me towards playing baseball, or any sport, but always supported me when I showed the interest.  Mom would put on her glove after dinner and roll me grounders in the yard with the bug zapper working overtime - and although she used to say "I know I'm not as fun to do this with as your father" - I never saw it that way. 

My parents deserve the manager of the year award every season - all 4 seasons - and for many more seasons to come.  Happy Birthday.

____

"Men are respectable only as they respect" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of the best parts of being involved with sports is getting to know the players that most people just see from the stands or on TV.  I've been fortunate to have spent time in big league clubhouses during a World Series celebration, a World Series disappointment, an NBA Finals celebration and All-Star Games - but some of the best stories come from catching up with the guys in the minors before they've tasted the big league clubhouse spread.

Paul Maholm:  The Pirates lefty was pitching for AA-Altoona in 2005 when we sat down in the dugout in Reading.  Maholm was the Buccos 1^st round pick in 2003 - 8^th overall - sandwiched between Nick Markakis and John Danks (not terrible company).  The first time I saw him pitch, I thought his stuff was good enough for the majors, but it was his composure and toughness that made me think he could be a very good #2 guy in the rotation.  When we caught up that day - first game of a weekend series - I was sold on the guy.  He was 23 - got married in the offseason - just 6 months after almost losing his life.  In May, 2004 when pitching in A-ball - Maholm took a line drive from Casey Rogowski to the left side of his face.  He laid motionless for 15 minutes after suffering a broken orbital bone around his left eye, shattered nose and sinus.  The doctors told him he was very lucky to still have his eye sight and his life.  3 months later, he was back on the mound. 

He made his big league debut later that summer, on August 30th, 2005 in Milwaukee.  A day earlier, Hurricane Katrina tore through the Gulf Coast including Biloxi, Mississippi where Maholm and his wife had bought a home.  His home was spared - the rest of the area wasn't.  Far from the ideal conditions to make your Major League debut, but you would never have known the circumstances.  His line: 8ip - 4H - 0R - 3BB - 5K - 108 pitches, 70 strikes.  Pirates won 6-0.

Jeff Keppinger: Keppinger hit .383, .365, and .389 over his three years at the University of Georgia.  That final season he also delivered 18 home runs and 73 RBI.  As he told me in 2004 - "I've hit at every level, I just need my shot."  He was tearing up the Eastern League that summer when he was traded from the Pirates to the Mets as part of the Kris Benson deal.  He wasn't known as the most friendly guy to be around, but I found my experience to be the opposite from what I had been told to expect.  The guy was the kind of player everyone should want on their team - the guy who wasn't going to get outworked - the guy who wasn't going to be told that he couldn't do something.  Kepp got his shot with the Mets that August and went on to have 7 multi-hit games that September.  He has worn uniforms for the Mets, Royals, Reds, and Astros and he held true to his words that he could hit at every level - a career .290 hitter in the majors.  I laughed out loud when the Reds dealt him for a player to be named later.  My first thought was that I bet Keppinger was insulted.  My second thought was that the Reds were going to regret the move.  If you're in search of a guy to root for that doesn't live in the spotlight, Jeff Keppinger's your guy.

Jonathan Papelbon: The Portland Sea Dogs won the Eastern League's Northern Division in 2005.  On the mound: Papelbon, Lester, Charlie Zink, Kason Gabbard, David Pauley, Manny Delcarmen / At the plate: Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez, Brandon Moss, David Murphy.  When I asked Pap that summer about the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry and if they felt it in the minors - he started smiling and the story came out.  While pitching in the New York Penn League in 2003 for the Lowell Spinners, there was a pregame cow milking contest on the field.  (Any promotion you could possibly think of takes place in the minors - I finished 2^nd in the finals of the Bucca Di Beppo spaghetti eating race - there are photos and video that will not be released, but I did have my napkin on my lap before running around the bases and having to eat a meatball the size of a softball).  Anyway - back to cow milking.  The team was asked if anyone knew how to milk a cow and it was assumed that Papelbon did since he was from Mississippi.  He said he acted like he grew up doing it before school, although he had never done this before.  When he got out on the field and stood across from his opponent - from the Staten Island Yankees - he wanted to crush him.  That's how deep the rivalry runs - to pregame cow milking contests in A-ball.

"For those who dream, there is no such word as impossible" - a quote on a card that I was given in 9^th grade that has never left my wallet.

No matter how many salads I ate for lunch, one bite of a hot dog and my body forgot that salad faster than the Cardinals got swept in the 2004 World Series.  Being a minor league broadcaster for 2 seasons right out of college had me waking up in places like Altoona, Erie, and Binghamton while my friends toured Amsterdam, London, and Paris - but I wouldn't have traded one of those hot dogs for a slice of brie followed by steak frites near the Louvre.   During a homestand, I'd go to the grocery store in Reading, Pa - pick up a salad for 18 cents a pound (kidding - but something absurdly inexpensive) - and eat it in the press box at First Energy Stadium before the guys came out for BP.  So at this point, I'm feeling good about myself - I may have even gone for a run in the morning - but after the salad, came a soda (usually a mountain due to make it to the pregame show).  That soda came with me down to the field to hang around the cage and absorb all the baseball knowledge I was blessed to be exposed to.  In 2005, our manager was Steve Swisher - Cubs All-Star catcher in 1976 - and now better known as Nick's dad.  Swish was a no-nonsense manager, but at the same time, always willing to talk - the right way to handle a rundown, which pitchers responded the best to his mound visits,  and of course he was quick to talk about Nick and the rest of his family.  His mother grew very ill that summer - Nick was very close to his grandmother - which made some folks avoid him, but it brought the two of us closer since just being there to listen truly builds a friendship.

So - the Mountain Dew is long gone and that taste was replaced by a few pieces of Double Bubble - and after hanging by the cage, doing a pregame interview with one of the players (Papelbon's cow milking rivalry story will be told another time - just remind me), catching up with a few fans and trying to explain how the pitching would improve, I headed up the steps to the Broadway Charlie Wagner Press Box (a full blog on Charlie coming this season - he was Ted Williams roommate on the road with the Red Sox).  Working in a press box is like working in a pizza shop in the sense that all you smell in a pizza shop is the pizza - all you smell in the press box is hot dogs.  Berkshire Hot Dogs are right up there with Hebrew National, but after eating at least 1 per night at every home game between the 2004 and the all-star break of 2005, I called it quits.  I went cold turkey on hot dogs.  Actually, I went grilled chicken.  And thanks to our scoreboard operations gentleman John Magala - the homemade hot pepper mustard made that chicken make me forget all about the doggies, but I still couldn't escape the smell.  I took hot dogs off my menu for almost 2 years, until Mom grilled them up (nice and burnt, the way they should be) - and who can turn down a meal from Mom. 

The days of 2 Mountain Dews plus hot dogs at the ballpark are over - which is a good thing.  This isn't to say that I don't enjoy the press meals across the country - and it's not to say that I don't miss Charlie's press box in Reading - it's just that when I go back to Reading once a summer now, I enjoy hamburgers, Manny's fries, funnel cake, and DIET Coke. 

From the Phillies 7-1 victory over the Nationals on Tuesday night - the Pedro Feliz HR call of ShronkDaddy will live all season as we honor all those close to Justin Shronk who passed away earlier this month.  http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=4345919&c_id=phi

"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability." - John Wooden