Another Chance Ranch

My Friend, Zero

I have had a hard time finding photos of Z online, and I know, I should have taken a photo of him myself, but I was busy talking to him.  Maybe next time I will have someone take a photo of us together.   He called today to tell me about his new office, and to invite us back down there to watch his team play.  I am seriously thinking about heading back down there to see his guys play.  I just have to talk McD into it.  This is the guy that we hung out with at Spring Training.  He is the one that got me band-aids out of the KC Royals training room.

Hmm, what is it with me and bald men?  Click here to learn more about Z and his career, as you can see he was inducted into the Oklahoma Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. 

Hopefully one day I will be able to return to AZ to see him and his guys play again. 

The Hugger

The Hugger!  aka McAlvain.

As we were walking out of the Royals practice fields I saw this man walking in.  He was wearing a shirt from my hometown and I said something about it.  He asked me where I was from and I told him the same place.  He had to ask who I was, who my parents were, etc and I had to ask if he was Brad & Brian's Dad.  He was.  So as we were walking off I told him I would see him later and he said, "Well, I'll give ya a hug!"  And he did.  McD and the rest of the gang just laughed and ribbed me about it for the rest of the day.  It was funny because everywhere we looked, there he was.  He was there with the baseball team from the college in my old hometown.  The team always goes to Phoenix to play in a tournament and then goes to see Z (or Zero) before they leave.  We just happened to see them there. 

This looks like fun to me, except you can't really see the game from there.  I guess it looks nice now because the seats were so cotton-pickin hot!  But we sat there and after a while we didn't notice anymore.  But the lawn sure looked comfy.  The grass was just awesome.  We hadn't seen green grass in a long time, it was beautiful.  Then we got home and everything was green!  YEAH!

I did enjoy the games, that is why there aren't many photos.  Oh well!  I figured out how to use the video portion of my spy camera, but I can't figure out how to get them on here.  So if you have any ideas, please let me know.  Thanks!

Hats

Hat #1 - the red one there with rhinestones. 

Hats #2 & #3:  The couple there with their cap and sunvisor sideways.  They were protecting their faces from the sun.  Really.  But they could have just got hats like the lady behind them.  :)

A great way to keep a hat on is too use a barrette.  When going to a baseball game it is always best to wear a barrette that coincides with your teams colors.  :)  She was a Rangers fan.  But lookie here, see the sunhat with the green ribbon on it?  That is a man wearing that hat.  I think he is confused.  I like the way the ribbon comes down next to his face so he can tie it under his chin. 

And now, The Donald look-alike.  He is there in the right corner with the black glasses.  He was fast, everytime he would turn so I could get a photo of his face, he would turn.  He was married to an asian lady who never sat in her seat.  She was up and down and up and down.  Oh she was annoying!  But if she is married to the second Donald, I guess she can be.

The hugger will be revealed tomorrow.

I Spy

Before (early afternoon):

I don't know if you can click it to big it here or not, but can you see the guys all in a row without their shirts?
Well, some of them wised up and put their shirts on, one wasn't so wise.  In the first photo there is also "The Hugger."  If you click it to big it, see if you can pick out the man that wanted to and did hug me. 

Then the infamous BeerMan was there in all his glory.  An interesting or useless fact about our visit to the ball park was that when they give you a beer it is in a plastic bottle and they take the lid off for you and keep it.  Yep, they keep your lids.  Even if you order a water, they take your lid.  It was strange.

Then there was the Donald Trump look alike, but he and the various hats will be tomorrow.

Scottsdale, AZ Here I Come

In March, McD has another business meeting.  Fortunately, when I interviewed for my job I told them that we already had this planned and they were kind enough to say it was okay.  I love going to AZ.  I love it!  Especially in March!  Why?  It is time for baseball!  I heart BASEBALL! 

Last time we went to Phoenix.  We rented a car, McD went to the meetings and I went to several ballgames, practices, etc.  I went all by my lonesome last time.  This time I have a friend to tag along.  She asked me to plan what we were going to be doing on our trip.  I giggled under my breath, thinking she didn't know what she was in for.

This time we are going here.  We might even order an Elaine Benes Big Salad.  I definately will not be ordering the "Big Unit" hot dog.  Check it out! 

We will also be going to the Kansas City Royals training camp.  I went there last year and had a blast.   You can read about it here.  If you have been reading for a while then you might remember the story about the HOT Cop.  Well, he was at the Royals camp.  Wonder if we will run into him again.  Well, McD is going to be with me this time.  The first day of our trip the guys have a free day.  We are all going to go to the Royals camp to see if I can see my friend's dad, Z or Zero whichever you want to call him.  He is a coach for the Royals farm team.  So, if the hot cop is there McD can make sure I am not flirting.  HA!  I told McD that I needed to take a photo of the hot cop so I could share it with all my blogging friends.  He didn't like that idea.  I say we leave it up to you guys.  If you would like to see a photo of the HOT Cop leave a comment and let me know.  I will share all the comments with McD.  :)  The guy probably won't even be there now, either that or he will be all fat and have hair.  EWW!  heehee

The next day my friend and I have the day to ourselves.  We will be going to the Texas Ranger training camp that day.  And who knows, we might even go to another one.  We will have the whole day.  I don't know if we are going to stay for a game or not, because she isn't as big a fan as I am. 

I hope to have lots and lots of stories for ya.  In fact, I hope to have lots of photos to go with the stories.  I am not near as brave as Ree is.  She will take her great big camera anywhere and take photos of everything.   I don't want to draw too much attention to myself so I will probably invest in a small ELPH like camera for my Spy Cam.  I will have my big camera with me as well, but like in this restaurant, I don't want to be lugging my camera around.  It is a little fancy, smanchy for that.  But then again, Ree did take her's to the Gala!

That is my trip in a nutshell.  Baseball, baseball, rock n' roll and more baseball.  Oh yea, I guess I do have to go to the dinners at the meeting.  I guess we have to take the good with the bad.

Hot Hot HOT

I am not talking about the weather here.

While in Surprise, AZ for MLB Spring Training I went to several games. I watched the minor league as well as major league games. Most of the time I was by myself. On the last day of our trip I took McD with me. I introduced him to Z (friends Dad that is on the KC Royals coaching staff - see More Baseball. And he was with me when I saw THE COP. (Mentioned in the More Baseball post.)

While watching the Royals and Cubs warming up I noticed a cop walking around down around the dugouts. I was sitting on the first row with my feet resting on the Cubs' dugout. The cop was very nice looking. I have a thing for bald headed guys. He was bald, tan (how can you not be tan in AZ) and built. I didn't pay any more attention to him because the game started and I was a baseball fan with a camera.

When Z called me to tell me he had my autographed George Brett baseball, he asked me to meet him at the Post Office there in Surprise. Not. A. Problem.

When I called and reserved a car from whatever rental place I used, I told them I wanted an SUV or a Jeep. I got an Outback. Okay, ewww! Now for those of you that have an Outback - God love ya and thanks for reading - but that is just not what I had in mind. (Oldest Step-son has one and they love it by the way.) It just wasn't cool enough for me to be taking to all the games. It is a little station wagon. Is it not? (I was just lucky the name of the rental place was not plastered all over the car!! Pioneer Woman and Marlboro Man had that experience.)

So there I sit in my maroon Outback. Waiting for Z and my baseball. McDreamy is in the passenger seat. We were not sitting there two minutes when a cop car pulls in. I didn't think anything of it. Until I saw...THE HOT COP! And HE noticed me. Yes. I checked him out with McD sitting right there. What is even worse. I told McD just how HOT that cop was. I didn't mean to tell him, it just slipped out. (I still haven't lived that one down.)

The cop left the PO parking lot but in a couple of minutes he was back. He flew in the parking lot, turned the corner and almost came to a stop behind my beautiful Outback. I was grinning from ear to ear, trying not to laugh. McD said I was flirting. Maybe I was. But he was HOT! It wasn't like I was hiding anything from McD. We decided that he was probably taking down my license plate. Thank goodness! Now he will know it was just a rental!!! Finally, he was leaving. He smiled, and believe me it was a nice smile. I smiled. (I felt like a school girl.) He waved. I waved. And he was gone.

Now, he saw McD sitting in the passenger seat. He had to have thought he was my Dad. McD is 14 years older than me. He has a bald head (we keep it cut super short) and the little bit of hair left is white. So, yea, people have called him my Dad. That is just another ongoing joke. Kind of like me and the HOT cop.

Next year we are headed back to Phoenix. And I am going back to the ball games!!!

More Baseball (Sorry it is a long one)

George. Brett.
Two words that can really get my attention. Sad. I know. But he has been one of my favorites since I was a kid. I have seen him in person three times. Count 'em...one - two - three. Well, it sounds better than it actually was.

The first time was in the LAX airport (Los Angeles, CA). This is back when the teams all flew together. The whole KC Royals team was walking pretty much single file through the airport, all dressed in suits. I noticed them. I took off after them. My Uncle was right behind me. I don't really know what I thought I would do once I caught them. I didn't get an autograph or anything.

Then the time came for him to retire. I had watched him play on television but not in person. So I called a friend and said I HAVE to go to a game before he retires. And that is what we did. We borrowed by Dad's little Toyota pick-up because it got better gas mileage than mine - and headed to KC. The pick-up did not have an air-conditioner or a radio. We sang "The Bunny Song" most of the way. People that saw us probably thought we were idiots - but we had fun. I saw George play - and was happy.

The last time I saw him was in Surprise, AZ during Spring Training. McDreamy's job requires him to attend different meetings throughout the year. This time it just so happened to be in Phoenix, AZ. I went to school with a guy whose father was the local junior college baseball coach. He was known as "the best." He retired from that and went to work for the KC Royals. He is part of the coaching staff there in Surprise. As soon as I heard we were headed to AZ, I was on the phone trying to get ahold of my good ol' high school friend. To make what could be a long story shorter - I got ahold of Z (the coach) and he hooked me up!

McD had to be in meetings all day so every morning I would pack my backpack. Oh I had a ton of baseballs and water and snacks, etc. Had to be prepared!! Then I would head for the ballparks. I saw a ton of teams. But I was really only there for George Brett.

Z showed me around. Introduced me to a couple of coaches and players. Then when I walked back toward the locker room with him the team he was having bp with was following behind us. It was so much fun! I asked him if he could hook me up with an autographed ball from George and he said he would try. I know this is getting long but this is the best part.

There are places where you can stand and hope that they will come over and sign stuff. Yes, I was one of the crazy fans there. Ball in hand. But I am not the kind of person that would yell or holler or scream at the players. I just stand there trying to look normal. LOL. So George walks by and all of these people are yelling at him. I am just in awe. I don't think my jaw dropped but it might have a little. Then he walked within my reach. I just stood there. In awe! I could see directly in his eyes. I could see every wrinkle on his face (oh and he has them). He was soooo tan. But all I could do was stand there. He told everyone that he couldn't sign right now but maybe later. Then he went into the dugout. The game was about to start and everyone left - but me. I just stood there. If it was just me maybe he would come out and sign. No. But he did turn around and see the dork (me) standing there all by herself. He smiled. I smiled. And that was it.

We were headed to the airport when Z finally called me. He wanted to know where I was because he had something for me. While George was on the treadmill he asked him to do him a favor and sign this ball for a friend of his. George said okay. Z left it sitting on the table with a Sharpie and headed out to his game. When I saw Z he said that George must have forgotten to sign the ball because it was still on the table when he went back. But - apparently George remembered because later when Z got to his locker there it was! George had forgotten, so he went in - got a different ball and used his own pen to sign my ball. I whipped a Uie and met Z at the post office (it was the closest). That is where I saw the HOTTIE cop!!! (Oh that is another story!!)

So I have it! My very own George Brett autographed baseball. To get it someone will have to pry it from my cold dead hand. LOL (Or offer me lots and lots of money!!! I could probably get another one!)

I love Baseball!!!

Back in 1992, our newlywed stage of life, McD asked me what I wanted to do for the weekend. I wanted to go to a Texas Rangers game in Arlington, Texas. At the time we lived 5 hours away and I didn't think there was any chance that we would go. But to my surprise, he said yes! So I got on the phone. Purchased tickets. Reserved a hotel room. And then most importantly I called my parents to tell them we were headed out. (Long story there - will leave for another time.)

We left the house and drove like maniacs to get there in time for the game. When we arrived, we were to go to the will call window to pick up our tickets. On our way there a nice gentleman approached us. A friend had given him some tickets so he would not be needing his usual seats. Would we like to use his tickets? Well, yeah! We thanked him for the tickets and then found the nearest usher to ask just exactly where the seats were. The usher told us they were great seats. Right off of first base. WOW!!! We thought that was the best thing that would happen that whole trip.

But.... Then....

They started announcing the line up for the Rangers. All of the fans were applauding for each player. Then they announced the pitcher. Nolan Ryan! Nolan. Ryan. The whole stadium stood up and cheered. The whole stadium except for McD and I. We were in total shock. Our jaws hit the cement. We had no clue Nolan was pitching! After the initial shock wore off we were standing and cheering with the rest of the crowd.

Not only was one of the best pitchers pitching, we were sitting close enough to actually see him. It was one of the best baseball games we ever went to.