http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content...ach/marlins/ind

 

Spending time with your son at the ballpark

I am celebrating Father's Day early because I'm on the road next week. As a dad, let me tell you: My son has never had it this good. My daughter is only 8, and she is not allowed in the clubhouse because she's a girl, so she misses out. But as long as I bring her a slushy, I'm OK. My 10-year-old, Alex, is lucky.

 

The Marlins, like some but not all teams, have a wonderful kids policy. They say Jack McKeon is "old school" but not when it comes to kids. In his eyes, the kids have free reign in the clubhouse. Jack knows how important family is to players today. He knows how much time we have to spend at the park. In many ways, baseball is our job, but in more ways, baseball is our life. Jack is gracious enough to let the kids be part of the clubhouse life.

 

But we know that this is a privilege; if it's abused, it's taken away. There are horror stories about kids in the clubhouses when they're not supposed to be there. We have to have time to prepare mentally for that night. So about 45 minutes before the game, the kids get rounded up, get their snacks and it's off to the family room. Then if we win, most of the time the kids come filing in. It's cool to have your kid jump in your arms when you got the game-winning hit and he asked you if you won the game.

 

Alex's day starts at 2 p.m. The Marlins gave him his own locker. He gets dressed in his uniform, and it's off to the batting cage where he meets his buddies ? the other kids on the team that year. That's where he learns that he's got to play well with others. "The rat pack" meets every day in the cage to figure out what they're going to do that day. They're taught that the players have the right to kick them out of the batting cages at any time even if it's the "bottom of the ninth" in their big game. After they finish, they stretch with us, then go get loose for a game of 500 (where kids earn points shagging fly balls in the outfield. The first to 500 wins).

 

There they are taught the strong survive, and if you're not the strongest, you had better be the fastest. They know that the outfielders have to get their work in, like fly balls or ground balls to work on cutoffs. So they stay out of the way.

 

It's hard for me not to sit him down and tell him how unbelievably lucky he is and how thankful I am that I get to spend time with him this way, but I'd be messing up the big game of 500 and I don't want to do that. Then after batting practice, the visiting team hits, and we have to go meet his favorite players. This week, it was Ichiro Suzuki. I'm always hesitant to introduce Alex to guys ? I don't want to bother them or their routines ? but every player is more than happy to stop in between hitting groups and say hello. As a dad, I take full advantage of the opportunity I get to introduce him to everybody he wants to meet. There's something about sluggers and kids. After Alex says hi, he gives me the blow-by-blow of how it went and if he got an autograph.

 

Alex, like all the other kids, has his favorite players, and rest assured I'm not in his top 10. But that's OK, I'm just dad.

 

 

 

The blog is great. Look at the comments he received for the previous article. :lol

That's very cool and yes that is one lucky kid.