What could have been?....Nah!!!

Funny how I said in my last post that I was going to make a separate post about the baseball game we went to, and here it is a week later and I'm just now getting around to it...

Anyway, like I said, we went up to Mesa to go to a Diamondbacks -vs- Reds game. The reason we had to go for this game is because one of Garrick's old teammates and friend from his Lobo days, Danny Ray Herrera (we call him D-ray), just made it up to the majors and is now pitching for the Reds! So we went up to Mesa and Jan and Flint (Garrick's aunt and uncle) are totally awesome (and way too nice) and they offered to watch the girls so we could actually enjoy the game. So off we went with Bryna and Tyler to go watch some good 'ol baseball. We (okay... I) kinda felt special going up to roll call and telling them that we had tickets for us from one of the players. haha, yes, I'm a nerd. Anyway, he hooked us up with some great tickets (normally $50 each) that were right behind the 1st base dugout. Have I ever mentioned how much I love baseball, or more specifically going to baseball games? I just love the whole atmosphere...the green field, shelling and eating peanuts, drinking soda and just watching some baseball! (I'm pretty sure I inherited it from my Dad) ;) Anyway, the game wasn't too great, the D-backs got hammered pretty bad--but I guess that's good for D-ray, right? The whole game we were just wishing and wanting the Red's starting pitcher to come out, because D-ray is a reliever (which means he comes in after the starting pitcher and before the closing pitcher) and we were just hoping he would get a chance while we were there. Well the 7th inning stretch came around and we figured we would walk over to the bullpen and try and peek over and see if we could see him in there. As soon as we looked over we saw D-ray pop up and start shaking out his shoulder, then start warming up. We were totally stoked and after I snapped a few pictures of him, we went back to our seats so that we could see him pitch. He got in the game, and I must say, it was pretty surreal to see little Danny Ray Herrera out on the mound at Chase field, pitching in the majors. Seriously...pretty amazing. After the game we went down to the field to say hi and talked for a little while. Then Garrick and I picked him up and we went to the Cheesecake Factory for a late dinner. It was really cool to get to talk to him and catch up on life and on other old teammates from the Lobos and also hear all about life in the MLB--from what it's like to pitch to Derek Jeeter to how unreal it is that he is now making $22,000 every two weeks. Yeah, you think that sounds like a lot, but funny that the catcher on the team was making fun of him telling him that his check was going to fly away because it was so light (the catcher's check is $440,000 every 2 weeks!). Despite the incredible success he's been having, D-Ray is still as modest and cool as ever. He's incredibly talented and we hope he has continued success in the majors, GO D-Ray!!!

Tyler, Bryna, Me and Garrick at the game

D-Ray warming up in the bullpen

Watching him actually pitching at Chase field! (unreal!)

Lobo Baseball Alum

So, you wanna know what the best part of the night was? Garrick and I are driving back to Jan and Flint's house talking about how unreal it is that D-ray is literally living every little boy's dream, and then Garrick somehow manages to switch gears to how lucky HE is and and what a great life we have. Let's be honest here, I would think it would be quite easy to see an old teammate who has reached such success in their sport and start to get a little jealous or start playing the "what if" game. Like, what if Garrick hadn't gone on a mission straight out of high school but rather taken up the scouts on their offers to draft him and see how far he could have gone in his "baseball prime"? But nope, Garrick is really and truly content with his decisions. For those of you who are not that familiar with Garrick, he's not one to sugar-coat things....at all. So, that's why that was the best part of the night, I know it was true what he was saying. I just love him and I am so grateful that he made the decision early on in his life to prioritize the truly important things in life. He's an incredible husband and father and we are lucky to have him!!!