Our Search for Sammy Sosa Continues...
It was with much anticipation that our 3 boys traveled to Peoria Sports Complex to see their first Spring Training Game of the year... The Padres vs. The Texas Rangers. Our ten year old had recently spent some of his birthday money on a real MLB baseball, in the hopes of getting it autographed by Sammy Sosa. It was one of those rare occasions when there was complete peace in the backseat. Not a single, "Are we there yet?" was uttered. It was truly a pleasant ride, with 3 Little Leaguers about to see some of the stars on their tradings cards come to life, and you could just feel the buzz of excitement bouncing off them.
The Peoria Sports Complex is an amazing place. In the heart of the Arrowhead section of Glendale, it is fairly new and surrounded by pretty much every big restaurant name you can think of. The Cheescake Factory, The Elephant Bar, P.F. Changs, and on and on. It's a bustling area, and you realize when going to one of these games, that the restaurants didn't spring up there accidentally. The business they do in March alone during the Spring Training Season must be staggering.
We arrived about an hour before the game and got a great parking spot. Keep in mind this was on a week day, and on the weekends, the games are quite a bit more crowded. After purchasing our tickets and taking a quick trip through the souvenir shop, we made our way to the catwalk, where children and adults line up along a fence to catch a glimpse of the players as they walk onto the field, sometimes stopping to sign an autograph.
We had been there 5 minutes when a rumour began to pass from fan to fan.... Sammy Sosa didn't get off the bus today. No Sammy today. Sammy has the day off.
I'd never considered that in all my planning. Luckily for us, Ron Washington, coach of the Rangers stopped to sign an autograph for the boys, and he said we might be able to catch a glimpse of Sammy if we headed out to a practice in Surprise at the Ranger's Spring Training Facility one day. We did that the following week while the boys were on Spring Break. It was an amazing experience! Sammy was very kind, and signed for all the kids that were there watching him. My 10 year old summed it up best when he said, "Sometimes dreams do come true!"