I have yet to blog about anything that isn't running related so this will be a first. You might be wondering "baseball?! what's that all about?" Most people unless you are a family member or close friend, just think of me as crazy runner Amy but really I am crazy baseball Amy at least for most of my life. Baseball is truly my first passion in life. I loved it from the second I first held a ball in my hand which was probably the day I was born. My dad is known by most people as Mr. Baseball. He has played his whole life and he was good, and I mean really good. He was all American in high school, recruited for the majors but went to St. Joe's University on baseball scholarship instead where apparently he discovered beer and that's why he didn't end up playing baseball for a living ;-) After college he did play semi-pro in cape cod and the Pendel League. In more recent history we were honored to watch him be inducted into the Hall of Fame at his high school and college. Two of the years that he played at St. Joe's University were the only two years they have ever won a baseball title, no small accomplishment.
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Game 5 of the 2008 World Series. A night I will never forget! |
As a little girl I went and watched him play and then eventually he transitioned over to being my coach. He coached Cindy and I at all different levels of little league, ASA and high school softball. He has an excellent knowledge of the game and is great at sharing this knowledge with his players. I'm not just saying this because I'm his daughter. Most of the teams he coached were extremely successfull including my sister's little league team who came in second at the Little League World Series. People were still begging for him to coach after Cindy and I were done playing. Cindy and I also always received compliments from other coaches and spectators of our games about how much we knew the game and truly understood the fundamentals. A true testament to our dad. Sometimes when you have a parent who is so into a sport and wants you to love that sport as much as they do, kids can end up hating it. But that was never the case for us. Cindy and I have always LOVED baseball and I know we always will. I have clear memories of not only attending many Phillies games with my family, as my dad of course is a long time season ticket holder, but also watching night after night on tv even when they were at their worst. We watched no matter what. And the years I was not old enough to stay up until the end of the games, I would listen to Harry and Richie on the radio as I fell asleep. Even as an adult there are many nights I have the game on tv. And now the Spiecker baseball gene has trickled down to the next generation. Niko not only loves to play but has become an avid Phillies phan as well. He loves to sit, watch the games and talk baseball. He knows all about counts, different pitches and positions. He even requests to listen to the game on the radio in the car and knows what's going on! It's awesome and I love it!
Now with that background, I can move on to the purpose of my post. This past Christmas my dad gave myself, Cindy and my mom the gift of attending
Baseball 101. I didn't really know what that was when he said that's what he got us. As it turns out it's a women only event hosted by the Phillies at Citizen's Bank Park. I wasn't sure what to expect going into it but anything that involves spending the day at the ballpark followed by a pre-game party with food and beer followed by the game is a great day to me.
The three of us arrived to Citizen's Bank Park before the start time of 9:50. We were greeted excitedly by some ball girls, given the tickets to that night's game and directed to the Diamond Club where a continental breakfast awaited us. Scott Palmer was our host for the day. After his warm welcome we were split into teams, we were Team Asche, and we went to various sessions. Our first session was with the clubhouse manager, second was with the strength & conditioning coach followed by the team chef. All three sessions were very upbeat, super informative and fun. They were more than willing to share lots of information with us even some personal info about players and routines. We really got a great sense of what a typical day at the ballpark is like for the players and staff. On a side note, everyone was also very eager to talk about the Chase Utley trade that had just happened the week before. It was so nice to hear their personal stories about him and that he truly was the great guy we all thought he was. Yes, it's no secret I love Chase, but who doesn't?!!?!
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a player locker, he bought an Utley jersey and had him autograph it before he left |
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strength and conditioning coach |
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Where the players eat. My kinda place! |
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the team cook |