I needed to be in the office today for some meetings, so after dropping the kids off at school I headed in. On my way in I received a call from my boss with the Diamondbacks. He was asking if I could come into the game tonight for just a little bit during the pregame. I told him that I would have to make some calls to get someone to watch the kids as Dawn was out of town all week. He said, well you have been selected as the Game Operations A Game All Star Employee of the month! I was speechless! I quickly replied with "wow, that is so awesome, I'm honored and will be there for sure". This is a very big deal and means a lot to me so I needed to do everything possible to make sure I was there. So I started making calls to make sure I had everything lined up for when I had to go. Brady had his first baseball game, so missing that would be crappy, however I will get to watch him on Thursday and next week and the week after. Getting this award is something that may never come around again. So after stressing out for about an hour I finally had it all in place. My mother in law (Donna) was going to come over at 5 to watch the girls while my father in law (Bill) took Brady to his game. Once I was done I was going to meet at Brady's game and hope to catch the last inning.
After my meetings at work I headed home so I could pick up Brady from school. I knew I had to break the news to him that I was not going to be able to make his game and figured he would not be happy. However he said "its ok dad, you cant miss getting that award. Maybe you can get a high five from Justin Upton". Bill came over about 4:15pm and I then went and picked up the girls. He said he would wait with them until Donna got there. This allowed me to leave a little bit early to make sure I was not late for my event. Off I went!
I got the ballpark about 5:45pm as I needed to be on the field by 6pm. My boss (Josh) escorted me down as I don't have field access. Once on the field he gave me my letter and then left because he had work to do. I then waited for the other winners to show up. It was awesome because I was hanging out by the dugout and all the players were coming in and out as they were warming up. A few said "hey whats up", it was cool. So once everyone was there the presentation begun. There were 8 total winners, one from each department. I won from the Game Operations department that consists of well over 150 people. We all got lined up between home plate and third base. The team President Derek Hall came out with Geoff Blum. Blum is a backup infielder who has been in the league a while. Yeah it would have been awesome to be presented by Justin Upton or another superstar, however Blum was really cool! Each person was presented with their award, took a photo with Hall and Blum and got announced and put up on the board. When the camera got to me, it was "from Game Operations, 12 year employee Bryan Campbell", yeah sounds good doesn't it! After it was all done there were lots of hand shakes and congrats going around. Even as we exited the field via the dugout, a few players said congrats. Its awesome how good of a job the organization does by getting everyone on board to acknowledge the winners! A+ organization here in Arizona! After all that was over I went back upstairs to the room I work in to say thanks again to my boss and the Director of Game Operations. It was then off to Gilbert to try and catch the end of Brady's game!
I called my father in law a few times as I was on my way to Brady's game. I just wanted to make sure that if it was almost over I didn't show up and miss them. He told me that I should be able to make the last inning. I got there and as I was walking up I saw Brady running back to the dugout. He had just grounded out to second. I did however get to see him play in the field for the last inning (short stop) and really play good. He almost got to a hard hit ball in the gap, once it was past him, he ran back over to cover second base. The runner rounded second and headed for third, Brady caught the throw back and quickly turned to throw the running out at third. It was a strike to the third baseman, they had the running by at least 5 feet. However the ball was dropped so he was safe. That's about all I got to see, however I heard he did great all night. He started at second base and then was moved to pitcher. This is the first season of kid pitch, so its new to him, however he has it down. The first batter he faced he hit in the leg. He told me he was standing to close to the plate. I told him not to worry about hitting him because as the pitcher he owns the inside of the plate. I told him you don't let the batter take that away and cant be afraid to pitch inside. I don't think that's what he was really trying to do (pitch inside) but it still sounded cool to say. So with a runner on first he went back to work and retired the next 3 hitters in order, K, K and K! Can you say mini Papelbon! It sucks I missed it but am happy my father in law got see it. He also played catcher and shortstop on the night. I head he did really good behind the plate as well! As for hitting, he only got 3 at bats and struck out twice and grounded out to second.. I know what we need to work on this week! After the game was over he came running out and gave me a hug and said "I did great tonight, but how was your thing. Did you get a high five from Upton"? I had to tell him I didn't, but did get to see him and say hi. That was just as cool to him!
I finally made it home about 7:45pm and was very tired. Charlotte was still awake, and this made me very happy because I love putter her to bed. I think she loves me putting her to bed as well. Every night when I pick her up and head down the hallway she knows and puts her head on my shoulder. Right before we get to her crib she will pop up her head and give me a kiss! So awesome! Lily and Brady where both in bed by 8:30pm. This gave me some quiet time to just relax and sure enough I did by falling asleep on the couch!
So that was the highlights of my day. Yeah I know there is really nothing on my diet or exercise however I just couldn't resist writing something about my day. See below for my daily recap.
Daily Recap:
- Breakfast: Nuti Gran Bar & Water
- Morning Snack: Balance Bar
- Lunch: Left over spaghetti
- Afternoon Snack: Yogurt Cup
- Dinner: Salad (homemade)
- Desert: Popcorn with the kids
- Exercise: none
- Weight: n/a
- Grade: B-
AWESOME! I love your "blog story" today and I love your award! Congrats, you deserve this :)
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