Happy Birthday

It’s almost the end of the day as this goes up on the net, but it’s important that it goes up today. Today my dad would have been 58. He never made it to his 57. He passed the day before, one year ago yesterday.

It was my dad who made me a baseball fan, and obviously, a Cardinals fan. Because he was and my grandpa (still is). I went to a lot of games with my dad. More than I can remember. Obviously the time was special. It was our time. Just me and him. My parents were divorced at an early age and I didn’t live with dad. But on those baseball nights we got to be together. Even then I knew I knew it was special. I just didn’t know it would be over so soon.

I did live with my dad for a little over a year. After I graduated college and before I got married, I lived with him and my grandpa. I’m so thankful we had that time. All three of us. I was busy and in and out, but it was the most time I probably spent with either of them. Now I wish it had been more.

Sometimes I think it isn’t fair that I only got 29 years with him. Then I remember that my three sisters got less. My youngest sister didn’t get 18 years with him.

It’s mostly unfair for my youngest daughter and my niece and any other siblings or cousins to come. They’ll never know “PawPaw Lam.” My oldest daughter remembers, but only a little. He was good at being a grandpa and I think we all would have loved to see him get to do a little more of it.

Dad was the strongest man I ever knew. He was in a major car accident at the age of 16 which cost him both of his legs. He started his own company making artificial limbs and changed countless lives over 20-plus years in the business. The accident should have killed him-ultimately it did. He contracted Hepatitis C during one of the many blood transfusions that followed his accident. That was in 1966. It stayed dormant for 35 years. He received a liver transplant in 2004 and was strong for a couple of years. The Hepatitis came back and stronger.

For my 29 years he was the greatest man I knew. He remains so. He wasn’t perfect. No one is. But he did a lot of good for a lot of people. Nobody treated people like my dad.

Although not professionally, I’d like to think I followed in his footsteps. In the way he treated people and in the example he set as a person, and my father.

I need to thank my cousin Lisa for encouraging me to write something here. Lisa was also my dad's god daughter.

We love you and miss you every day! Happy Birthday dad!

So Long for just a while. . .

Just a quick wrap on the season that was. Losing in the playoffs hurts. Really it does. When you finish the season in the regular season it doesn't feel the same way. Not that it isn't somewhat sad when any season ends, but if the club doesn't make the playoffs then the end is clear-you expect it, plan for it even. When it is the playoffs there is always hope that there is one more game, or one more series. Then there just isn't.

All that being said the final week of the regular season this year was some of the most thrilling baseball I have been a part of-mainly because of the circumstances. All year long it seemed as if the team was snake-bitten. Things would start to look up, only to have something else go wrong. So then to get a week or so away from the end of the regular season, trailing the wild card by two games and needing to reel off a good string of consecutive victories just to get a chance to go on it all seemed unlikely. Things would have to go the Grizzlies way and they'd need some breaks and it all happened. Guys stepped up and they played loose and had fun and made that run. I really had fun calling that run.

I'm not going to try to look back and analyze what went wrong, or what could have gone better. Like I said it was a thrilling run and fun to be a part of. Phil Warren and Darin Kinsolving and Randy Martz should be commended for the job they did.

There's a ton of young guys on this team and that means, at least, good competition next Spring. You know Phil and staff will be well prepared come May for another season in the sun!

Bye to Chillicothe. . .
I guess most FL fans know that Chillicothe will be leaving the league next year, which is one of a few league changes. As you probably know Chillicothe has long been one of my favorite places to go during our season. I will miss it greatly and wish everyone involved nothing but good things!

Listen up. . .
I've posted a few of the more notable highlights from this past season on the Grizzlies website. Click on the "team" tab on the left of the website. One of the choices is audio archive. A couple of Mike Breyman's highlights are up there as well as the end of the no-hitter against Kalamazoo.

Batter up. . .
Maybe you've heard. Maybe you've noticed construction near the Kid's Zone here at the ballpark, but Grizzlies manager Phil Warren and hitting coach Darin Kinsolving are getting set to open a hitting academy. The building won't be anything fancy, but the training and equipment certainly will. The Grizzlies hitting academy will open later this fall with instruction for players of all ages.

Keeping reading here this off-season. I'll try and keep everyone updated on all things Grizzlies and any news with me too!