Bryce,
There is a 99% chance you don’t remember what I am about to write
about, but I wanted to type you a quick letter just to let you know how much I
appreciate what you did for my daughter the first night of your rehab
assignment with the Potomac Nationals. To give a little back-story, I took my
two daughters to a PNats game last year in hopes that they would become
baseball fans. It didn't click with my oldest, but my nine year old, Abbie is
hooked…. so much so, that we have become PNats season ticket holders. This has
been an incredible year for her as she has had the opportunity to “meet” all
the rehabbing players that have come through. She was excited for each and
every one, but her excitement to possibly meet you was on a different level. I
had to talk her out of going to the stadium at 8:00 in the morning to wait for
you to arrive at the stadium for the day. That is not an exaggeration.
As season ticket holders we get in to the stadium 15 minutes
early, so she got in and literally ran to get a good position in hopes of
getting your autograph. When you came out you signed for fans in a different
section. She was disappointed, but she understands
that you can’t sign for everyone and she knew there would still be another
opportunity after the game. Did I mention that her favorite thing in the world
is getting autographs?
You were batting second in the lineup, so we had a big
decision to make in the first inning; Do we watch you bat or do we go outside
the stadium and hope you hit a foul ball that makes it out? Abbie had no
hesitation, she wanted to go outside. Her second most favorite thing in the world
is getting foul balls. We have actually gotten one at every single game we have
ever been to. Not that getting one at the Pfitz is hard, but she is very proud
of that. I digress; we headed outside the stadium and waited where we thought
one might come. As you came up to bat a teenage boy ran over to the same area
in hopes of getting one as well. Abbie looked me straight in the eye and said
“It’s serious now dad!”… yes, it was serious now. About your third or fourth
pitch it happened… a ball came flying over in our direction. By pure luck we
were positioned in a better place than the boy and Abbie took off “I got it! I
got it!” The look on her face when she grabbed it was something I will never
forget. We were both very excited, but part of me felt a little uneasy because
I knew that her excitement about getting you to possibly sign that ball was
going to increase the disappointment if it didn't happen. I actually talked to
her about the number of people wanting your autograph, the limited time you
have to sign and how a lot of people were going to walk away unhappy. She
totally gets it, but I knew not getting your autograph would still crush her a
bit.
About the 2nd inning the crowds had already
started to form around the clubhouse door in expectation of you leaving. By the
time you left the game in the 3rd there were probably 200 hundred
people huddled tightly around the door waiting. Abbie was in the mix, but as I
watched the group form and noticed the number of people just keep getting
larger and larger I became worried about the possibility of her getting hurt,
so I pulled her out of the crowd. We actually left the stadium to go stand with
the people outside by the police barricade surrounding your car. I figured
there was less of a chance you would sign, but there was also zero chance of
her getting hurt. When you walked out of
the door you signed for quite a few people in the stadium and then walked to your
car without signing for anyone outside. We figured that might happen and she
was happy with just the ball , but I decided there might be one more option, so
I told her to run down to the end of the pathway and stand on the side in hopes
that you would see her all by herself and stop. The next 30 seconds felt like an
eternity as they moved the barricade and you started driving down the pathway. I was on the opposite side of the pathway from
Abbie just thinking “please stop, please stop” as your car was moving towards
her and then it happened… you stopped. You called her over with a “Hurry!
Hurry!” and you signed the foul ball. After you drove off she ran over to me
and said “Daddy, he stopped just for me!” and through my tears of joy I said
“Yes, he did. He stopped just for you”. I can still picture that moment in my head
like it just happened and to be honest, it still makes me emotional. Pretty
embarrassing for a former Marine, but my little girls do that to me… can’t help
it!
I can tell you now that this is a memory I will hold on to
for the rest of my life. No matter where your road leads you in the future
please know that you will always have two lifelong fans in Fredericksburg , Virginia
Sincerely,
Todd
