Deron Matson: Peoria Sports Complex

So yesterday we saw my Cubbies go down 9-1. I say my Cubbies only b/c I lived in the Chicago area about 8 years of my life & have been a fan part of that time. As they say, "Once a Cubs fan, always a Cubs fan." I was remembering that I used to have a Cubs sticker on my bedroom window next to the one with the firefighter on it telling them there's a kid in that room. I guess I was trying to stack the odds of being rescued in my favor, telling the firefighters that not only was there a kid in my room but that I was a Cubs fan!

Today we arrived early at the PSC, a Complex shared by the Padres and Mariners. It's a great facility. The practice fields are very accessible to the fans. We spent a lot of time milling around the fields, batting and pitching cages getting autographs. It's an interesting concept, the whole idea of autographs. There are some in it to make money and some purists who just enjoy the encounter you can have with a player. Not much else will get you that close with a player and allow you to talk with them. I have a couple friends who won a contest and had one of them over to their house 2 seasons ago. They're on a first name basis. He'll sign anything they throw at him when they see each other. He's nice to everyone, but he'll make a special effort to say hi to them and sign whatever they pass on. I was on vacation when he came over that time to their house but I've mentioned it to him and ride on their coattails. He was there. (I dropped your names and said hi for you, but he would have been glad to sign for us anyway.)

We walked over to one field where they were taking batting practice and giving outfielders some practice with pop-ups. The Boys with Their Toys were goofing around. The GM - Kevin Towers, the Skipper - Bud Black and several of the coaches were standing around the pitching machine. This was probably a special, larger machine for the pop-ups. They were seeing how far it would throw and if it could make a home run over the fence. Then they aimed it straight up. One by one, they popped up four or five, really high, that fell behind the fence into the area where we were standing. Each time everyone yelled, "HEADS UP! HEADS UP!". I was trying to get my glove out of my backpack and couldn't in time plus the sun was right there where it was blinding us from seeing the trajectory of the ball as it fell. The fourth one landed about 1 foot to the left of Jordan - could have killed him. He said it hit him on the elbow after it bounced. Phew!! That was enough for them and they quit when they saw that.

The gates to the stadium were beginning to open so we migrated that way. There were more player encounters, watching more b.p. and warm-ups. Tommy Lasorda was there in full baseball regalia.