::cool story::

Travis loves baseball. You may have figured that by now, though. He played in college--actually he was playing when we met. (I was definitely a sucker for a guy in uniform) Over the years, whenever he and his old teammates get together, or talk on the phone, or email, or text, or play fantasy baseball.......they always remember the good old days. The stories get better every year; the heroics more amazing, the grass greener, and the outfield much larger.

While almost all of the guys have moved onto "real" jobs and/or coaching their future prodigies, there is one who is still living the dream. It has been a long, winding road but after 9+ years in the minor leagues, including a couple of stints in Japan, he finally made IT. His name is Mitch Jones and he just got called up to the Dodgers at the ripe old age of 31.

For the record, I think his wife and kids are saints for supporting him all these years. I'll bet he considered walking away many times (they don't pay all that well in the minors). But someone must have been there, urging him on and knowing that it would pay off someday. Maybe it was the quiet voices of all his old teammates, whispering in his ear to keep living the dream so they could keep on checking his stats, following his career, and hoping for the day they could watch him play in "The Show". And say, "Hey, I know that guy!"

So, now we will be watching all the Dodgers games via internet, and I will be thinking of how awesome this must be for his wife and family.

As luck would have it, the Dodgers played the White Sox last night and since we are a mere 5 hours away, Travis and Jordan hopped in the car to catch the game.

They met up with another friend and fellow reminiscer, J.D.. Mitch had a great game, got two hits (including a double)! I'll bet Travis and J.D. shed a tear or two......in a manly way, of course.

Jordan even came home with an autographed ball and some exciting stories to tell.