I get this question a lot. Why do I do this? Why do I put on these camps?
"When you give a boy a baseball, you give him more than just a ball. You give him a sport, a talent, hope, and dreams. You give him friends, a new family, a place to learn about life, room to grow as a person where he can push his limits. You give him bravery, courage, memories and LIFE. He will have ALL of these things, simply because you gave a boy a baseball.”
It’s definitely not for the money. I don’t take anything out. No, the extra goes to our commitment to support the at risk and underserved . . . so feel free to refer some sponsors to help support a worthy cause.
Why then go through the work of putting this on, if not for the financial rewards?
Certainly there are many other fantasy camps I could attend. Almost every team has one, there are other independents and each believes that theirs is unique and the best. So why this one?
I attended the Dodgers camp in Vero Beach for 10 years. When they packed up and moved to Arizona with no plans of continuing this tradition, there was a void. We all felt it and I just couldn’t let it be.
I missed my “family.” Going to another camp just wasn’t an option.
Over the last 14 years, being so involved in every aspect of the camp experience has given me a deeper respect and appreciation of my “family.” Their individual desires and needs.
And, like a proud parent giving their child their first baseball or watching them play their first game, get their first hit or throw their first strikeout, I get a sense of pride out of this adventure.
There’s no doubt that we’ve had setbacks. Delivering an incredible camp experience while adhering to COVID restrictions, weathering a Florida storm - a hurricane, actually, and now MLB has sent me packing from our home at Vero.
But with each setback, I learn something new. Yes, even at this age! I learn ways to adjust and improve. All of which makes me feel better about myself and my place. And helps me provide an even better Fantasy Camp experience.
But, you know, when it comes right down to it, camp was not just about a place or a time to play baseball. It was and is one big family reunion. A time when friends, brothers and sisters, come together once again.
Some of us reunite periodically at a weekend tournament or two throughout the year. Some of my camp brothers get together for special events like this weekend in New York for the Dodger-Yankees series.
But at camp we get to see and learn from our baseball heroes, share their stories, be with "family," and play this beautiful game we all love.
In the end, we're all just that little boy getting his first baseball with the same hopes and dreams. And there’s just nothing that compares to sharing those hopes and dreams with your camp family, the "boys and girls" with whom we play and the fans who come to root us on.
I hope you’ll join me and become a part of my camp family.
Comments