BAT BOY CAL VS. UCLA

John was so excited when Mike's cousin arranged for him to batboy for one of Cal's last home baseball games. It was a wonderful afternoon with John's special friends, family and extended family. Mike's cousins email and photos from the day sum it up perfectly......

email from Larry Ricksen~

We witnessed a great Cal baseball game yesterday, but unfortunately we came out on the losing end as UCLA scored 3 runs in the 9th inning. Jimmy and John both got to be the bat boys for the game and did a great job. Jimmy was responsible for replenishing the umpire’s stash of balls and John was in charge of retrieving the bats after the Cal batters finished their at bat. When Jimmy left for a birthday party in the 7th John took over both duties.

It was a beautiful and breezy day with sunshine, marshmellow clouds, and family. After the game ended the Cal players were really discouraged as they had rallied with 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th to take a 2 run lead. John told his dad he heard about 20 F bombs after the end of the game. Eventually the team gathered in the outfield and the coach asked John to join the team. We learned from Mitch, a Cal player and Katie’s boyfriend, that the coach did not berate the team for their mistakes, but simply reminded them that although they lost a tough game, it should be kept in perspective, as the challenges many people courageously face in life, like John, should make them all realize that losing a baseball game is not that important.