There was a time when the phrase, ‘Take me out to the ballgame,’ carried a special meaning. It was a phrase that brought forth visions of fathers sitting alongside sons sharing a bag of peanuts anxiously awaiting the team to take the field. Just hearing the phrase could make you smell the fresh cut grass, feel the warmth of a summer day on your face, and remember the comfort a well-oiled baseball glove held when it was wrapped around your hand.
Somewhere in our fast-paced society, the magic of a day spent at the ballpark has faded into obscurity. By viewing this tradition as something less than trivial, we have unwittingly robbed ourselves and our children of a gift that is much more critical to life than baseball itself. When children sit in the stands at a ballpark and watch the players excelling in the distant field they don’t see a game – they see the future. They see themselves on that same field someday, they see the potential of what could be. Those children, and the parents who sit alongside them, see hope playing in the field in front of them.
It’s my desire to bring that hope back into the lives of today’s youth that led me to the Spokane RiverHawks. I have been involved in baseball my entire life. Like many children, my career began with Little League. In baseball – in this simple game – I found something that changed my life. I learned teamwork, accountability, dedication, and perseverance. From baseball, I learned the keys to success that have molded both my personal and professional life.
I continued my baseball career through high school and onto college at California State University at Northridge where I was part of the 1970 NCAA and College World Series Championship team. Not wanting to give up the sport that has always meant so much to me, I continued playing as part of the Chicago White Sox organization.
When the time came for me to turn my focus from baseball to business, it became instantly apparent that the tools I needed to be successful in business were the same qualities I had developed as a baseball player. Now, as the owner of the Spokane RiverHawks, it is my hope to build an organization that will serve as a vehicle for young baseball players in the Inland Northwest to develop skills in teamwork, accountability, dedication and perseverance.
I want the RiverHawks to be an organization that gives back to the community. I want the RiverHawks to be a team that helps take youth baseball to the next level. More than anything, I want the RiverHawks to be fun. With your help, the Spokane RiverHawks can reintroduce families to the joy of baseball, and return magic to the phrase, ‘Take me out to the ballgame.’
Let’s play ball!
