Brian Debuts at Fifth Third Ballpark
West Michigan Whitecaps vs. Cedar Rapids Kernels: Fifth Third Ballpark-Comstock Park, MI
It was a beautiful day for baseball, so I packed the kids up and took the long trip back down to Grand Rapids to give Brian his first taste of Whitecaps baseball. This was a little new to him, with a bigger crowd, so I decided to get a harness so the little guy couldn’t just run off on us. He did pretty well, but wasn’t real happy that he couldn’t run free when he wanted to. A couple of the pics will show him pouting a bit, but he has happy to watch baseball, as were Lily and Trevor. I was Sunday, so we were able to get onto the field, but opted to play catch rather than stand in line for autographs. The kids liked playing catch with me and their Papa (three kids at a ballgame is tough, so I’m glad my dad was there to help out, too). It was fun to be on the field, but they wanted to play on the playground there, too, until the game started. It was pretty hot by our standards, so we ended up pouring cold water on each other and the kids had some ice cream to cool them off, too. We got seats at the very top row on the isle because I knew we’d be getting up and around a lot with the little guy. I hate it when people are constantly getting up and interrupting the game, so I wanted to show some courtesy. Even though we were higher up, there’s no bad seat in the house, and kept us out of the sun under the over hang. It was Autism Awareness day also, so the ‘Caps wore special jerseys that were auctioned off after the game. The Whitecaps’ bats were as hot as the weather, as they pounded out sixteen hits in the game. The kids were a little too tired to run the bases after the game, but we had a great time and look forward to more game together. Next month is Star Wars night, so that should give us a memorable night. Final score: Whitecaps 10, Kernels 3.
Brian in the bullpen
#28 Rob Brantly
#26 Nate Newman and #35 Billy Nowlin
Photos property of M.I.B.
Minoring In Baseball 
GREAT PICTURES!!!! I am going to have to post some of the Southern Illinois Miners soon.
Ron
Awesome! What fun! I think I’m gonna have to get one of them harness for Allen! HAHA!
–Jeff
Great pics! Any tips on bringing babies to ballgames? Besides the sunscreen, what inning do they get bored?
—Mark Gauthier
http://cubden.mlblogs.com/
Ron-I’ve heard good things about the Minoers and their stadium. I would love to see game pics for sure.
Jeff-Do what you have to to keep Al in line. He might not like it at first, but its for his own safety.
Mark-Babies might be easier than toddlers because they won’t be running all the time. I suggest getting seats where you won’t have to worry about too many foul balls, and you won’t be disturbing too many other fans. When my kids start to get bored, I take them to the park for a little bit so they can burn off some energy. Hope this helps.
Thanks all for checking in..
–Mike
Great pics as always Mike! Judging from the big smiles, you and your dad did good – even Brian looks like the harness didn’t bother him for too long. Thumbs up on the playing catch over autographs. Lots more fun I think. 🙂
— Kristen
Thanks, Kristen. Brian did start to adapt to the harness pretty well, but still wanted a little bit of his freedom. We’ve used it on walks and stuff since then, so a good investment. Playing catch was a good time for all of us.
–Mike
Great Pics of the minor league game! I have to agree with your comment on my blog that the minors are more fun! I work for a minor league team so I have seen Sizemore play and pretty much every other A’s player to go through their minors system this season. I look forward to following your blog and seeing more great pictures!
Katelyn-thanks, I look forward to checking out your blog through out the season also.
–Mike