I'm blessed to live 2.1 miles from NBT Stadium here in Syracuse and before that MacArthur Stadium which is now gone as almost is my memory of throwing a high school one hitter there.
I'm also blessed that this is the venue where the AAA version of my favorite Major League team plays, the Syracuse Mets. Before that they were the AAA affiliate of the Nationals, Blue Jays and Yankees. I was still in New York City when the likes of Thurman Munson were playing in Syracuse. However I was fortunate to see eventual Hall of Famer Fred McGriff launch majestic home runs in my first year coming to Syracuse. Through the years I've watched the likes of Derek Bell, Roy Halladay, Steven Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty and Mark Vientos…I'm still holding out hope for the last two. Those names also are just from the home side. I've seen countless stars when you add in the visiting teams. I even had an encounter on a hotel elevator with a younger Deion “Prime-time” Sanders.
I am blessed to be a media pass member for the Syracuse Mets. It allows me to get to the ballpark more and see the future hobby stars of tomorrow play today. Some go up and then return and some go up and have long-lasting Major League careers. You see the day in and day out grind that these potential cardboard and chrome heroes of tomorrow put in. A lot of work gets put in each day with no guarantee of success and as most know baseball is one of the toughest sports to play and has the longest season. Frankly only a very small percentage of these Bowman babies have palpable success on the highest level. You just have to thumb through some of the recent years of your Bowman ir Bowman Chromes to see the next superstar now serving in a role player role, bench player or career minor leaguer.
Seeing the effort it takes, makes me appreciate it even more. Seeing up close as I said is a privilege for me.It's one thing reading a scouting report but it's another thing seeing success and failure first-hand. I'm no savant but there's been a few "can't miss” guys I've seen up close where something in your gut says they won't be what the scouts are predicting. I don't root against anyone and when I feel like that I always hope I'm wrong.
They say if a prospect does it on the AA level then it's time to start taking notice. I subscribe to that theory. Here in Syracuse they are one step away from the show. It will never not be fun checking those card backs seeing if these Bowman babies are living up to the hype on their way to making their Major League dreams a reality and an in turn making that foray into prospecting in the hobby a happy one but as a big baseball fan, I do enjoy a nice day at the ballpark no strings attached. So grab your glove, your hat and head to the ballpark to see your favorite future stars of tomorrow take the field today. Play ball!
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