11 Halos – part 4
The first wave of the 2009 Angels rookie class flew into Orem on Saturday evening. More will be arriving throughout the summer as they agree to terms with the organization.
They visited the clubhouse (he’ll wear #39, same number he wore at the University of Arizona), and started filling out information for promotion videos and bio for the Orem Owlz Web site.
We discovered that all their games are broadcast free online, so that’s how we’ll spend our summer evenings.
Today they’ll meet their host families (Yeah! With only two duffles full of worldly goods, an apartment would be tricky. We really appreciate knowing there are wonderful people out there willing to open their homes to these young men.), we’ll get a mailing address (sorry, that will be private), and they’ll get in a workout before leaving tomorrow for their first game in Ogden.
Sunday evening while at a Dad’s Day dinner at our daughter’s house, he texted: “What should my walk up song be?” A few bars of your “walk up” song is played over the sound system as you walk up to the plate.
Not having had “walk up” songs in high school or college, this is uncharted territory. Exactly what does a person want their signature tune to say about them?
Because we are a supportive family, we immediately shot back a number of awesome recommendations. 4-year-old niece (and littlest Angel fan) Tessa shouted out: “Hamster Dance!” We also recommended “River Dance,” to which he said he was leaning toward Springsteen or Tom Petty (good boy, thought I).
So, what about “Runnin’ Down a Dream” (Petty)?
Our other contributions included: “Bad to the Bone,” (George Thorogood, even though Dillon isn’t and it’s overused), “Baby Mine” (from Dumbo, to which he said “That is Andrew’s wedding song, can’t do that”), “Shake It Up,” (Cars, perfect if you ask me), or even “Mannish Boy,” (Muddy Watters, maybe a little arrogant and some inappropriate lyrics, but hey, it’s Muddy!).
We’ll probably let the Owlz site tell (most of) the rest of this summer’s story.
Whoever you are, reading this, thank you for following #39′s progress and wherever you are, love to hear YOUR baseball stories!
Comment // June 22nd, 2009 // 9:35 am
I have always liked “Let The Day Begin” by The Call, but my tastes run to the low and goony
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXywSZ-Zdmg
Go Dillon!
Comment // June 25th, 2009 // 2:37 pm
I heard the TERRIFIC news. You must be over the moon with pride. Congratulations to Dillon!
And you know, not to bust Drifty’s well known gloom reputation
the first 25 seconds of Smithereens “Top of the Pops” is rocking heavy base, with the words “walk on.” Could be a contender?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiQ2Lh-_rHA
xo bg
Comment // June 25th, 2009 // 3:26 pm
Dear Drifty & Blue,
Thanks for your terrific contributions. He audaciously made the selection on his very own. Imagine! He narrowed it to Nickelback “Because of You” and Blink 182 “What’s My Age Again?” Not supplying the videos directly here because this is a family site! (Right? Because you two are family.)
And now we revisit Grandpa’s era, listening to his games every evening on the radio. Make that internet audio streamed radio.
Thanks for stopping by here and for your well wishes.
Comment // June 26th, 2009 // 6:54 pm
Katie! I’ve been camping for 5 days at Grand Canyon and not caught up with my blog feeds — AWESOME for Dillon!!!! WOO HOO! LOVE the pictures of the signing!
Comment // July 6th, 2009 // 9:20 pm
Katie,
I’m glad you found our blog! We heartily endorse the idea of a Muddy Waters “walk up” song, and surely believe he must have been thinking baseball when he recorded “I’m Ready,” “Diamonds at your Feet,” “Walkin’ Through the Park,” “Lonesome Road Blues,” “Double Trouble,” I Feel Like Going Home,” and “Walkin’ Blues,” though the latter may be just for pitchers. I think I might pick “Got My Mojo Working.”
Best of luck! We’ll be following along.
Comment // July 9th, 2009 // 6:17 pm
Love your blog! I’m self-employed and a minor-league baseball fan, so it’s right up my alley. Congratulations and very best wishes to Dillon. We saw him in Orem on a Pioneer League road trip couple weeks ago. Thanks for stopping by our blog and commenting! Look forward to hearing more about Dillon’s career.
Comment // July 9th, 2009 // 7:39 pm
Hi there;, Cynthia,
We are a good match! I’d like to know more about what you do. It’s cool to read that you were there, when I haven’t been able to visit Orem yet, myself.
I sure thank you for sharing that with me and hope you’ll keep in touch.