I appreciate that I am still in business. I cherish the time I am able to spend with my family and friends. However… baseball is what I wait for all year, and now here it is, my first Spring Training as the parent of a professional baseball player.

We’re talking minor leagues, and even though it is just across the road from the major league camp, there are lots of differences.

For one, son has asked that we NOT come down to watch. I think this comes down to humility and knowing your place in the pecking order. This, I must respect.

So what’s a fan to do till Opening Day?

For starters, I stayed warm in the Arizona Letterman jacket he gave me for Christmas all winter. Then, in mid February, I took a little trip down the road to Tucson to check out the first weekend of Wildcat baseball (fortunately it was rainy and cold so I could show off that jacket everywhere I went!).

Then, there was our family Oscar party when I dressed up as Annie Savoy, again in the jacket.

Oh, and there is the daily dose of baseball updates courtesy of MLB.AtBat on my iPod.

Finally, there is the baseball knitting. On my needles right now, like most knitters, are a wide variety of projects: some beautifully elegant apparel, some adorably soft tiny things that will adorn grandkids when done, and a few experimental pieces. In the spirit of Spring Training are these socks (seen at right), a modification of a design by Meredith Knitting, in honor of the 2009 MLB Amateur Draft 11th pick of the Los Angeles Angels (#351 overall).

Since June I’ve been occasionally documenting the journey, from draft day, to reporting, to short season, through Fall Instructs, and now, after they break camp, will be looking forward to watching some games either out in Iowa or California. We’ll know where the next part of this career goes in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, if I just get today’s spring cleaning chores done early, I can grab my knitting bag, drive across town and watch a little Yavapai College Roughrider baseball.

Speaking of this, if you’re a baseball fan, you might like some of these posts in the Loosely Speaking archives:

11 Halos: Part 5 – Trip to Orem
11 Halos: Part 4
11 Halos: Part 2 – Signing Day