If you have ever meet my father you will know with in moments that he is a man that truly loves any sport but has a PASSION for baseball. He has loved to play the game, coach the game, watch the game, and talk about the games. He can tell you plays that went down years ago, more stat information about different teams and players than anyone I have ever meet in my life. The thing about my fathers love of baseball is that he used it to make a difference in young men's lives. I know that this is not WHY he did it but all the same he did make a difference for many. It might have been the example he set while he was playing, the way he taught as he coached a team, or all the behind the scene things he did to help make a game happen for a team or a player. I have to say that I was honored to be able to watch him do the thing that he loved the most and how he gave of his time, his money, and is knowledge to help others, he taught me what a commitment really means with the work that he has done over the years.
I remember being a young girl in the early 90's watching him coach his first Senior Babe Ruth Baseball team. He did not have son that age but saw a need in the community and it was something that he really loved doing. Those guys from that first team were rough, my dad could tell you story after story about things those guys did but my dad loved them. He went to bat for them, set an example of someone that would show up when he said that he would show up. It is funny now that I am an adult, I run into some of those men now, they always ask how he is doing and never fail to tell me what an amazing guy he was to them at that time in their lives. He would tell you what he did that summer was not a big deal, he just hit a few balls with some kids but it was so much more.
I have watched both my mother and father open our home over the years as a host family for young men that come into town to play in different tournaments. They feed them, show them around the area, drive them to and from practice and games, and sit at every game and cheer for them. It seems like they always end up with boys that come a great distance to play in the area and don't have any family with them but my parents become there family for that week.
I don't know how many summers my dad would take a off a week from work to help run a local Babe Ruth tournament. How many nights he stayed up late helping make a season of baseball games happen. How many hours he has spent on the phone with a parent of a player or a umpire of a game to help calm down a crazy situation. How many people he has taught different things about them system of Babe Ruth baseball. How many birth certificates he has had to find for players, how many team photos he has had to take, how many uniforms he has washed over the years but to him none of that is a big deal. It is just what anyone would do but what he does not get is that not just anyone would do those things. It takes special person with a lot of love and patience to do all those things for people that he does not really know all that well.
That is why :I was so proud when I found out that the local Babe Ruth organization was going to be honoring my father this evening by placing him in the local hall of fame. This is not something my father would have ever dreamed of happening and if you asked him, he would probably have told you that he did not deserve it. He also does not like to get up in front of people or be acknowledge that he goes above and beyond but this evening he got just that. They stood up and talked about what a great man he had been over the years and how you might not have always seen him or heard him but he was making a difference in the program. I as his daughter am very proud of my dad for all that he has done. I have always known that he did a a great thing but it was nice for someone else to point out for others to see that he is special. 
Stella thought that the table and all the place settings were wonderful. She would not keep those little lips of hers silent through out the presentations!
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