Fantasy Camp - Day Five

What started as suspected food poisoning turned out to be a nasty case of the flu. Aaron was up hurling until after 3am. The next morning, he was able to choke down a few pieces of toast and a glass of water for breakfast. As soon as he got to the clubhouse, the Montezuma's Revenge returned and proved to be Aaron's toughest opponent of the week.

The final Kangaroo Court of the week was Friday morning, filled with much laughter as always, but ending on a sad note when it was announced that one of the campers' fathers had passed away.

The Red team's fifth round robin game was against Kevin Seitzer, Willie Wilson, and Jon Worden's team. Aaron started at shortstop and batted third, and during the third inning Greg Pryor sent Aaron back to the clubhouse since he was in the bathroom between every inning. They decided he should take the rest of the morning off and prepare for the championship game that afternoon. The Red team ended up winning 10-3.

While in the clubhouse, Aaron had the chance to speak with Royal pitcher Brandon Duckworth. He found comfort by laying on the floor in front of his locker with his feet up and a towel over his face. Shortly thereafter, Frank White entered the clubhouse and proved to be sicker than Aaron. He missed the rest of camp, including the autograph session Friday afternoon and the banquet Friday night (more on those later). A local sandwich shop brought in boxed lunches, and Aaron held down 1/2 a sandwich and a cookie (great progress!).

Friday afternoon, the Red team played the Gold team (coached by Dennis Leonard, an absent Frank White, and John Mayberry) for the championship game, and Aaron again started at shortstop and batted third. This time, he made it through six innings defensively but hit through the whole game. When his team was on defense, Aaron laid down in the dugout; when they were on offense, he stayed down until it was his turn to bat - then would immediately lay down again when he returned to the dugout. (Editor's comment: In over five years, I have never seen Aaron get the flu. Don't you think he chose the wrong time for this!? LOL)
Aaron ended up 2 for 4, and the Red team was ahead 5-2 when he left the game defensively. Unfortunately, his replacement at shortstop tanked three consecutive plays and they ended up losing the championship 6-5.

Friday afternoon was something the campers all looked forward to - the Alumni Autograph Session. Each camper could bring three items to have autographed. Aaron took three baseballs and had each Alumni sign them. (He gave one baseball to M&D Pennington, one to M&D Ludwig, and one to his brother.) Along the way, he thanked each of the players for taking the time to spend with him and help make his dreams come true. Most replied that they had more fun than the campers did, and wouldn't miss this opportunity for the world.

At the end of the session, Aaron snuck back through the line and asked Joe Randa to sign his locker nameplate for me. After much thought and deliberation, Joe wrote, "To Amy, The best Royals fan in Kansas. Go KU! -Joe Randa, #16" What a nice guy!

Camp ended with the Awards Banquet, at another local hotel. Each player was recognized individually. Greg Pryor spoke of Aaron's rockstar ballplaying ability and noted that the team MVP trophy was his before he came down sick. Les Norman also told the campers about this being Aaron's birthday present and that he has a baby on the way in June. He then told everyone about how excited I was to talk to Joe Randa on the phone, and joked that if Joe Randa is my favorite baseball player, I need to get out more:)
Each Alumni player autographed his jersey and they were given away in drawings throughout the night. They also auctioned off an autographed batting helmet, with the proceeds going to a scholarship in the name of the camper's dad who passed away. George Brett won the helmet, donating $600, then gave the helmet to the camper. Nice guy!

After all of the awards, recognitions, thank-yous, and more, most campers went out for cocktails but all Aaron drank was a bottle of Pepto and went to bed, ready to come home to the AP's waiting for him.