Do I know a baseball fanatic? Of course I do.

I am packing for Colorado when I see the Hudson Patch's post, the title reads Do you know a baseball fanatic? I click on it to find out more because of course I know a baseball fanatic, Wylie! The rest of the article reads as follows:

A once-in-a-lifetime experience was recently donated to Smilebk by a local business who supports our big ideas. We're going to keep all the specifics a bit of a mystery, but here's what you need to know:

WHAT: Exclusive baseball experience

AGE: Must be between the ages of 8 and 15, with one adult present

LOCATION: Downtown Minneapolis, MN

WHEN: Saturday, September 7, 2013 from 3:00pm-9:00pm

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: The participant ABSOLUTELY MUST be an avid baseball fanatic, NO EXCEPTIONS. 

At this point I realize I need to write up a little something about Wylie. This will be easy because I truly believe that he loves baseball like no other kid I know and he is a HUGE Twins fan. I put no thought into what this experience/prize would be because anything baseball is a prize at our house! So I stop packing and sit down and write about Wylie. 

Dear Smilebk,

My 9 year old son, Wylie, is the biggest baseball fanatic there is. We have known this since he was 2 years old and would get the bat and ball out to play at all hours of the day, in between diaper changes naked, at rest stops on long road trip and everything. He has watched the Twins his whole life, choosing to watch them over any disney or nick show. Wylie knows all the Twins players, a lot of stats and the leagues info.  He wakes up in the morning and turns the tv to either the late night game that he dvr'd  the night before or sports center to find out who won or lost the games. He tried out for the 9 year old select team in Hudson this year and made it! YES for him, more baseball. He played three to six days a week depending on if he had a tournament and still on his days off would ask, "how many days til baseball?" He plays ball any chance he can get and if he can't play it, he watches it. The season came to an end and he asked, "how old am I when I can play baseball everyday?" He LOVES this sport and thankfully it is something he is good at too!! Life is good when you have a kid who loves baseball!!! If Wylie were rewarded this random act of kindness, we as a family would certainly pay it forward!! 

Thank you

JoLynn Baumer ( wylie's Mom)

I truly didn't think of this essay again until I am driving up the mountains to Vail, Colorado when I get an email that says, I'm from Smilebk with some fantastic news for your baseball fanatic, Wylie!!!  I check my phone to see if I have reception in the mountains, luckily I had one bar so I called to get the news. When she started to explain what Wylie had won, my heart was racing, I knew this would definitely be a night he will never forget. How lucky is he? And how lucky am I that I get to experience it with him? This is what he won! 

Now comes the hard part. I had to wait until I got home (3 more days) to tell Wylie about this. You all know, patience is not my strongest quality. I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of my trip in Colorado and then got home and told Wylie. He was excited and then the brainstorming started on what we will wear and what he wants autographed (he decided on a MLB baseball).  The day comes and I pick him up at school early and we head to Target Field. We shop at the Twins Store, buy a few things and head to meet the people of Smilebk, the people who put the contest out there! Took some pictures with them by the golden glove and moved on to meet the main man, who took Wylie down to the field for batting practice. He got to sit on the field for nearly two hours and watch batting practice while all the players are down there walking by them, signing autographs, patting his hat and chatting with him! How cool is that?? He got the autographs of: Tony Oliva, Josh Willingham, Brian Dozier, Trevor Plouffe, Scott Diamond, Cole De Vries and Chris Colabello.  His favorite autograph was Tony Oliva's and Josh Willingham! He really wanted Justin Morneau, but he was traded the week before. Bummer. We stayed and watched the game. His favorite playing Twin, Josh Willingham had two home runs, including the game winning home run in the bottom of the 8th! It was a great night and we made lots of memories! 

On the field with the Twins for their batting practice

Autograph by Tony Oliva

Autograph by Josh Willingham 

His autographed ball- "that was awesome, Mom!" ~ Wylie 

A night that neither of us will forget. I love that this kid loves sports & baseball so much. Looking forward to cheering him on and supporting him through out his playing years. I am so lucky!! 

~ It's My Life