The Results are in

Our team in Vancouver had great chemistry, I think mostly because of the many characters on the team. It is always interesting when baseball teams come together because there are usually guys from all over the country, and in this case, all over the world. Our roster included players from Connecticut, Maryland, Florida, Texas, California, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Nevada, Massachusetts, West Virginia, Venezuela, and the Domican Republic. Combining over thirty guys from all different areas and backgrounds is sure to create an interesting dynamic. Then add the fact that we spent everyday together for three months sharing a locker room and many long bus rides and it is no wonder that we had many lasting memories together. But, there are more people who were a part of the team. We had three coaches: a manager, pitching coach, and hitting coach. We also had a strength/conditioning coach and an athletic trainer that were with us at all times. Still there are more people who became part of the team, our broadcaster/announcer was at every game, and I can't leave out our trusted bus driver who got us home safely through all hours of the night.

One of my favorite memories off the field was our team's week long ro-sham-bo championship (also known as rock, paper, scissors by amateurs). The team was broken down into four geographical brackets based on where each player was from. We met in the locker room at a specific time each day for a week and eventually a champion was crowned. I am proud to say that I'm open to challengers, as I was the winner of the tournament. It was pretty entertaining to watch a group of professional athletes get so competitive over such a simple game. 

Showing off my September stache

Our bullpen also started a "no-shave August" idea that the whole team quickly embraced and lead to "mustache September" as seen in this picture of my mustache. There was also the constant struggle to find the right music to play in the locker room with many different tastes in music. On a given day we would hear anything from country to spanish music. However in the time leading up to the game the starting pitcher would have the final say on what music was played. I also learned there is not too much on television in the mid afternoon, as we watched countless paternity tests on the Maury Show, hence the title of this post. There were also the never ending comical interviews conducted by our announcer who was one of the funniest guys I met all summer. The video below shows some of the entertaining interviews and more insight into the 2010 Vancouver Canadians.