This is a pic of Sammy with his cousins Ashton and Alden with Hall of Famer Bob Feller at 2009 Spring Training in Goodyear, Arizona.
We had a blast going to a lot of spring training games, but this seems to be the only pic I could find of us! We spent most of our spring, checking out the Rangers complex which is in our hometown of Surprise, AZ! We got to watch games, practices and get some autographs. The highlight of our spring was getting to meet Nolan Ryan and get his autograph on a ball and picture. I have been a fan of Nolan Ryan for a long time and it was a thrill for me to get to meet him, it made me feel like 15 again. Of course Sammy being his normal friendly self decided to jump onto Mr. Ryan's golfcart hoping to catch a ride! Mr. Ryan was a nice guy and let Sammy sit on his lap and even let him honk the horn! The Rangers are by far the most fan friendly team, always ready to talk to kids (and the kids at heart) and sign autographs. Janet joined us a few times for practices and even got a couple autographs, she would ask the players to color her baseball card and her favorite part was when we got to sit between the fields and eat our picnic lunch that mommy packed for us!! Because of these awesome upclose encounters Sammy really thinks these players are his "friends" and he wants them all to come over to our house for a playdate!!
It was truly a great experience to get share my love of baseball with Sammy and to look forward to many more fun times together at the ballpark!