After spending our first day in Disney, I thought I had successfully convinced Mr. A that all of the surprises were over. What he didn’t know was that I had one more surprise hidden up my sleeves.
Originally, my mom and I had talked about going to Orlando for this trip because Disney holds the Atlanta Braves Spring Training (I know it’s surprising that we didn’t think to come to Disney for the fun of it all). The Braves were Mr. A’s hometown team growing up (since South Carolina doesn’t have a MLB team). While the Braves weren’t playing on his actual birthday, I was able to score tickets for the day before his birthday (close enough, right?). Not only did I get tickets, but I was also able to get 2 spots for the on field experience with the Braves, which would allow us to be on the field during the Braves’ batting practice.
So the day before Mr. A’s birthday, I asked him to be showered and ready to go by 10 am. While he was in the shower, I put out the tickets as well as his Braves shirt and hat that I had smuggled in my carry-on, so when he got out of the shower, his present was ready to be opened.
He was completely taken off guard and very happy. I thought originally he was going to figure out this surprise/ask if we were going to see the Braves while we were in Disney but somehow I managed to get away with it.
After unveiling his present, we snagged a cab from our hotel to the Wide World of Sports Complex which holds Champion Stadium. Our tickets let us in 3 hours before the game started so we wanted to get there as early as possible.
After checking in with the office, we walked right onto the field in the middle of the Braves’ batting practice. We were feet away from some of Mr. A’s favorite players.
Now, I know nothing about the Braves. I’m strictly an O’s girl. So all I can say about these pictures is that Mr. A told me to take them.
He would say so-and-so is a good player get a bunch of him. That went on for about three hours.
Occasionally, when one of the cute little kids yelled for a ball player, he would come over and sign autographs.
The Braves manager even stopped to take a picture.
Our three hours on the field flew by but it definitely was money well spent. I’ve only seen this guy smile so big a few other times. I’m glad I could make his big league dreams come true.
After BP was finished, we headed up to our seats for the game. Champion Stadium is by far the nicest Spring Training stadium we’ve ever been to—beautiful field, great variety of food, amazing seats, and a great atmosphere. They even mow Mickey ears into outfield. I wouldn’t expect any less from Disney though.
Our seats happened to be right below the press box for the Braves. Unbeknownst to us, Hall of Famer Don Sutton is an announcer for the Braves and he graciously signs autographs for fans before all of the games. So Mr. A was able to sneak up there and get another Hall of Famer’s autograph.
Even though the Braves took a beating that day, Mr. A spent the whole day in a daze just trying to soak it all in. I don’t think we’ll ever get another opportunity to be on the field with Major League Baseball players. Thanks to Disney and the Braves for making Mr. A’s birthday so memorable.