Gabe, Lou and Toby Hall

My son, Gabriel, is a baseball nut, so it was no surprise that he wanted to celebrate his birthday at a Devil Rays game. Unfortunately, his birthday is about three weeks after the end of the regular season, so the best we could do was to schedule it during the the last home game of the season.

With 11 kids in tow, we headed down to Tropicana Field to enjoy some cake, see the Orioles vs. the Rays and see Lou Pinella's last game as our manager. The Rays, under owner Vince Naimoli's reign, are insanely bad when it comes to fan treatment. There have been times where four fans, who painted the letters R-A-Y-S on their bodies, were told that being shirtless was against the rules and would have to put on a shirt or leave the stadium. Or the fans who taped up a THANKS LOU banner, which was pulled down because of rules. Or the Rays trying to charge each member of a marching band the price of admission before they were allowed to go in and perform. They are a cheap, minor league organizations in a major league game. But, my son didn't know about all that and shouldn't... he's a kid. And he loves the Rays. So, we organized a party at the stadium.

When things turned ugly at the DRays game for my son's birthday, it was no surprise to me. After all, the DRays are pathetic at this stuff. However, a lot of money went out of our pockets for this birthday party and my wife was not happy... let's say she was explosively very unhappy. In the birthday area, there were not Rays people to greet or direct any of the birthday parties. There was no mascot. There were over 5 parties going on, with over a hundred people, and not enough chairs or seats for everyone. By the time the cakes got there, there was no time for the kids to get autographs from the players. Not that it's hard to for the DRays to succeed at throwing a simple birthday party... it only takes planning and caring, but the reality is that they simply don't care. You can't be that bad at customer service without actively not giving a crap.

My best friend Tim, who worked for a few years for the cheapskate Rays, went over to the only Ray representative that eventually showed up and talked with her. He asked if she was in charge, she said no. He said to get someone who makes decisions. Another woman returned and Tim explained our displeasure. She asked what she could do for him. Tim made a point to say that it wasn't about him, it was about the kids in that birthday party and they had to do something to make that special. The woman left and eventually came back. She offered to allow the kids to go onto the field during the national anthem, each standing next to a player.

Each kid next to a major league player on the field of play... that would be way cool for the kids and make us feel like this entire fiasco could be worth it. The kids were ecstatic.

Dea headed down to the field with the kids for the national anthem. The rest of us went to our seats two rows up in right field. Below are some pics Dea took on the field...

Billy, Hunter, Jonathan, Lonny, Gabe, Raymond, Conner and Thomas

Gabe and crew on the field, waiting for the national anthem.

Raymond, the Rays mascot.

This shows just how close Dea was to the
dugout before the game started.

The money shot. Lou Pinella's last game with the Rays.
He brought the line-up card to the umps and received
a standing ovation on his return to the dugout.
Dea shot this pic... it couldn't have been better.

Gabe heading out for the national anthem
to home plate... after all, he's the birthday boy!

Gabe standing at home plate with the umps and
Rays catcher Toby Hall. Toby shook his
hand after the anthem and talked to him
a bit. Gabe asked him to hit a home run. He didn't,
but this moment made everything great.

We eventually settled into our seats. The Rays ended up losing, 6-2, but we all had a great time...

Everyone in the stands during the game.

Tim, Pete and Charles... kinda.

Gabe in his seat. It is yellow with a plague that shows
this was the seat where Wade Boggs' 3000th hit,
a home run, had landed.

Dea and Trish with some much needed libations.

Pete and Charles watch the Bucs game on a
handheld TV during the DRays game.

Charles Leo Bauer, Jr. and Charles Leo Bauer, III.

After the game, all of the kids in the stands got to run the bases. So, we patiently waited in line for our turn...

Dea and Pete waiting patiently.

DC, who's not a baseball fan, did her best to keep herself
interested during the game. Afterwards she said,
"it was getting pretty drastic. We (she and other girls there)
were so bored we played with our hair for entertainment.

Gabe and his Dad.

We eventually got home around 6:00 p.m. The parents were exhausted. The kids were reinvigorated. What had started out as a disaster had turned into something special.

I hope Gabe doesn't expect this kind of thing every year :)