Recap of the summer of 2010

Hello everybody, I know it has been a while, but now that baseball season is over I have a little bit of time before my winter assignment kicks in and I thought I would blog a bit. Just a few thoughts about my summer in Florence, KY.

The Florence Freedom finished up the season with a final record of 38-58. We finished in fifth place in the Frontier League's Western Division, ahead of the Evansville Otters. Everyone connected with the organization was disappointed with our record, because we all knew that the team we put on the field was better than the record indicated. For sure, it was not because of a lack of effort, it was just "one of those seasons." I don't like to make excuses, but injuries played a key role in the struggles we had. Losing our best starter, Everett Saul, certainly did not help. We also lost Michael Campbell, the heart and soul of our team, to a broken forearm. Pitching and defense wins championships, and in spite of our best efforts and how hard we battled night in and night out, we just didn't get the results we were looking for.

I personally enjoyed the season. If I am broadcasting baseball, then by default I am enjoying my life and my work. We could have been 0-96 and I still would have loved coming to the park every day. The Freedom had a great group of guys, and I really enjoyed being with them on a daily basis.

I also want to take a moment to thank the entire front office staff for welcoming me in for the 2010 season. What a great group of people! Toby Rumfield , our manager, who always treated me well; Coaches Pedro Flores and Pete Rose Jr., who made it truly fun for me; Kari Rumfield, our award winning GM (she won Executive of the Year in 2009), Josh Anderson, who taught me a few things and definitely played a key role in my growth as a broadcaster, Alyssa Meyer , our outstanding director of on-field entertainment; Stadium Steve Mace, ticket manager Dana White, Elizabeth Quatman, one of our outstanding account execs and all around great gal; Deidra Brown, our superb concessions manager; Matt Resar, our jack of all trades who helped me out on so may occasions; Kevin Schwab, our Hall of Fame PA announcer, Emily Christman, our wonderful music lady; and all the interns who made the summer special, including my right hand man Nick Dobreff, who worked exhaustingly all summer long, and Megan Smith, who was a tag team partner as well.

And of course thanks go to Clint and Kim Brown for their friendship and support in 2010. I really owe them a lot, as they gave me a chance to once again fulfill my life's dream and do the work I was born to do.

Now that my time is a bit more freer (not by much, as hockey preparations are underway), I will make an effort to be on more. More baseball musings coming soon. Thanks for checking in.