Camelback Ranch… Here We Come
I finalized all my travel, hotel, and car rental requirements for my trip to Camelback Ranch on February 20-23. My son and my nephew are going with me. My son is 25, and my nephew is 38. The last time my son was at Spring Training was at Vero Beach when he was five (see pic…
I finalized all my travel, hotel, and car rental requirements for my trip to Camelback Ranch on February 20-23. My son and my nephew are going with me. My son is 25, and my nephew is 38. The last time my son was at Spring Training was at Vero Beach when he was five (see pic below).
Tommy signed a ball for my son. We still have it. Tony Jackson was driving Tommy’s Cart that day. That’s where I first met Tony.
As a young man, I was very successful and was well off by the time I hit 30. In 1994, at the age of 41, I had nothing to my name and owed the IRS $200,000.00. In 2001, I was still so broke that I could not pay attention, so I started US Water Systems. It made us a good living, and later, my son told me that he thought we were rich (we weren’t even close).
This was taken in 2002. Baseball was my passion and sometimes, I could not afford it, but I went to Spring Training every Spring. By 2010, it was evident that I had to make a decision. If I wanted to be a baseball writer and blogger, maybe I could make $100,000 a year… OR I could build a $100,000,000.00 company. I chose the latter. It has proven to be a wise decision.
Camelback Ranch opened in 2009, and I was there… it would mark the last time until this year. I built that company and am now semi-retired at 71 years old. I am going back with my son and nephew this year. My son is now the CEO at US Water Systems, and my nephew is the Chief Revenue Officer. Below is a photo of myself, my son (Steve), Luke, and my daughter (Tasha) taken a couple of years ago.
So, this will be my second time at Camelback Ranch. The last time, I had a Press Pass and could go anywhere. It will be a lot different this time. However, my son and nephew are excited about going. It’s also a business trip as we have some clients that we will see while we are there. Phoenix is a big market for us. You never know what you might see at Spring Training…
That’s me in the Pressbox at Dodger Stadium. The next photo is Tommy with Carl Kemp (Matt’s Father), and what follows are just a bunch of photos all over the Ranch.
So… in a little over a month, I will be back, after a 15-year absence. I am looking forward to it and also eating at the Mellow Mushroom. JayB was so kind as to send me a bunch of gift cards to eat there. Hopefully, he will join us.
I think the Dodgers have a move or two up their sleeves before the team heads to spring training… Stay Tuned!
X-CITES
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Discussion (57)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Here’s an interesting article at Relator.com:
Open on www.realtor.comhttps://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/david-letterman-hollywood-indiana-house/?cid=psc_wsj_syndicationhp_celebrity-real-estate_david-letterman-hollywood-indiana-house&dsp__10291144_31140741_401117112_219819343&dclid=CID1l_SO7ooDFYTZGAIdCpYHywAnother reason why the Dodgers keep a guy like Taylor despite all his on-field troubles. Fans can bitch and moan about a bad contract all day but character matters to this team. Freddie is helping out too. Here in Long Beach at the rehab center we are not affected by the smoke or the fire, but north of here it is a mess.
Mark: I would love to join you both at one (or more of the games) and at Mellow. Let me know where your seats are and I will get 2 (my wife Diana & I) in the same section. Jay
No surprise that Shohei Ohtani generated a ton of money for the Dodgers.
According to reports the San Diego’s infighting and lawsuit is hurting the Padres chances of landing Roki Sasaki. The Dodgers obviously make the most sense. Why would anyone want to work into the mess in San Diego? Padres fans have to be demoralized. The Dodgers went through that with Frank McCourt and the bankruptcy.
Glad to see MLB ban the two knuckleheads who tried to grab the glove and ball from Mookie Betts.