Al's Big Red Machine

I've always been a believer in that your future is often shaped by the people, interactions and experiences that personally inspired you at different points in your life. As such, I asked and received confirmation from camp administrators that I could affix personal photos on the inside panel of my assigned locker for the week. It's hard to pick a few photos from a 50-year reservoir of treasured baseball images, but I'll travel with a slice of childhood and adult memories that will make up my "vision board". Unlike traditional vision boards which focus on what you want the future to look like, my goal is to have the memories that my images invoke inspire me to relish, enjoy and play the game I love with the passion of a little boy who dreamed of some day playing for The Big Red Machine.

Santa Claus has has come and gone, but not before dropping off lots of goodies colored in red and black, just in time for the 2022 Reds Fantasy Camp, now just 20 days away. Couldn't have shown up at Fantasy Camp without my very own custom Maple bat, complete with personalized engraving to commemorate the experience. And much to my surprise, the bat needed a special backpack home to replace my "ole skewl" 1990s horizontal bag, now scoffed at as a relic of my old softball playing days.  Santa Claus completed his delivery with black sweat pants, long-sleeve red undershirts. Even my prescription sports sun goggles have a stylish red head band. So, at least on the fashion front, I'm ready to go!