It’s Sunday morning and I am starting the day in the summer office. It’s cool for the moment, but today’s forecast calls for afternoon temperatures to reach a high of 93 (34C).

The Arizona weekend began with an early Saturday morning flight to Phoenix, renting a car, grabbing a bite to eat on the recommendation of a friend before finding the right spot for my ‘signature picture’ which I share with my brothers and a few friends. It’s a silly picture, but fun.

St. Louis – July ’23

the first ‘bad picture’ Seattle – May ’23

on the way to Sunday’s game, Phoenix October ’23

I had to find the ‘right’ cactus, Arizona September ’23

My hotel was within walking distance to the stadium, and I paced myself in the heat. Chase Field has a retractable roof, the first of its kind when it opened in 1998. The roof was closed because it was 100 degrees (38C) late in the afternoon before game time.

The Astros won Saturday night’s game 1-0 (nil) and clinched a playoff berth as did the Diamondbacks with a Chicago Cubs loss. I walked home and grabbed some tacos for dinner at the hotel.

Sunday morning, I woke early and planned the day. The hotel I was staying was architecturally cool. It was constructed in the 1930s and had been a bank before being converted into a hotel and legend had it that the penthouse was once inhabited by Alfred Hitchcock.

I had a breakfast date with a fellow blogger, Ingrid from Live, Laugh RV: Our Next Chapter. She and her husband were originally from Chicagoland not far from where I love before moving west, then retiring and deciding to live the RV life. Ingrid’s posts left yearning for travelling in retired RV lifestyle from one location to another while exploring and enjoying being outdoors. Her photographs were always stunning. It was wonderful to meet Ingrid in person, and we were never at loss for something to say over breakfast. After breakfast, we took an ‘ussie’ and I headed back to the hotel to pack and get ready for the last game of the season.

On the final day of the season, all baseball games begin about the same time Sunday afternoon. I arrived when the gates opened found my seat behind the Astros dugout in hopes of seeking out my favorite player, Maurico Dubón.

Mauricio Dubón is my favorite player because most fans (in 2023) really didn’t know his name. I felt then and still do that he should have been the Astros MVP for ’23 season. When the season began, he filled in for Astros star Jose Altuve at second base when Altuve injured his hand and missed the first 42 games of the season. When Altuve returned, Dubón played sparingly at second base, but would start occasionally at other positions. By the end of the season Dubón had played every position, except pitching and catching, at least once and logged 132 games in the field and averaged .278 at the plate. His contributions on the field and as a batter had helped the Astros considerably. I had bought a Dubón jersey and was wearing it to the game.

My seat was close, three rows behind the dugout and I could see Dubón and the other players as they readied for the game to begin. Dubón was not in the lineup for Sunday’s game.

I was waiting for the game to start and I heard a person say,

“You are wearing his number!”

I turned to meet Sandy.

“yes,” I replied, “he’s my favorite player.”

“I am his adoptive mom.” She replied.

The world stopped, I was stunned and for a moment I was silent, and I began to listen. Dubón is from Honduras and the only Honduran player currently active in the MLB – I already knew this, but as listened to Sandy talk, I learned that his route to the MLB was a leap of faith for him and Sandy and their families.

When Dubón was in the teens he moved from Honduras to Sacramento, California and lived with Sandy, her husband Andy, and their family to play baseball and follow his dream of playing baseball. It is an amazing story.

the Ritchies – Andy and Sandy with a young Mauricio

the Ritchies and Mauricio and his wife (girlfriend at the time) when he received his World Series ring

Photos above are courtesy of Sandy Ritchie

Sandy and I exchanged cell numbers, and we took the above ‘ussie’ before she returned to her seat to watch the game. I was still stunned, and we texted throughout the remainder of the game. I thanked her and her husband said good bye.

Since that game we have texted occasionally, and I have shared photos of Dubón at games where I have tried to meet him, the closest I have come to meeting him was a fist bump in Toronto last July.

In San Francisco, June ’25

Toronto, July ’25

Toronto, July ’25 a Honduran family connects with him

It’s a great story and I never know what might come at me at a baseball game, but I should pay attention. After all, I am there to watch the game and enjoy the sport, but there is more to baseball than the game.

NOTE: I have added a couple videos below to tell Dubón’s story. It’s a good one.

That Sunday at the ballpark was magical and I will always remember that day as though it were yesterday. Today is going to be an amazing day, but first I am going to re-read, proofread, edit, before I press publish. It’s time to jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time finishing the rest of the story and paying heads to the warning sign.

When was the last time you didn’t see it coming?