Mike Cameron & Me

On August 27, 2000 at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington, USA I attended my first Major League Baseball game at the age of thirteen. The starting centerfielder for the Mariners that day was twenty-seven year old Mike Cameron who went 1 for 2 with a walk and a run scored while batting in the 7^th in the Mariners batting order. The final score was 2-1 in favor of the visiting Chicago White Sox in front of a crowd of 45,525. Fast forward almost eleven years later to June 12, 2011 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the age of twenty four I once again crossed paths with the now thirty-eight year old Cameron who entered the game as a pinch hitter in the top of the seventh inning and took over as the left fielder for the remainder of the game. During his short time in the game Cameron went 0 for 2 as the visiting Red Sox defeated the Blue Jays 14-1 in front of the 30,364 in attendance.

Many things have changed over the last eleven years as one can imagine both in baseball, with many players coming and going over the years and in my personal life. At thirteen I was watching baseball, playing golf with my friends and entering eighth grade; now at twenty-four I watch baseball, play golf with my friends and am entering my fourth year of my sport management degree. Okay, so I guess some things stay the same. This is evident by the fact that out at the ballgame on Sunday afternoon I felt like a kid again just enjoying the game and hotdog at the ballpark. Although the fans, players, and city the game was played in differed I still had an amazing day at the ballpark, a place that never gets old and always brings me back to that special day in 2000 when I was lucky enough to witness my first live MLB game. Thank you Mike Cameron for being a part of the journey and when we cross paths again I’m sure certain things in both our lives will be very different but our love of the game of baseball is going to be one of those things that stays the same, I’m positive of that.      

Cameron was an 18^th round pick by the Chicago White Sox in the 1991 amateur draft, out of high school in LaGrange, Georgia. He made his MLB debut on August 27,1995 in Toronto against the Blue Jays at the Skydome (now Rogers Centre) were he started in centerfield and batted 2^nd in the White Sox line-up going 0 for 3 on the day. Over the course of his 17 seasons in the Majors Cameron has played for the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, and Boston Red Sox. Cameron has played in 1,903 games while collecting 1,664 hits for an average of .249, along with 276 home runs and 296 stolen bases. Most notable Cameron is remembered for some of his outstanding defensive plays in the outfield that helped him win 3 gold gloves (2001 AL, 2003 AL & 2006 NL) during his career. Cameron also was a member of the 2001 All-Star game in Seattle as he represented the hometown Mariners.