710 ESPN Seattle's Shannon Drayer
Updated Jul 28, 2010 - 4:06 pm
RRS and Perspective
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digg thisA very tough night for Ryan Rowland-Smith. The situation has come to a point where a decision about his immediate future has to be made. It most likely has been made already as I am writing this as Don Wakamatsu said there would be a talk with Jack Zduriencik tonight.
Rick Adair said the struggles we are seeing on the mound are not taking place in the bullpen. The work RRS has put in has been tremendous. Making the pitches on a consistent basis in games however is not happening. Nobody wants to give up but it is not benefiting him to send him out to get hit the way he did tonight. A decision will have to be made.
I am going to let you read about that in other outlets. I am going to talk about something different here. It was brought to my attention that something very special happened thanks to Ryan during the last homestand. Something that helps put a season like this year's into perspective a bit. While fans may live and die with their teams, they don't really. A game is not life and death and while a game may reflect life in some ways it is not. Let me share a story about a young man named Matt that was given to me by a co-worker.
Matt is a diehard Mariners fan who lost his father to cancer four years ago. In March of this year Matt was diagnosed with lymphoma. A few weeks ago he went through a round of chemotherapy that his body didn't respond well to and recently he had to decide if he'd go through it again, or give up the fight.
Matt's story came to us through a remarkable network of people who wanted to help his situation. A man by the name of David with Sun Glo Heating in Portland met Matt when visiting his family home to give a quote on a new heating system. After hearing his story and meeting his family he called his dealer who called his agency who in turn called 710 as their sponsorship partner to see if there was anything that could be done for the young man. Ashley Wellington-Fahey, the Mariners Radio Coordinator at 710 ESPN Seattle, heard the story through a co-worker and immediately passed it on to the Mariners.
"I knew at the very least from a Mariners flagship station standpoint, we could at least get him great tickets to the game in a comfortable setting," she wrote in an e-mail to friends and family about the situation, "but when I learned that he was too old for Make-A-Wish I knew there was more we could do. After putting in a call to the Mariners, one thing led to another and in a 24 hour turnaround we had a day set up for Matt that I hoped he wouldn't forget. Little did I know, neither would I."
Matt's special day at Safeco Field took place Sunday. He arrived at the park and was greeted by Ashley and a member of the front office. He was very frail, his hair was gone and his skin was pale. Despite everything he had been through recently his eyes still sparkled as he entered the lobby. He had no idea what was in store for him.
"When the front office VP came to escort us to the field, Matt showed what turned out to be the most excitement he'd displayed since his diagnosis," Ashley said. "I could feel the butterflies just walking through the visitors clubhouse tunnel. What was cool about doing this on Sunday was that there was no batting practice, so we essentially had the field to ourselves."
While being on the field would have been enough of a thrill, there would be more surprises for Matt. Ryan Rowland-Smith had heard about the visit and had taken it upon himself to talk to his teammates about it.
Ashley tells the rest of the story.
Matt was taken into the Mariners dugout where he sat with his brother, and then one by one, various Mariners players came out from the clubhouse and from the outfield where just a couple were warming up to shake his hand, hug him and take pictures. Matt had no idea these men in uniforms knew he was coming or were making a point to come see him. He had fun chatting it up with various players one by one, from David Aardsma to Felix Hernandez, they came by and acted as if Matt was one of the boys. Then Ryan Rowland-Smith came out and introduced himself and said, "Well, Matt, would you like to come into the clubhouse with me?"
I don't know all the details of what went on in the clubhouse, except that he was in there for a good 15 minutes, and the best part of all? He got to meet and talk with his favorite player Ichiro. When Matt came out of the clubhouse the smile on his face was big enough to consume your whole heart. It was then that I looked over at his mom and saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. There was nothing more touching than watching a mother who had been through more heartache than any woman, let alone human being should have to face in the last four years filled with such joy at the sight of her son so happy. She then looked over at me and said, "When we go home he has to decide if he'll go through another round of chemo.... I just hope this gives him the strength to do it." And that's when I really lost it.
The rest of the pregame was spent at home plate, watching the pregame festivities, watching Matt soak it up. You could tell he just wanted to be one of the boys. He just wanted a moment where no one worried about him or his cancer. He wanted nothing to do with his wheelchair. He wanted nothing to do with people asking him how he was feeling, because at that moment, it didn't matter if he was tired, sick, drained or cranky, he was living in the moment and it was apparent.
As we got ready to head off the field, the Mariners VP came over with a tube sock which inside had a ball signed by every single player. Ryan Rowland-Smith sent a message, "I was able to get all the boys to sign the ball... I hope he likes it!" Matt's Mom looked over at me and said, "I don't know how all of this transpired, I don't even know who the right people are to thank to make this happen, but this is truly amazing and unforgettable."
This happened because people cared to forward the story. From a heating technician to the Mariners clubhouse enough people asked "What can I do," to create a magical day for a family in need.
Thank you to Ashley for sharing the story.
It is not surprising to hear that Ryan, or any Mariner would help out in this situation. These things happen quite often, more so than you hear about. If you ever question the importance of having a sports team in your community I think this helps define that to some extent. This game and these players mean a lot to a lot of different people. And the players get it.
In the middle of what will probably end up being the most miserable season of the majority of these guys careers they can put aside their struggles and come out and spend some time with a kid battling cancer in a wheelchair. They understand that for some reason they make a difference. That those minutes spent talking to them mean something. There are more important things than their last at bats that went wrong or the pitch they fail to make despite the work they put it. They get it.
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