[71buc]

Thanks for the kind comments everyone. I had a great time at the game with my friend Howard. Cutch had a couple of hits to include a triple. It pains me to see him in those colors (no offense Rob) but life is often hard for a Bucs fan.

Howard and I met through baseball. He was a career minor league player and when we met he was the NW scout for the Cincinnati Reds. We became friends through baseball. I never played beyond High School despite this he would occasionally reach out to me as I knew most of the local players. He would ask my opinions regarding players and was always sincere as he listened to my thoughts. One day he asked me if I wanted to serve as an associate scout and work with the Cincinnati Reds. I was floored that he would value my assessment of players. He made certain I signed an actual contract with the Reds and that I was given a radar gun and Reds credentials. He ensured that I was treated as a baseball peer. I will never forget when he called me at work from the 2005 draft. I was sitting in my cubicle when the phone rang. He said, “Mike this is Howard hold on a minute I’m putting you on speaker phone”. I then got to listen as the Reds drafted my first player. He said, “You are a real scout now” and then hung up. It was an amazing experience and I was also touched that he thought of me.

Howard played against Griffey Jr. and faced both Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux. He makes me laugh when he talks about Tommy Lasorda’s talent with profanity. Howard never “big Leagued” me. He would always introduce me to other scouts and baseball executives. He even went out of his way to introduce me to Jim Bowden who looked at me like I was from another planet as he shook my hand.

After five years Howard left and moved to California where he worked for the MLB Scouting bureau. When he left he told me I had an eye for talent offered to recommend me to Scout school in the Dominican Republic. I lacked the courage to roll the dice such a career change would have required. Sometimes I wish I had. I worked in the same capacity for the Indians and then spent a final disheartening year with the Nationals. It was never the same as it was scouting with Howard. He is a class act and a true gentleman. No one else in baseball ever treated me with the dignity and respect he extended to me. Nor has anyone extended the true friendship he has offered me. It was an honor to donate a kidney to Howard. In the past five years he has watched his son play football for UCLA and welcomed two grandchildren to the world. I am thrilled to have contributed to his well being and happiness. A kidney was a small price to pay.