Brett signed up in late December for the final installment of the combined A's and Mariners Fantasy Baseball Camp in Mesa, Arizona. The two ballclubs are looking to run their own camps starting next year. He was all packed and ready to be on time for his flight on Friday morning when his car started putting out lots of smoke and the check engine light came on forcing him off the road. A tow truck ride took him to a Manteca auto repair shop where the car was diagnosed with a failed radiator that would need to be replaced. Fortunately, they had all the parts and the mechanic was available to work on it right away. So Brett canceled his flight and rebooked for a later time that evening to give the shop the time they needed to fix the car. Then he was on his way, with a new topic for a talk to the Sunday morning Family Life group at church.
He arrived Friday night after all the workouts for the day had occurred. He also missed the draft, but his name was on the draft board. The next morning, he started to see guys who told him he was playing with them. After talking to a number of the guys, he started to realize that his team was going to be pretty good. His coaches were Dallas Braden (left-handed pitcher for the A's, owner of a perfect game, and current NBCSN broadcaster) and Bobby Crosby (shortstop for the A's, Rookie of the Year in 2005, and current coach at the A's double-A level Midland team). Bobby shared that Brett had been a steal in the mid-rounds of the draft because he hadn't been there, but Bobby noticed Brett's name was still up there and remembered him from last year. Later in the week, Brett gave Bobby a ride to the field when they were both leaving the hotel at the same time.
The Babitt Smackers, as his team was known, won every game of camp by an average score of 18-4. They scored a camp record 116 runs over the week. They took the championship game by a much closer score of 5-4. Brett played all nine positions in the field during the week. He hit in the middle of the order and contributed 10 RBIs, while scoring another 8 runs with 6 doubles. He pitched 10 innings in camp, including the final 8 without allowing a run. The team defense was terrific turning an average of 2 double plays per game. Brett also stayed healthy the entire week with the help of an ice bath a day after the games had finished.
Brett enjoys the camaraderie of being on a team with a goal in mind. He also loves the stories told by the coaches and sharing stories of his own with fellow campers. Brett also got to talk to some of his former coaches from years past like Dave Stewart, Bert Campaneris, Shooty Babitt, Mike Moore, and Brian Holman. A new addition this year was Goose Gossage who told some great stories of his time with the Yankees, including the Pine Tar Game involving one of Brett's favorite players of all-time, George Brett.
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| Taking his cuts in the Pro game against El'Hajj Muhammad, a 27-year-old double-A closer, represented by Dave Stewart, normally throwing in the 95-98 mph range but was bringing it around 88-90 mph for this game. |
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| Bobby Crosby and Dallas Braden talk about their championship team, the Babitt Smackers. |
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| Bobby Crosby manning SS for the Pro team. He still has quick feet and a great arm. |
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| Dave Stewart did not have much respect for us in the Pro game when his guy was throwing in the 90s. |
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| Shooty Babitt served as a great MC and coach for his team all week. |
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| Dallas Braden patrols the infield after throwing the first three innings of the Pro game. |
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| Brett hit .538 on the week with a slugging percentage of .769, OBP .586, and OPS 1.355. |
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| Waiting before the game with Finny and Panda Bear in a picture that made it on the A's Instagram site. |
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Dave McLaughlin, John Conroy, Steve Lehman, Bruce Fraser, Dallas Braden, Bobby Crosby, Sean Finn, Gene Feickert, Brett Farley, Dale Skinner (back row)
Ken Scott, Mike Martinez, Bryce Fraser (front row) |
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| Goose Gossage addresses the camp at the Final Night Banquet and shared great stories all week. |
