Ah preseason

I can't believe I actually get paid to do this... But yesterday I hung out at our team's baseball practice, arranging head shots for our website and action shots for the media guide with my friend Brian.

Now let's play a bit of seven degrees of separation (or less).

Baseball mega agent Scott Boras played here at Pacific until he was drafted in 1974. Boras is friends and a supporter of our head coach and our program.

So guess what... One of Boras's clients lives in Stockton. He went up through the ranks and made his start at the Stockton Ports (Oakland A's single-A affiliates... In my city), then to the Sacramento River Cats (triple-A), until he finally landed in The Show, with the A's.

He is Dallas Braden, current LHP for Oakland.





And since he's in the offseason right now, he's been working out with the University of the Pacific baseball team in his hometown.

And I got to watch him work out yesterday. Another interesting little tidbit, he went to high school with one of our graduate assistants here in Stockton.

Small world! And it's also weird that I'm now the same age as many successful baseball players. They've always seemed much older and from a different planet. Not working out at the university where I work.

(and upon unanimous vote, I may be dying my hair reddish brown in the near future! Thanks for the input everyone)

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