Fields of Dreams

MOSES LAKE — A trip to Mariners training camp provided numerous memories for two Moses Lake brothers.

Taylor and Connor Webb are die-hard Mariners fans, and have been ever since they can remember. The two brothers, Taylor is 16 and Connor is 12, have lived and breathed baseball from the moment they could hold a bat. They have played Little League, Babe Ruth, Bambino, and even made the batting cages their home-away-from home.

They attribute their fondness for baseball and the Mariners to their dad, Tony Webb, who coached most of their teams and is a die-hard fan himself. They track their favorite teams and favorite players through the Major League Baseball season and attend at least two Mariners home games a year.

Taylor and Connor attend the Moses Lake Christian Academy and spend their time doing homework, hanging out with friends, and playing various sports, including baseball. This spring, they got the chance to attend the Seattle Mariners training camp in Peroia, Ariz.

They flew into Phoenix and stayed with their grandfather Tim Kenny. The next morning, they arrived at Peroia Stadium as soon as the gates opened, prepared for a long, excitement-packed week of their favorite pastime, baseball. There were no bleachers, so the crowds of fans paced the stadium and tackled each other for stray balls. At the Home Run Derby, Taylor was leaning forward to grab a ball, when an older man dove in front of him, and, consequently got a rock stuck in his forehead.

"There was blood dripping everywhere and his buddies were like, 'Calm down,'" Taylor said.

Each day, the Mariners did the same workout routine from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. They started by playing catch, then fielded and pitched, then stretched and did sprints, then practiced batting, and ended with "Star Runs" (sprints from each consecutive base to home plate).

Connor went all five days they were in Arizona, never missing any of the action. Taylor went four of the five days and spent his day off driving in the desert.

J.J. Putz, Connor's favorite player, tossed him a ball he and Arthur Rhodes were playing catch with. One of the days was set aside for the players to autograph baseballs for fans, which Connor took full advantage of. The brothers and their grandfather managed to get front row seats and got their pick of their favorite players' signatures. They got the autographs of Ichiro, J.J. Putz, Mike Cameron, Jose Lopex, Raul Ibanez, and almost the entire Mariner team.

Connor also had a run-in with an overly-zealous fan. In order to get Ichiro's autograph, he had to crawl under a crowd of people. After he stood up, a grown man tackled him to get the signed baseball, but a security guard jumped a fence and tackled Connor's assailant and returned the ball.

After spending four hours at Peroia Stadium every day, Taylor and Connor's grandfather Kenny Webb took them driving in the desert, where they saw scorpions and oversized cactuses. Connor got to shoot a .22 rifle, which was "awesome," as Connor stated.

"It was the warmest winter of my life," Connor said.

The temperature was 80 degrees.

On their second to last day in Arizona, the brothers and their grandfather were approached by a man from Blue Goose Commercial Company and invited to be in a commercial for Raul Ibanez of the Seattle Mariners. They showed up the next day to film the commercial and were surprised to find Connor and his grandfather placed in the front row and given speaking lines. The commercial will be aired over 200 times this coming fall, before the season starts.

"It was amazing, because I got to see the best of the best baseball players train for their Major League season," Connor said.

Connor said he can't get enough of baseball or the Mariners. He collects MLB trading cards, never misses a Mariners game, and keeps stats on all his favorite players throughout their season. He aspires to play college baseball at Oregon State University or at Texas State, and be drafted into the Major League.

Taylor loves the game, which he feels stems from his father's influence. He has given up baseball in order to play other sports, but compensates for the loss by tracking his favorite player, Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners.

This marked Taylor and Connor's second trip to the Mariners training camp. They both agree they would love to return a third time.