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Farrell: White Sox Fantasy Camp, Weekend Edition

Brian Farrell is the winner of 670 The Score's White Sox Fantasy Camp contest. He'll take place in a week long White Sox Fantasy Camp and will blog about it every step of the way.

By Brian Farrell--

Saturday January 15th

Playoffs!  I'm talkin 'bout playoffs!  The first round of playoffs kicked off this morning and we had to play Ed Hermann and Bobby Thigpen's team; a rematch from Wednesday's tie, and my strikeout to end the game redemption.  Our team had been tied for the best record and also produced the most runs in regular play…and we choked.  I know it's a cliché but we beat ourselves.

Men left on base and errors on routine plays cost us the game.  At one point in the game I was planning my Will when Don Paul beaned someone on accident and Bobby Thigpen pointed directly to me and said "You next!"  Thankfully he didn't, but that got in my head and I had what looked to be a fetal position batting stance the rest of the game.

We played a second game which was mostly for fun, even though we were still upset from the morning game.  It was cool though because campers got their chance to pitch to other campers if they wanted to.  It was a disappointing day on the field, knowing we were eliminated from the playoffs, but when you look around at the scenery at this place, it definitely takes a little bit of the frustration off.

Sunday January 16th

Waking up today was bittersweet, knowing that it was going to be the last day you were going to be able to play a game with your teammates and have that comradery in the locker room pre and post games.  Our team wanted to go out in style, so at the 9am game we all snuck a beer out to our positions and before the first pitch was thrown, all raised our cans for an honorary toast of the week we had.

We played great to cap the week off in good fashion.  A funny story we were laughing about all day came in my first at bat… The previous night a bunch of us went out and one camper brought his two college age daughters out, he went back to his room earlier than us and trusted us to make sure they got back safe.  We did, and everyone retired to their OWN ROOMS, had to make that clear.  So the first inning I go up to the plate and the camper who brought his daughters (I won't say his name, but let's call him Jeff) was pitching.

He throws one high and in at my head and knocks me down.  I get up and look at the mound and he says "That's for in case anything happened last night!"  I had to call for time I was laughing so hard.  We told that story all day and it still made us crack up.  We only played one game, went back in the clubhouse to pack up our things and clean out our lockers.  I want to give a big thanks to the clubhouse guys for taking care of us all week.  Everyday our jerseys were washed and pressed, shoes cleaned, and locker room spotless every day.

Plus they were some great guys to hang out with as well.  Most of the guys then hung around the clubhouse to watch the Bears beat up on the Seahawks.  After the game we headed back to the room to pack, take a nap, and get ready for the closing banquet here at the hotel.  The banquet was awesome.  The coaches got up and talked about their teams, presented the campers with autographed baseballs, and told some great stories about their team from the past week.  My face still is sore from the smiling and laughing that went on at that banquet.

We were able to get pictures with all the coaches and campers too.  I forget who said it, but this was truly like having another group of high school or college buddies that you'll talk to forever.  A lot of the guys exchanged numbers so we can plan trips to the ballpark to meet up and catch a game.  I cannot express how thankful I am I had the chance to have this experience.  This was the greatest week of my life.  The stories I have from the camp I'll remember forever.  If you have ever thought about doing this camp or have been hesitant to go thinking you won't know anyone, trust me on this….DO IT.  I didn't know anyone going into this and made some great friends with campers and coaches as well.  I highly recommend taking a trip out to spring training if you haven't done so already because this place is gorgeous.

I can't speak for other ball clubs but the White Sox organization is like a family.  Form coaches to players and the staff that works for them, it's a family type of bond that most have them have been working with each other for years.  I didn't hear one complaint from the coaches about the White Sox, just high praise.  If you do this camp you become part of that family.  I've already been told by numerous coaches 'I hope to see you at spring training or the ballpark in the summer.  It's going to be nice to walk into the stadium and watch the pitchers warm up and say what's up to 'The Chief' in the bullpen.  Or see Harold Baines and chat about the team.  All the coaches were amazing at the time they took to have a conversation, not because they had to, because they wanted to.

They are passionate about this team and the organization, and love talking to fellow diehard fans about this team and baseball in general.  It's going to be tough coming back to reality because this all felt like a dream.  I want to thank 670 the Score and the White Sox for making this all possible, best week of my life hands down.  One last thing…a big shout out to Team Ladies Night!!!  Mike, Smokey, Mark, Randy, Tom, Anthony, Ryan, and Doug…We might not have won this thing, but we sure had the most fun out of any team.  Tied for the best record we didn't win any awards, but did win the unofficial 'Sleep Deprivation Award.'  Thanks to our coaches 'The Pope' Don Paul, and our fearless leader on and off the field 'Dee Bo!' Daryl Boston.  I had a blast with our team and the fellow campers and hope to see them at 35th & Shields this summer.

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