Former Cyclones Relish Valentine’s Day

February 13, 2008   ·   Patrick Hickey, Jr.   ·   Jump to comments

Valentine’s Day may be considered a holiday, but on the totem pole of festive occasions, it’s on the bottom, looking up. It’s a day where cheap chocolate, corny greeting cards and cuddly teddy bears try to make up for the busy nights and missed phone calls that accumulate throughout the year. However, there are some people that still take it extremely seriously.

Professional baseball players for instance, who start reporting to Spring Training on Valentine’s Day, use the holiday as a way to affirm their feelings to their spouses and loved ones, before dedicating the next eight months of their lives to the season ahead. Usually a holiday associated with puppy love and steamy make-out sessions, rather than the expression of more tender emotions, pro ball players have no problem buying their mothers and sisters flowers to let them know how much they love them.

Obviously not known to be trendsetters off the field, these usually low-key and laid back athletes, tend to avoid attention to their private lives. Nevertheless, they consider the holiday to be something special and have no problem going against the grain and making Valentine’s Day a memorable one.

“It’s a long grind over the course of the season and this time is great to let your family know that you care about them,” said shortstop Matt Bouchard, who played for the Brooklyn Cyclones last season and will be attending his first Spring Training with the Mets in a few days. “I’m a single guy, but I always make sure my mom and sisters taken care of on Valentine’s Day. I love surprising them with flowers.”

Dan McDonald, another prospect in the Mets organization, also understands how important it is to let his parents and family know how he feels about them and doesn’t think the holiday is all about commercialism.

“I haven’t had a girlfriend in almost two years, so my mom is my Valentine this year,” he said. “It’s the least I could do for all she’s done for me. I think it’s always good to let people know how you feel about them. I was lucky that last season I only played about an hour’s drive away my parents and they came to a lot of my games. I could only imagine how it was for the other guys.”

However, in spite of the majority of bachelors in professional baseball, who tend to let their families reap the benefits of their love, there are still plenty of attached ball players out there that appreciate the few tender moments they have during the season to spend with their special someone.

Mets farmhand Dylan Owen, who spent last season striking out hitters at will in Coney Island, is one of those guys. In a committed relationship for almost three years, Owen relishes the holiday and is looking forward to spending it with his girlfriend, Samantha.

“It is a pretty special one,” Owen, who won the Sterling Award as the Mets top player in the NY-Penn League last season, said. “Last year, she came to my apartment and cooked for me. It was great. We usually don’t go out too much because we’re both always busy. So this year, I want to do something really nice for her.”

Playing 76 games in 80 days last year in short season Single-A ball and dedicating the majority of the rest of the year to getting in shape for his first full season of pro ball after college, Owen knows that there aren’t many opportunities for him and his sweetheart to spend time together right now. With busier schedules and more games to come as he travels his way through the minor leagues, Owen appreciates what the holiday can provide him.

As a matter of fact, if the stocky, southern blonde right-hander has his way, it’ll be a day they won’t soon forget and should help quench the thirst their young, love-hungry hearts will develop over the course of the long season.

“We both know that I’m going to be gone for a while and, so I’m going to make it as special as I can,” he said. “I’m going to rent out a nice hotel room and take her out to dinner. I also have more money than I had last year, so I’m pretty much going to get her whatever she wants.”

Now isn’t that better than a box of Russell Stover’s Chocolate and a Hallmark card?

Images for this article were taken by Patrick Hickey Jr. and Daniel Wos.