<html>
<head>
<style><!--
.hmmessage P
{
margin:0px;
padding:0px
}
body.hmmessage
{
font-size: 10pt;
font-family:Verdana
}
--></style>
</head>
<body class='hmmessage'>
What a great story! Definitely cooler than "Well, we met in Econ 101 in our sophomore <br>year . . . "<br><br>May their lives together go extra, extra innings as well . . . <br><br><font style="" color="#8064a2"><font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"><font style="" face="Verdana">Keely<br>www.keely-prevailingwinds.com<br></font></font></font><br><br><br><br>> Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2010 06:03:57 -0700<br>> From: thansen@moscow.com<br>> To: vision2020@moscow.com<br>> Subject: [Vision2020] Catcher Gave Her a Sign<br>> <br>> Courtesy of today's (June 20, 2010) Spokesman-Review.<br>> <br>> -------------------------------------------------------------<br>> <br>> Catcher gave her a sign<br>> And now they’re getting married in M’s bullpen<br>> Jerry Brewer Seattle Times<br>> <br>> SEATTLE – The courtship started in a bullpen, of all places.<br>> <br>> Jason Phillips spotted a woman at Safeco Field in May of last year and<br>> knew he had to make a choice: Be bold or be ignored. As the Mariners’<br>> bullpen catcher, Phillips is used to anonymity, used to spending half the<br>> year tucked away in a box with pitchers. It’s a thankless job that he does<br>> well and without complaint. But this time, he needed to stand out or risk<br>> eternal regret.<br>> <br>> He shared a few stares with the woman, who was entertaining business<br>> clients. Then he made a promise to the fellas in the ’pen.<br>> <br>> “If we go extra innings, I’m gonna make a move,” Phillips said. “If we go<br>> to extra innings, that’s gotta be a sign.”<br>> <br>> The game with the Oakland A’s went into extra innings. Phillips grabbed a<br>> baseball, scribbled his number on it, got the woman’s attention and tossed<br>> it to her. And for the rest of the game, he was left to wonder how she’d<br>> respond. He couldn’t wait to return to the clubhouse and check his<br>> messages. Naturally, the game would drag for 15 excruciating innings.<br>> <br>> But by then, she had sent him a text message: “My name is Molly. Nice to<br>> meet you.”<br>> <br>> And that’s how a bullpen catcher fell in love.<br>> <br>> On Sunday, Jason Phillips and Molly Ray will get married, and their<br>> wedding guests will attend the ceremony in the only logical place to<br>> celebrate their serendipitous romance.<br>> <br>> The bullpen.<br>> <br>> “It kind of has to be there,” Phillip says. “It’s only right.”<br>> <br>> The Mariners play Cincinnati at 1:10 p.m. today. As soon as the final out<br>> is recorded, the ’pen will be transformed to show off its glamorous side.<br>> For a few hours, it won’t be the place where boys get to be boys while<br>> waiting to put out fires. It won’t be ground zero for some of the<br>> filthiest verbal assaults that players receive from fans, as is often the<br>> case for road teams across baseball. It will be a place for pure,<br>> unapologetic mushiness.<br>> <br>> The wedding is the culmination of a fast-moving, 13-month romance for the<br>> couple.<br>> <br>> They realized they had a lot in common. Both were divorced with children –<br>> and weren’t interested in getting married again. Phillips admired Ray’s<br>> ambition and knew she could handle being with someone who spends 81 games,<br>> not to mention spring training, away from home. Ray works for the Pan<br>> Pacific Hotel as an executive in charge of corporate sales and sustainable<br>> partnerships.<br>> <br>> “It’s my second chance,” Phillips said of marrying Ray. “She’s gorgeous.<br>> She has a great job. She has great ambition. It’s like a mulligan for me.<br>> I didn’t know what I wanted before, but now I do.”<br>> <br>> He also says he’s fortunate to be with the Mariners.<br>> <br>> “It’s nice to be able to share this opportunity with them,” said Phillips,<br>> 33, who added that a large portion of the team will be in attendance.<br>> “Jack (Zduriencik) was the second person to RSVP, after my sister.”<br>> <br>> After a short honeymoon it’s back to the bullpen, where sometimes the<br>> catcher throws the pitch, the dream girl receives the toss, and love<br>> occurs in the unlikeliest of places.<br>> <br>> -------------------------------------------------------------<br>> <br>> Seeya round town, Moscow.<br>> <br>> Tom Hansen<br>> Moscow, Idaho<br>> <br>> "The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change<br>> and the Realist adjusts his sails."<br>> <br>> - Unknown<br>> <br>> <br>> =======================================================<br>> List services made available by First Step Internet, <br>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <br>> http://www.fsr.net <br>> mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<br>> =======================================================<br> <br /><hr />The New Busy is not the old busy. Search, chat and e-mail from your inbox. <a href='http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_3' target='_new'>Get started.</a></body>
</html>