With the Milwaukee Brewers struggling to get anyone out these days and quickly falling out of the race, it has been easy for Brewer fans to turn their backs on a team that just one year ago was taking them on the magical ride to the playoffs.
Fans have been booing loudly, a group of good guys that just have too many holes to be more than a .500 baseball team. But for one night all of that seemed to be put behind them, one magical night in late July that one magical Brewer will not forget.
Casey McGehee has been a career minor leaguer. Drafted in the 10th round out of Fresno State in 2003 by the Chicago Cubs, McGehee spent the first six years of his professional career in the minors, the last three in AAA. It was beginning to look like Casey was one of those dreaded AAAA players, too good for AAA but can't cut it in the bigs. His path to the majors was blocked by Aramis Ramirez. McGehee appeared in just six games with the Cubs in 2008, going 4-24.
After the season the Cubs placed McGehee on waivers, despite his 92 RBI season in AAA. The Brewers and Doug Melvin, always known for finding a diamond in the rough, put in a claim for McGehee and it was the best thing that happened to both parties.
Casey McGehee went into spring training as a long shot at best to make the Brewers, but that didn't stop him. He did everything he could to force his way onto the club and now has setteled in nicely at third base for the Crew and is certainly one of the favorites for NL Rookie of the Year.
That alone is a good story, but that isn't the best story. Meet Mack McGehee, Casey's two and a half year old son. Mack has the brain disease known as cerebal palsy. CP prevents development and there is no cure, it is something Mack will live with the rest of his life.
With Mack as their inspiration, the Brewer's Wives raised money by auctioning off uniforms and called upon Mack to throw out the first pitch on the night they presented the gift of $50,000 .
So Mack went to the mound, gold walker and all, with the help of his favorite Brewer...no not his dad, but Prince Fielder. His dad did serve as the catcher.
"Mack loves Prince," McGehee told OnMilwaukee.com's Drew Olson, "For some reason, kids love that guy. I don't know what they see in him. He really likes Prince. There are a lot of guys he really likes. I thought it would be cool to have somebody he would be comfortable with."
Mack has found a center in New Berlin that has helped with his treatment tremendously.
"It's funny how stuff works,"McGehee said to Olson. "We feel like the care we've gotten and some of the breakthroughs we've made since we've been here in Milwaukee have been outstanding. We all think why things happen some times.... Maybe they happen for a reason."
Maybe the night of July 29th happened for a reason too. McGehee wasn't in Ken Macha's starting lineup when the Brewers took on the Nationals that night, but Macha called on McGehee to pinch hit with the Brewers down a run in the sixth and their offense scuffling. Casey lined a rocket home run into the Brewers bullpen that sent the place into a frenzy. Mack started the game, Casey won the game.
Watch Casey's game winning home run here.
Mack was still in attendance when the ball left the yard and left soon after the Brewers held on for a 7-5 victory. On his way home he called his dad to tell him "Good hit daddy."
"That was about as good a 'congratulations' as I could get," Casey said. "You can't help but smile when you see him. He makes the bad days a little easier and the good days that much better. You just can't help smiling when you see how he reacts. As young as he is, he gets it a little bit."
"As a father, that's going to me a moment I remember for a long time, He's something special. For him to go through what he's going through and be able to just keep plugging; you really don't even notice he's got anything wrong with him most of the time."
"He's been a big inspiration to me and the way some of the guys have taken to him, stuff like that, it's really special. If you'd have asked me a few years ago if I'd first of all even been on a big-league field, let alone be able to share it with my son in any way, shape, form or fashion, I'd have thought I was pretty lucky to have that happen. That was pretty special."
It's nights like those that you realize that baseball is just a game, but a special game for bonding father and son.Watch Mack's First Pitch
Nice story.
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