As I write this, I’m sitting in a hotel room in Port St Lucie, FL and my 12 year old son is asleep in the bed next to me. I wish I could just push the “life pause button” right now. He’s at that age of still being my little boy but displaying those great traits of maturing into his teenage years.

Sigh.

Other than the day he was born and I held him for the first time , we’ve never had a better moment together. And by moment, I mean the four hours we spent together this morning at the New York Mets spring training camp.

I am and have always been a huge baseball fan. I grew up watching every Mets game on TV with my dad. I still remember summer nights watching the small black and white TV we had on our screened in porch, hoping I’d never hear those words “Time for bed John”. The Mets were horrific in the late 70’s and early 80’s but I never cared. I just wanted to watch the theater of it all night.

My son’s passion for the game blows mine away. He knows every player in the league, their mother’s name and their Instagram handle. He knows all about the legends who played throughout the 20th century. He owns a hat from 22 of the 30 major league teams. He just recently taught me how to throw a knuckle curve ball. Most impressively, he has received 25+ autographed cards through the mail after sending each player a personalized hand written letter.

Having said all that, I’ve never seen him more prepared, more focused and more passionate than I saw him this morning. He had plans on how to get autographs and followed it to a tee. The sheer joy this typically quiet and laid back boy exuded today was worth every penny we paid for the trip. His smile and nervous excitement literally brought tears to my eyes. To watch my son follow his passion this young warms the heart and I can only hope he continues to do so in the future. Do what you love, do not worry about the money. Is it too soon to teach him that?

So as Jack painted Tradition Field red, I tried my best to document it all. Here are some photos from day 1 one of 3. If the next two days are half as good as today, we are in for more awesomeness.

The full squad meeting at the start of practice.



Mets ace Matt Harvey warming up surrounded by a massive group of onlookers. It is a thing of beauty to watch a pitcher of his caliber. That pop in the catcher’s glove is a true sound of spring.



Another Met stud pitcher of the future, Noah Syndergaard (aka Thor). Color me excited about the Mets future.



Highlight #1. Jack being interviewed for Mets Kids Clubhouse on SNY. He will be on an upcoming episode this season as he answered trivia and asked question of his favorite player, David Wright.



Highlight #2. Yes, that is the David Wright signing and somewhere buried in there is my son. The biggest score and I’m forever grateful for his patience with all of the loonies surrounding him.



That would be David Wright #mets #mlb A photo posted by john markowski (@jmarkowski0) on Feb 27, 2015 at 7:56am PST

Highlight #3. Not only a signature from Daniel Murphy, but a pic for the ages.



I love watching the players interact with each other and talk about important things like batting gloves.



Newly acquired veteran Michael Cuddyer sharing his years of experience with some of the younger players, like Lucas Duda.



As a former bad catcher, I couldn’t get enough of watching their drills. I have no idea how their knees survive the grind.



And there is that familiar swing again.



Yep, baseball is back.