Now that the Minor League baseball season is over, I figured I would give y’all a little update on our season. It didn’t start off the way we were hoping…once again God threw us a curveball.
In January, Trey was experiencing pain in his elbow which led to another MRI. This MRI showed tearing in his UCL, so he was shut down from throwing once again. Since he was still less than a year from Tommy John surgery and was not completely healed yet, the doctor decided the best option was doing a Stem Cell transplant. This procedure took place on Valentine’s Day and resulted in him not doing much for 2 months. Flash forward to May and Trey can throw a baseball again!
Having this setback was not something we thought was going to happen, and neither one of us wanted to be “stuck” in Arizona for months again. But we made the most of it by celebrating the little things! Every time Trey progressed in his throwing program, we went out to eat and celebrated. This made the time go by faster and us both more appreciative of his hard work and determination.
The Summer was spent building back up again and throwing bull pens. Thankfully, Arizona did not get as hot as it usually does, and we did not see too many 110 degree plus days. Trey’s sister Dylan got married in July and we were so glad to go home to Texas for a few days and see friends and family! That family time was much needed since we had not seen any friends or family since April. The Summer also brought us 3 separate moves to different Airbnb’s around the Scottsdale area. With all of these moves, we are now pros at packing all our stuff up within a few hours and fitting everything back in our suitcases.
The month of August was very hectic, but also brought so many exciting memories. The biggest highlight had to be Trey was finally throwing in games again and his first outing just so happened to be on my birthday! The BEST birthday gift! After a year and a half of rehab he was back doing what he loved again, pitching in competitive games!! I can’t even explain all the emotions that filled me that first game back. I was so happy to be in the stands rooting him on and seeing all of his hard work put to fruition. After that game the craziness began… Trey was told later that afternoon that he would be joining the Midland Rockhounds team in San Antonio in 2 days.
As exciting as that was, it also meant we had some packing to do. My parents were in town celebrating my birthday with us, so they helped us get everything together and took us out to eat for a birthday/sendoff dinner. We went to a restaurant called Elements at the Sanctuary and y’all, it’s a MUST visit restaurant in Scottsdale! You are literally on the side of Camelback Mountain and the view is one of the best in Phoenix. It was the most perfect night to end our Arizona stay.
We were TEXAS bound that next afternoon. We knew there was a long drive ahead of us, but we did not care at all, because we were FINALLY leaving Arizona. Being back in San Antonio brought back so many memories from 2019. Trey was on the Missions team back when they were Triple A for the Milwaukee Brewers, so it was nice being back in a familiar place. Four days in the hotel flew by and then we were back on the road to travel to Midland. Oil rigs, wind turbines, and more oil rigs were all we saw on our drive to Midland. It was definitely a change of scenery for us from cactus. Into another Airbnb we went for the week and a few days later Trey had his first outing as a Rockhound!
Nerves were in full force watching him throw again! I was extremely proud of him for stepping on the mound and dominating. There is absolutely nothing like the emotions I feel while watching him pitch in person! After that series at home, their next opponent was the Corpus Christi Hooks, so off to Corpus we went that Sunday after the game. Luckily, Monday was an off day, so we were able to go to Padre Island to the beach for a few hours! It felt so good to feel the sand between our toes and waves hit our feet. The mosquitoes were horrible, but all that mattered was Trey’s second outing went well, so it made our time in Corpus worthwhile. After the series, back to Midland again we went for Trey’s final season outing.
While in Midland we were able to visit George W. Bush childhood home and the infamous Ratcliff stadium. If you’ve never seen “Friday Night Lights”, which is one of my favorite movies, you need to! Being able to see the stadium in person was amazing.
The last outing was bittersweet because we were not quite ready for it to end already. We loved being back in the thick of baseball season. Trey’s last outing I can proudly say he dominated! It was a great way to close out his stint in Midland. We made some great friends from our short stay and can’t wait to see them again next year. After the Double-A season finished we were headed back to Arizona for 2 and a half weeks to finish out Trey’s rehab stint at Instructs.
Trey officially “graduated” rehab at the beginning of October and was cleared to have a normal offseason. We were so grateful to hear that news because it had been a long 18 months of rehab. Trey’s ready to get back to working out in Tomball with his baseball friends and to compete next Spring Training. You’ll find us soaking in time with family and friends and enjoying our time back home until baseball calls us back to Arizona for Spring Training 2023!
