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Follow @mlbreportsFriday, February.22/2013
By Aaron Roberts (Dodgers Correspondent / MLB Fancave Top 30 Finalist 2013): Follow @Bertsball
Here are all of the videos I have done for the MLB Fancave and also my latest blog entries. Bookmark the next link here for this will have all of the dedicated information for my quest to be in New York as an MLBFancave Dweller all of the 2013 Year. Thanks to the MLB Reports for allowing me this platform! Right after the videos and a page break – are the 3 days I spent in Phoenix with 29 other prospective cave dwellers.
The Videos:
Interview with Adam Kennedy:
Dodgers and Angels Fan In Love – MLB Top 30 MLB Fancave Finalist Video:
Taking the Campaign to the streets of LA:
Get to know your LA Dodgers MLB Fancave Representative:
Vote For me (Thomas Roberts AKA – #CapeintheCave):
You can vote for me by either clicking on this link here: – This Link also contains my 2 minute application video.
Or going to the MLB Fan Cave website, clicking on “Vote” at the top and finding “Thomas Roberts.” I have my submission video on there so you can watch that as well. You can also come be my friend on Twitter Follow @bertsball Facebook (Facebook.com/Bertsball) Instagram (@Bertsball) and my Blog (Bertsball.blogspot.com) I post about the Dodgers, Baseball and my campaign frequently on each of them.
Thank You so much and I appreciate everyone’s support!
Here is the recent article written about me from MLB Reports Owner/Lead Analyst Chuck Booth
Who Is Thomas (Aaron) Roberts?: He Is A Top 52 Finalist For The 2013 MLB FanCave
Here are my latest blogs for the MLB Fancave Experience
Thursday February.21/2013
All great Adventures must come to an end Amazing Adventures 3
So I’m a little late in getting my Day 3 recap out because I honestly struggled with how best to sum this entire experience. My trip is over and I’m pretty bummed. This has been one of the most exciting, rewarding and blurry 3 days of my life. How can I sum up a span of time that has honestly changed you for the better? And let me be clear, while the experiences and the things I got to do and see were beyond anything in my dreams, it was the people that I connected, laughed and cried with, that I will miss the most. There were 30 of us. I didn’t think it was possible but those 29 other people, I now consider my extended family. We all bonded over this. It was a unique experience that only a handful of people alive can say they’ve gone through. I know it sounds cliché but no matter where life takes any of us, we’ll always have Arizona.
Now on to Day 3. Let’s just do this pretty straight forward so you can get on with your day.
I knew that Day 3 was going to be awesome; I just had no idea of how awesome. Because my team won trivia the previous night, we all got to be on the local Fox morning news. We had to wake up much earlier than the rest of the Fan Cave 20 but it was all worth it and pretty rad!
And here’s the link to check the spot.
http://wap.myfoxphoenix.com/w/main/story/85440529/
After we got back, we wandered around a little bit and waited for the rest to rise up and grab breakfast. Then it was time to get the show on the road. We’d been told that we were being split up into 3 groups and each group would travel to a different spring training facility where we had some sort of challenge to accomplish. So we all hopped on our bus and got our assignment.
My group was headed to Surprise Stadium. It’s the spring training home of the Rangers and Royals. We were then informed that the group on the bus was going to be split in half and one would go to the Rangers side and the other would go to the Royals side. They put us in our smaller groups and my group got the Rangers side. I commenced to squeal like a little girl. I pondered what incredible surprises awaited us at Surprise Stadium. I had no idea that what was to come would shatter anything I could have hoped for.
We arrived and this was where the Fan Cave Challenge kicked in. My team (6 people) had to film two videos for MLB.com. We had 1 hour to do so and believe me it was hectic. We were all told that there would be some awesome thing that was coming for us at the stadium when we were done and I was anxious to see what it was.
We finished up recording and then we ate lunch. I decided that my group needed a little extra entertainment while they ate.
After we were done, they told us to huddle around as someone wanted to come say hi. In the distance we saw a man walking towards us and then Bam! George Brett walked right up to us in full Royals gear. He talked to all of us about where we were from and I had a special moment with him as I was wearing my Dodgers cap and he grew up as a Dodgers fan. It was fantastic and I was at a loss for words. Then we got to go onto the field and watch Alex Gordon, Jeff Francouer and George Brett film a short sketch about pine tar. After they were done, they hung out and took pictures with all of us. They were 3 of the nicest people I’ve ever met and George Brett is crazy!
We got back to the hotel and had about 3 hours to kill before our last hurrah. I wandered around and took a short nap. Our final mixer was a catered dinner at the Lucky Strike bowling alley. It was a classy-casual event and I decided that this was a Bow Tie occasion!
We had our own private room at Lucky Strike. Everyone from the Fan Cave 30 and all of the MLB people were there. Maybe 50 of us in all. The food was amazing, the bowling was fun and the drinks were free. Everyone’s spirits were running high and you could feel the happiness in the room. It was absolutely incredible and I was blown away by MLB’s hospitality.
When we finally had to shut it down, we decided that this was our last night together and we weren’t about to let it end! We all ended up in one of our rooms and had a blast.
So that’s it. The trip and experience of a lifetime. I’m honestly depressed just writing this. It was so far beyond anything I could ever describe or explain. The people I met were some of the most genuine and caring human beings on the planet. We were a small group who bonded over Baseball and connected through the Fan Cave. I want to say Thank You to Major League Baseball and the Fan Cave team for all of the amazingly hard work you did and hospitality you showed me. Hope to see you all again in New York.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Adventures in Baseball #2
The line to get our packets.
After getting all my stuff, I had to stop myself from running back to my room to check out all of my awesome swag! I had a packet that included my itinerary credential pass and some other things. They also gave all of us a back back with two awesome MLB Fan Cave shirts, a Fan Cave sweater and a super cool Fan Cave Cap. Can it get any better?
My super awesome Contestant Credential pass with my Name and team logo on it! Go Dodgers!
Now it was time to hop on board the Fan Cave bus and make our way to Chase Field!
Chase Field! This would be our home for the next 10 hours.
We made our way up to the top deck in right field where we went through our orientation with some pretty big names in the MLB business side of things. Everyone was incredibly nice and I got to know them all.
Met my boy Ricardo Marquez (for those of you that aren’t in the know, Ricardo was a Cave-Dweller last year and now works as an intern for MLB)
While half of the Fan Cave 30 did their interviews, the other half took a tour of Chase Field. Although this was my second time touring Chase field, this time was totally different and a unique experience. There’s no grass in the outfield!
Anyone want to go for a swim?
I should probably get some hacks in.
Next up was our pitches. Not the Baseball kind, this was me pitching myself to MLB execs on why I should be in the MLB Fan Cave. It was one of the more nerve-racking experiences in my life and tensions were running high in the waiting room. I didn’t feel like it went too well.
This is the outfit I decided to go with to show off the best “me.”
Afterwards, it was time to blow off some steam. We had an incredible dinner then it was time to play MLB trivia. This was my team. Guess who won. Did you guess my team? Well if you did, you’re right! Because we won, we get to do a short interview with FOX tomorrow about the MLB Fan Cave. I’ll update everyone when I get some more information but I’m pretty pumped!
Next up, it was time for a little Fan Cave Karaoke! We had a blast. I rocked the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” with my fellow contestant Angalena. At the end, we all sang “Sweet Home Alabama” and walked away a little bit closer than we were this morning.
Another absolutely incredible day. This was probably 5% of all the amazing things I got to experience today. Sorry the post is a little short-winded, I figured I’d stick to the basics. Tomorrow I get to go to Surprise, Arizona where the Royals and the Rangers have their spring training. I’m sure the MLB Fan Cave has some neats things in store for me so I’ll be sure to update tomorrow nignt.
When I got word that I made the first cut from the initial 52 MLB Fan Cave finalists to the Fan Cave 30, I was beyond ecstatic. This is something I truly want and to be informed that you’re one step closer is an amazing feeling. Well day number 1 is in the books and I thought I’d chronicle some of the things that went on so you could share in my adventure.
Being in the 30 means you get to do a number of incredible things. MLB flies you out to Arizona for 3 days and essentially puts you through various interviews and auditions to see if you’re the type of fan they want to send to New York and be their representative to the online world.
So first thing I had to do is pack. I may have tried to cram a little too much into a couple of my bags but I wasn’t about to leave anything behind.
MLB was gracious enough to send a car to pick each of us up and I got an amazing driver named Gene.
Flying out of John Wayne airport, I figured the first sighting of another Cave Finalist would be in Arizona but I was wrong! He’s just a little bit taller than me, right?
Now I just had to play the waiting game and by waiting game, I mean wait for 2 hours and 45 minutes for my plane to take off.
I could hardly contain my excitement when I saw this Bad Boy pull up!
So I boarded and then started snapping pictures until I could see Phoenix in the distance.
We finally landed and my anticipation was hitting critical mass.
Hurried up to the shuttle that would take me to the hotel and what do you know, 8 of the other Fan Cave 30 were riding this rollercoaster with me!
The courtyard of our hotel.
My Hotel room (which is amazing!)
We decided that we were all hungry so we walked about 100 feet and hit a rad little diner called “Jerry’s.” Their French Fries were great and our waitress was fantastic.
As the rest of the Fan Cave 30 started to arrive, I received an amazing gift from one of them. He made one of these for everybody and I couldn’t be more thankful!
And now I’m in bed typing this. What an incredible day. I have two more to go and will keep you posted. Thank You Major League Baseball and the Fan Cave for allowing me to experience this. I can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow.
I Thomas Aaron Roberts or “Berts” as my friends call me, have been a True Blue believer since before I can remember. It hasn’t always been easy, but I have stuck with the Dodgers through thick and thin and things are finally starting to look up! Cut me open and you’ll see that I bleed blue. Growing up in the outskirts of Los Angeles, I now resides in Orange County. I attend as many Dodger Home games as I can and scoffs every time my girlfriend drags me to an Angel game (but secretly I enjoy it because any Baseball is better than no Baseball!) A passionate student of the game, I cherish the legacies and traditions that are intrinsic to Baseball. My life goal is to visit all 30 ballparks and purchase a hat from each one. So far I have checked 9 off my list – with plans to conquer 6 more this upcoming season. Every Spring, I travel to the Arizona desert to catch a glimpse of the upcoming season and the stars that light up the diamond covered in dirt. You can find my rants and musings here.
** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com or their partners.***
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