D-backs serve dad’s a rare gameday opportunity

The annual Father's Day Play Catch on the Field brought hundreds to Chase Field with many leaving with a taste of nostalgia.

PHOENIX (KYMA, KECY) - Hundreds of father's made their way to the Chase Field outfield with their sons and daughters fore the annual Diamondbacks Father's Day Play Catch on the Field event.

"It's a lot of people and for many of them it's probably the only time they're going to come on the field and for it being Father's Day, it's really special," James Kuzniak, a teacher at Gila Ridge High school said. "Every Father's Day is special and it's really cool to bring my daughter out here. Just to experience with her and we compare the pictures of how much she's grown over the years. Just a really cool deal, not just for myself but the other families as well, it's awesome."

Another Yuma native and veteran of the event, Pat Riley, feels a little nostalgia stepping onto the field.

"We've done this for the last few years," Riley said. "It's just so cool to be out here on the field, seeing a World Series won on this thing, being out here, it's just cool. To be playing catch with my here down here is amazing, a great experience."

For the players that roam the field regularly, their dad's played a big role in shaping who they are today.

"It's awesome, I get to see him in person, he's at the game today," Arizona outfielder Corbin Carroll said. "He means a lot to me, he's done so much for me and I'm really thankful for him."

Diamondbacks relief pitcher Ryan Thompson also reflected on the impact made by his father.

"He's amazing, I definitely wouldn't be here in the major leagues without him," Thompson said. "When I was a kid, I had an early bedtime, but I was allowed to stay up late if we were watching baseball together. He taught me all the stats, we would sit in the living room and do scorebook. He would teach me all the nuances of baseball and why guys are doing certain things. I fell in love with the math and chess game of baseball, more so than just the sport. Once a year, we'd go to Seattle for a three game series and stay in a hotel and watch the games and it was always so amazing. That side of it helped me fall in love with the game. The other side of it was how hard he worked for me. He was a hard working electrician, basically doing manual labor all day, and he would come home and I never knew he was having a hard day, would take me in the backyard, take me in the fields, and we would practice sports for hours every single day, so I'm very thankful for him. He's an A+ father."

Diamondbacks infielder Pavin Smith is a new father and shares how his father helped him prepare to become a dad himself.

"He was just raising me to be a good person and that's kind of what I look at with my daughter," Smith said. "Not trying to pressure her into doing anything, let her be her own self. I just love her for who she is."

While the Diamondbacks dropped Sunday's game to San Diego, 8-2, it was a successful six game homestand for Arizona as the snakes finished 5-1 and back over .500 at 36-35.

The Diamondbacks look to ride that momentum when they head back on the road, this time a nine game road trip which starts in Toronto on Tuesday.