Zachary's Baseball Dream

Twelve year old Zachary Williamson moved with his family from San Francisco, California to Phoenix, Arizona one summer. He enjoyed several sports, but he was a big baseball fan. His dream was to have the opportunity to attend one of the Diamondback games, meet all of their players, and have them autograph a baseball and jersey for him.

His favorite player on the team was Miguel Castro. He loved the way he pitched and reacted when he struck players out. Castro is a reliever for the Diamondbacks.

Zachary had grown up playing t-ball when he was younger. He had a lot of fun playing it. He was one of the tall players on his Little League teams and a star pitcher and player. Many times he hit home runs to help his teams win. His dad was both his t-ball and Little League coach. His favorite baseball movie was Little Big League. His dad, Luke, worked as a car salesman, and he made really good money sometimes. There were some months he had very few sales. This made the family very discouraged. They hoped he would have better success in Phoenix.

The car sales were better in Phoenix for a few months starting the following January. Then they really waned out. They had a family of nine children (five boys and four girls), many mouths to feed. Luke's family knew he would soon have to start looking for new employment. To top it all off, in the spring, the Williamson family lost their house due to a flash flood in March. They were devastated. They lost a lot of their prized possessions, a few were saved. They were without a house and moved into the basement of Luke's dad, Jacob's house.

The house had twelve bedrooms, an attic, basement, five bathrooms, two kitchens, and a living and dining room as well as being attached to two garages. Jacob and his wife, Betty owned two luxury cars and a truck. They were able to have this big of a house because Jacob had the good fortune of winning the Arizona lottery. He won $30,000,000 and gave his son and family one-half of his winnings.

The next summer the whole family was able to drive 230 miles to the Grand Canyon National Park. They bought a Mercedes Benz and a Cadillac and took their trip in their new Cadillac.

The family sang at the top of their lungs "On The Road Again," "Walking In The Sunshine" "Thank You For Being My Friend, and "Home On The Range." After they arrived there, they spent a week there camping, hiking, riding mules into the Grand Canyon, riding a train there, and rafting on the Colorado River. The family had a blast that week.

They used their $15,000,000 wisely and the whole family attended a Diamondbacks game. They were able to purchase front row seats behind home plate. The weather was pleasant with a few fluffy clouds in the sky. Zachary was so excited his family could be at this game with him. He had bought a Miguel Castro jersey and brought it and a MLB baseball with him.The Diamondbacks played San Francisco. He kept his eyes on every pitch and every batter. The stadium was filled to capacity. At first the game was a pitcher's duel, and a few players got caught stealing. Then the game got a little more exciting with the final score being Diamondbacks 7, San Francisco 5. Miguel Casto pitched the final two innings and struck out four of the six batters he faced.

As soon as the game was over, Zachary ran up to Miguel and told him he was a big fan of his. He asked him to be the first one to autograph his jersey and baseball. Then he asked Miguel to have all his teammates come on the field so he could have their autograph. He was able to obtain the autographs of the whole Diamondback team. He was on cloud nine.

The Williamsons had a custom house built by the following December. Their house was built sturdy enough to withstand a flash flood. They had the house built like Luke's house. Of course, they were so grateful that Luke won the lottery and gave them half their winnings.