In February 2011, Major League baseball sent out casting call for an innovative new experience. It was called the Ultimate Dream Job. This is the bio that was submitted by Marcus “Mookie” Anderson, aka The Sports Daddy along with a video:
I was born in Milbank, SD birthplace of American Legion Baseball. My Great Uncle Sid Lundquist is in the state’s Baseball Hall of Fame. The game is in my blood, but no one from my family has ever made it to the Major Leagues.
I am a Minnesota Twins fan. Being a Twins fan is an honorable and worthy thing. I have been a Twins fan my entire life, and I have rarely been disappointed. I don’t believe that small-market teams (like the Twins claim to be) have any less chance of winning than big-market teams. Big salaries don’t always win championships. I go to 10-15 home games and road trip to one away series each year.
As a fan, I was selected as a winner of Twins “Week of the World Champions” contest. I sat for an entire game with legendary Public Address Announcer Bob Casey, waiting for my chance to introduce the 7th Inning stretch. That was a great day.
I worked 56 games for the Twins as a member of the fan relations’ staff for 1998 season. I was chosen as the “Employee of Month” for April, and given the responsibility of working the home plate section the rest of the season.
I have sung the 7th Inning stretch twice at Twins games. Once as part of a select group from the Fan Relations staff in ’98 and the other as part of a part of a “Dog Day at the Dome” promotion in 1999. That’s a long story though.
I met my wife on the softball fields. Our wedding was a baseball theme. The groomsmen wore Twins hats, I threw out a first pitch, and we provided guests with Wedding Day scorecards. The Pastor even paused the ceremony for a church organ rendition of Take Me Out to the Ballgame.
I have coached a baseball team, or played on a slow pitch softball team every year since 1982. My passion for the game carries over to my coaching acumen from T-ball to Legion to Softball and back to T-ball (My 6 year old son is named “Nolan.”) I have spent my share of time on long bus rides and smelly dugouts and I have loved every single minute of it. There is nothing more rewarding than coaching up a kid, who starts a season not being able to throw or catch, into a game-winning hero. The stuff I heard from grateful parents of those kids still makes me smile.
Anybody can play the game. They just have to get the chance. I would love the chance to show people how much baseball is part of my life, not just a 500 word essay.
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