Eric C. Gray's Blog, page 2

The Story Behind Two New Friendships - Fastball John, DJ, and Me

 One day I was messagin g with a guy from Ohio.  He suggested I contact someone he was friends with, former MLB pitcher John D’Acquisto, who began his career with my team, the San Francisco Giants.   I was reluctant at first, because I have never felt comfortable contacting famous people, especially to ask a favor.  It just isn’t my nature. Nevertheless, I contacted him through messenger, and thus began a series of conversations about the topics I love best:  baseball, music and politics.  At one point, as I described my project, I asked if he had a story he would like to contribute.  He apologetically said he was not able to do that as he was in midst of writing his own book.  When we later had a chance to meet in person, when John was on his book tour for Fastball John, he came over and gave me a bear hug like we had known each other for a hundred years. 

John D’Acquisto was gracious enough to write a testimonial for Bases to Bleachers which you can find in the very front of my book before the Table of Contents.  

   

The Story Behind a Story - Vin, Jose, Karla, David, and Me

From the outset, I knew that there were a few stories I really wanted to get from a first-hand perspective, the only way they would appear in the book. One that I truly coveted was the first home game the Marlins played after pitcher Jose Fernandez died.  I heard all about the game and hoped I would find someone who was there to share that memory. I was lucky to meet David Clemmer who lives in Florida and I asked him if he knew anyone who might have been to that game in which Fernandez was honored by the Marlins, Mets and, of course, the fans.  David had been to that game and did he have a tale to tell! You can find it in on p. 302, in the chapter Famous, Historic, and Memorable Games. 

The Story Behind Sarah's Story - How This One Shaped Bases to Bleachers

As I read the story Sarah sent me on my phone, I had to contain myself while reading her amazing tale.  It was not only one of the best, but one of the most important stories I had received.  My first thought was “This is great” followed by “but there’s no place for it in my book since it isn’t game-related.” My last thought was the key one, which was that I HAD to find a place for it!  YOU can find it on page 242 in the Chapter, Home Runs.  

The Story Behind Sarah's Story - How This One Shaped Bases to Bleachers

As I read the story Sarah sent me on my phone, I had to contain myself while reading her amazing tale.  It was not only one of the best, but one of the most important stories I had received.  My first thought was “This is great” followed by “but there’s no place for it in my book since it isn’t game-related.” My last thought was the key one, which was that I HAD to find a place for it!  YOU can find it on page 242 in the Chapter, Home Runs.  

The Story Behind All the Stories - How I Did This

How did I collect the stories for the book? First I asked friends for stories, and then asked them to ask their friends.  I asked people around me, whereever I was.  I used Facebook to extend my reach online.  For more than seven years, I could not be contained. Just ask Lynn, she will confirm.

The Story Behind a Story - Worth the Wait - A Story from My Son

The first “story” submission I got from my son at the beginning of this project was not exactly stellar.  After several years of encouraging, urging, nagging and scolding, he finally sent me the story that appears on page 13 and 14 in the Chapter, Generation to Generation: Family and Baseball.  I gotta say, it made me blush a little.

The Story Behind a Story - Lynn gets coffee; Eric hits a home run.

Lynn wanted her usual morning cup of coffee so we set out to find a coffee shop.  Eric, as usual, was in pursuit of stories, so he found his way in --a T-shirt with the name of a baseball stadium.  The eavesdropper was the real story!

The Story behind a Story-The story that inspired the book

You never know when a random act and its unintended consequences can end up changing a life, in this case mine.  Andy Berger’s story is about going to his first game with his Cub Scout troop. It is in the mini-chapter My First Game, on page 319. His story was also the inspiration for the book, Bases to Bleachers.  

The Story behind a Story- It's a small world after all.

This is the story of how I met Dean Zemel, the author of a story in Bases to Bleachers on page 23 in the chapter Let's Beat the Traffic, and the surprising discovery we made several years later.