The State of Our Season

Beautiful sunset in Springdale, AR this week

It is CRAZY that the season is just a few short weeks from ending! It feels like it has flown by so much faster than last year. We have a guaranteed spot in the playoffs because we won the first half, so we shall see how far into post-season play we will go.

I figure this would be a good time to share a little about how our season has been in general!

Hannah-
This season has been GREAT for me. I don't think I have shared much about it here, but last fall I started working as a personal/administrative assistant for two ladies who are high ranking Beachbody coaches. This has been a huge blessing for several reasons! First, it is beyond amazing to have a job where I can work remotely and be able to make money while traveling with Cy full time. Second, it is so nice to have my own tasks and responsibilities to focus on outside of baseball. I have my work, Cy has his work, we get to focus on our own things instead of all baseball on both of our brains constantly. Third, the nature of my work is SO social and community focused, which is so great for my social butterfly self! (If you're a baseball girl interested in a position like mine, shoot me an email!) Plus, I get to use a lot of practical skills and knowledge from my degree, which is great ;)

We are living with an INCREDIBLE host family (I seriously am amazed by how many truly wonderful people we have been able to live with in our past 2 seasons!!) and really they make baseball life doable. My host parents and I kind of accidentally started working out a couple months ago and now have a nightly group workout routine! It is really fun to do together, and I feel so great getting consistent exercise in- something I honestly have never really enjoyed haha.

I have been traveling a LOT. I've gone on a good majority of Cy's road trips, plus a trip home to Alaska for my best friends wedding at the beginning of August! It has been super fun but starting to wear me out, I am ready for the offseason to just be in one place for awhile!


Cy-
"This season has been good! There have definitely been some frustrating moments pitching wise because I feel like I haven't been quite as consistent as I was last season or as I am capable of. But all in all I am happy with my season. We have won a lot of games, which is always fun. I really enjoy the staff and the organization as a whole.

Our host family is awesome, makes life a lot easier. We have eaten a lot of great food and seen some fun new places this season- no complaints! It is really great to have Hannah with me full time, not everyone is able to make that work during season and I am thankful we can because it makes all the difference in the world.

This offseason is going to be good. I am excited to graduate in December and be DONE with school. Looking forward to doing manly stuff like hunting and chopping trees/firewood. Plus, getting to spend time with family and reset my mind and body to get ready for next season."


Us-
We are rapidly approaching our 2 year anniversary, which is crazy. Sometimes it feels like it was just last week that we got engaged, but at the same time it feels like we have been together forever. It's cliche but really, life is great when your spouse is your best friend! We are making lots of memories and enjoying the slightly crazy life that baseball gives us. Always an adventure ;)


So for our offseason, barring any crazy changes that baseball might bring, we are headed to ALASKA!! Yes, for real! All of the pieces just fell into place for us to spend most of our offseason up there near my family. We are really excited! I haven't been home for longer than like 3 weeks at a time since I left for college, so it will be great to spend extended quality time with our loved ones there.

Here's to the last few weeks of this season!!

xo, Hannah

So, Can You Get Me Tickets?? // Baseball FAQs

I thought it would be fun to start a new series that addresses common questions about various aspects of baseball life. There are a few things that often come up as topics of conversation amongst the baseball world, and one of them is the assumption that players get unlimited free tickets to games. The reality is... Ehhh, sort of.

In the minor leagues, players are allotted 4 spots on the "player pass list" per game. So each day when Cy gets to the field, he has to go to put my name on the pass list before it gets taken to the ticketing office a little before game time. Then when I get to the game, I go to the will-call window and they have my tickets waiting. It is super simple and easy. When we have family/friends in town, we gladly can get y'all tickets this way! Home teams are usually more flexible if Cy needs to leave more than 4 tickets, but when we are on the road if we have more than 4 people coming, he usually can ask another player to use their pass list spots if they aren't using them that day. So if we are in town and you want to come see Cy play (or just come sit and chat with me... duh!) we are so so happy to get you tickets!

However, it is a completely different story when you get to the big leagues. Similarly to how it works for us in MiLB, big league players are allotted a small amount of specific seats in the designated "family"(players wives, kids, etc.) section (I believe 4) and a few in the "friends" section (I believe 2, I've heard these seats are generally kinda crappy). That is where the similarities end. First, it isn't so simple as writing names on the list, the player has to go through the team to coordinate the tickets. Second.... The tickets that players request to have are NOT free for them. If, for example, a player requests to have tickets left for his wife and kids, the value of those tickets are then considered "income" which the player is then taxed on out of his paycheck. Generally the player ends up paying around 40% of face value. A friend in Houston said that for them, it ends up about $30 per ticket. So by the end of the season, this can really add up!! I've heard stories of people not knowing this and then having to pay several THOUSANDS of of dollars in taxes for the tickets they gave out during the season. Crazy.

So moral of the story, big league players often don't/can't coordinate tickets for more than immediate family. Many people say that it is usually a lot better to just buy your own tickets on stub hub or whatever, because you can find good seats for much less than it costs the players to get them. Minor league games, however, are free and easy for us to get you to-  so come see us! ;)

Thanks for reading!
xo, Hannah


SaveSaveSaveSave

All Star Break!

A few weeks ago, we got to enjoy a few days off for the All-Star break! The season is long and can get pretty exhausting, so having those few consecutive days off to relax and enjoy plenty of quality time together is SO valuable.

After finishing up the road series in Frisco on Sunday night, we immediately headed out to Athens to visit Cy's aunt. We LOVE getting out there any chance we can get- it is so peaceful and refreshing to be out in the country and spend time with family.

Tuesday morning we hit the road and headed to Fredericksburg! On the way, we stopped to have lunch at The Salt Lick BBQ in Round Rock (just north of Austin). If you recall, we ate at their original location in Driftwood on our anniversary trip last fall. So tasty!

We arrived at our Airbnb rental on a peach orchard just outside of town in the evening, and stopped by the store to grab some snacks. It was such a cute cabin, highly recommend! (click HERE to check out the listing)

The next morning, (after sleeping in laaaate) we enjoyed a tasty breakfast of cinnamon rolls and farm fresh eggs that our hosts graciously left for us before we hit the town to explore. Fredericksburg has an adorable main street lined with tons of neat little shops and restaurants! We spent most of our day just strolling through town checking things out! We stopped for a snack at the cutest little ice cream shop, Clear River- so tasty!! We headed back to the cabin to take a nap and hang out for a bit before dinner at Pasta Bella. It was very tasty!

Of course, Cy built a fire in the backyard that night, despite it being like 90 degrees outside. The man loves to build fires haha!

We enjoyed breakfast at Sunset Grill before heading back to Corpus to end our trip. It was such a low-key, relaxing couple of days for us!

Thanks for reading! Hope you are having a great week!

Baseball Wives: Meet Catherine + GIVEAWAY

*giveaway closed* 

Happy Sunday!! This week I want to introduce you to one of my absolute favorite baseball wives, Catherine Archer. Catherine and I were the lone wives who lived in Florida full-time last season when we were still with the Brewers. When Cy got traded, I cried because it meant I wouldn't be with Catherine anymore lol!! She is SO great! Keep reading to get to know her, and at the end she just might be giving a piece of her fabulous jewelry line away to one lucky reader!!

 ......

 1. How many seasons have you been in baseball, college and pro ball?

This is our 6^th year of baseball together- holy cow. That’s a lot of baseball.

2. How did you and your hubs meet, and when did you realize that he was “the one”? 

Tristan and I met through a mutual friend my senior year of high school (I know- just a baby!) and he was a sophomore at my hometown college, where I later went as well, Tennessee Tech University. From the beginning of our relationship, I knew he was “different” or “special”, you could say, than the other guys I had dated. I wouldn’t go as far to say that I knew at 18 years old that he was “the one”, though. It wasn’t a specific moment that I knew he was the one, it was a time in our lives and in our relationship- when his professional baseball career got started. That first summer we had spent apart was the absolute worst and we both knew from then on that we didn’t want to be without each other. He’s the most selfless, humble, and loving person I know- I don’t know how I got so lucky!

3. How do you make the time pass when yall are apart during road trips?
Oh, gosh… road trips **currently rolling eyes**. Im just kidding.. sort of. This year they actually aren’t that bad, at least compared to last year. This year they’re only about 5 days long (last year was 7). Shamefully, I have to say that the majority of my time is spent binge-watching Netflix and cooking. Its actually really nice to be able to sit at home all day- no makeup, hair up, sweats on. Usually while I’m watching tv I’m also working on jewelry. So road trips are definitely a good time to get lots of work done before Tristan gets home.

4. What is one thing you have learned about yourself through life in baseball?

Baseball life has taught me so much about myself, as well as life in general. Ive learned that I really, really like to be in control, which as you and all the other WAGS know, is not even a remote possibility in this lifestyle. So from that, its taught me to learn to go with the flow and trust that God will lead us in the right direction.   

5. Tell us about your sweet pup Squirrel!!!

Aw my little Squirrely. He’s just the sweetest- he’s currently curled up next to me. He’s a Heinz 57 dog- part German Shepherd, part pug, part beagle, part terrier, and probably lots of other things. We adopted him last November from (strangely enough) a pit bull rescue based out of Illinois. It’s called Player for Pits and they feature athletes who are against animal abuse. Tristan is a part of their organization and has ALWAYS wanted to adopt from them. Stephanie (the founder) and her team are amazing and go completely out of their way to rescue animals- seriously the things they do are so wonderful. When we saw Squirrel’s picture we knew we had to get him, and it was the best decision! He’s so well-mannered (besides whining at animals he sees while watching tv), the BEST cuddle buddy, and such a good traveller.

6.  Baseball certainly has its’ highs and lows, but what is one of your favorite game-related memories?

My favorite baseball-related memory is definitely the time I drove up with my mom and surprised Tristan on July 4^th 2 years ago! It was a spur of the moment trip and will always be my favorite trip my mom and I took together. When we got to the field, our seats were directly behind their dugout. I had been talking to one of the guys on the team before going up there (where they’re staying, if he can get tickets, etc.) So when we got there, he told Tristan to turn around and look in the stands and he had to do a double take before realizing it was me. His face was priceless and it was so much fun being able to surprise him.

7. What has been the most fun place you have traveled to see Tristan play?

Tristan has played in some interesting places- Helena, Montana and Appleton, Wisconsin his first two years when I wasn’t traveling, then Melbourne, Florida and now we are currently in Biloxi, Mississippi. My favorite of those definitely has to be Melbourne, FL. We were about 15 minutes from a beach near us and about 30 minutes from Cocoa Beach- so much fun! We made so many good memories during our first year traveling together, so that place will always hold a special place in my heart.

8. You are a fabulous jewelry designer, talk about how you got started and where you are at now in your biz!

Well, honestly, the whole reason Bow & Arrow is even a thing is because of Tristan. I’ve always wanted to make jewelry just as a hobby and a creative outlet. However, with college, planning a wedding, and working 2 jobs, it was impossible. So a couple months after we got married, one random night he decided we were going to Hobby Lobby and getting started on my new hobby (I made the jewelry, he just watched). In the beginning, I just made pieces for myself, my friends, and my family. After that, people from my hometown started wanting to buy some pieces and from there it just kind of took off (not without hard work, dedication, and late nights, of course). At this point, I’ve sold to customers across the country and have sold my line in over 20 boutiques. It’s actually really cool to think about. I honestly never would’ve imagined it would be where it is right now. It’s definitely not a “career job” right now, but I’m hoping one day it can be. It’s so nice to have some sort of income during baseball season, and not to mention something I enjoy doing.

9. When you go to starbucks, what is your order?

Oh, that’s tough. I almost always get an iced white chocolate mocha with skim milk and no whip just so I don’t feel completely terrible about all the calories. And if I’m feeling crazy, I might get a vanilla bean scone because why not??

10. If you had to describe yourself in 5 words, what would they be?
I’m actually really terrible at these things.. BUT, if I had to choose 5 words to describe myself, they would be: funny (sometimes goofy), creative, driven, passionate, and loyal. 

.....

Thank you Catherine!! Catherine has generously offered to give away a pair of these GORGEOUS earrings she just made! Use the raffle tool below to enter. Winner will be announced Friday 7/15/16! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway