What do Clayton Kershaw, Albert Pujols, Mike Trout, Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper and Roy Halladay have in common? How about Nolan Ryan, Mike Schmidt, Fernando Valenzuela and Kirk Gibson?
Yes, they are all current or former star players in Major League Baseball. But they have also signed baseballs for Malibu 12-year-old Trent Simonian. The soon-to-be seventh grader at Malibu Middle School, who played second for the Major Phillies recent Malibu Little League title-winning team, has a collection of more than 100 autographed baseballs at home that he and his older brother, Trevor, have spent the last few years steadily adding to.
“I have a pretty big autograph collection. They are all special. I love them all,” Simonian said. “Baseball is fun to watch and fun to play. It’s an amazing game. Every game I try and get at least two baseballs. My dad gave me some of his old autographs so I am probably going to give them to my kids.”
Never too soon to think ahead.
The Simonian boys and their father, Len, attend many Dodger games throughout the season, as well as take summer trips to baseball stadiums across the country. Last summer they visited eight stadiums in eight cities, in eight days: Target Field in Minneapolis, Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wrigley Field in Chicago, Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City and Coors Field in Denver.
The trio has visited 24 of 30 major league ballparks, the exceptions being Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Tampa Bay, Toronto and the New York Mets. A few of those will be checked off the list this summer.
“I love baseball and when your kids love baseball, it’s such a great bond. You share that interest,” Len said. “They live the game. Every time we go to a game, it’s a new experience. Watching them interact with players is just awesome to see.
“Obviously our family vacations are precious with my wife, Kristy, and my daughter, Taylor, but after that the thing they look forward to the most in the world is, ‘Where are we going this summer for baseball, dad?’”
The family’s close embrace with the game of baseball resulted in one incredible memory last month, when the visiting Washington Nationals came to Dodger Stadium for a game on May 13. Before the game, Trent wandered down to the first-base seats to speak to the Nationals’ All-Star pitcher, Gio Gonzalez, whom he had his picture taken with a year before.
Simonian asked the major-leaguer if he remembered him from the previous summer, and Gonzalez responded, “Yeah, we took a picture.” Trent then mustered up his courage and asked if Gonzalez would play catch with him.
Gonzalez complied, and the two played catch for close to two minutes with Washington players and coaches watching. The surreal moment was captured on video and posted on YouTube. There have been more than 74,000 views of “Playing Catch with Gio Gonzalez.”
“First of all, he’s an awesome player. It was a pretty amazing moment,” said Simonian. “I was thinking, ‘I better not drop this. And I’d better make a good throw.’”
Other Nationals players asked Simonian to show them his curveball. He did.
“Gio made it look like it was really good. I was pretty excited,” Simonian said.
Since then, Simonian has also played catch with St. Louis Cardinals rookie phenom Shelby Miller. Last season, Cliff Lee of the Philadelphia Phillies gave him a Powerade, sunflower seeds, some bubble gum and even flexed the bill of his cap during a game.
“I was pretty lucky,” said Simonian.
He has surely developed a knack for interacting with baseball’s biggest stars. During the same game with the Phillies, Simonian sat next to the dugout and asked Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard to hit a home run. Howard proceeded to hit a double off the wall and upon entering the dugout looked at Simonian and said, “Is that good enough for you?”
Simonian was speechless.
He lists Miller Park in Milwaukee as his favorite ballpark because “it’s a giant dome. You walk in and it’s like ‘whoa.’” Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston also come to Simonian’s mind. But Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Len’s hometown, is a close second to Miller Park.
“I love that ballpark because it has good cheesesteaks,” Simonian said. “They are so good.”
Their father is just enjoying the trip.
“Our ballpark tour has been even better than I hoped. It has become a quest that we look forward to and pursue eagerly each summer, and has created experiences and memories that we speak of often and will never forget,” Len said. “As a father, that’s as good as it gets.”
As he grows up and continues to enjoy his childhood years, Simonian knows that if it wasn’t for his father, these special days in ‘baseball heaven’ would be few and far between. With Father’s Day coming up on Sunday, Simonian shared a special message for his dad.
“He’s the best dad ever. He does everything for us,” Simonian said. “Thank you. I love you.”
