On the Road with Brian Ruggiano
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Baseball is a game loaded with transactions: players moving up, moving down, getting cut, going on the disabled list and coming off. The Loons have had six transactions since Opening Day, April 8. But most of the players don’t have their cars in Michigan, and the ones who do aren’t going to do long-term parking without knowing when they’ll return, so who gets the players to-and-from the airport? Well, thus far it’s been the front office interns.
On Wednesday, it was my turn to make the two-hour trek to Metro Detroit Airport DTW to pick up Loons third baseman Brian Ruggiano, who was returning to Michigan from extended Spring Training at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, AZ. Ruggiano was rehabbing out west, after straining his shoulder while making a dive for a ball earlier in the season.
A lot was talked about, from new inventions to Gulf stone crabs. But for this blog piece, I asked Brian to talk about the road: past, present and future.
On the Road, the Early Years: “My family used to drive to south Florida from Austin, TX every other year to visit relatives. We had a mini-van and we took out the middle-seat, and left the bench in the back, so the whole front part would be open and we would just lie down and sleep.”
When asked to cite a memorable road trip moment during his youth, Ruggiano could only think of the time that his sister, who’s stomach was easily unsettled, threw up on him. A memorable road trip for the wrong reasons I suppose. He gave me some vivid details, but I think I’ll leave it there.
“When we went to my grandparent’s ranch in West Texas, we’d always stop at this place in Fredericksburg, which is only an hour and a half away from Austin. My mom always thought it was a cute little town, real antique.”
He couldn’t recall the name of the restaurant they would always eat at, but nonetheless gave props to F-burg.
On the Road, the College Years: “We would plan our own trips over the winter breaks and one time me and a couple of guys went on a cruise. It’s not really a road trip, but we drove down to the Gulf Coast. My roommate and another friend of ours went on a cruise with a bunch of friends and there were like 99 people from [Texas] A&M on that cruise, 60 from our group, and it was a blast.”
The five-day cruise took Ruggiano to Cozumel and Progreso. He eventually won enough money to pay for the trip by playing Texas Hold ’em in the cruise’s casino.
On the Road, the Future: “Well [our college team] went to the University of Kansas and I got to see the basketball stadium there, [Allen Fieldhouse] with the wood seats. It’s really neat in there. I wouldn’t mind seeing a basketball game in there sometime.”
On a more national scale, Ruggiano desires to see the typical American landmarks like Mt. Rushmore and Niagara Falls. Also on his list is the Grand Canyon, a site Ruggiano is almost ashamed he hasn’t seen after spending so much time in Arizona with the Dodgers.
“If I had to live anywhere, it’d be in Southern California, that’s for sure,” he said “In the San Diego area. I went there on vacation with my family and I really liked it.”
Back in Midland
Ruggiano made his first start for the Loons since 4/15 on Thursday morning and produced two extra-base hits. It must have been the stop at Leo’s Coney Island on the way back.
