Milo was Reese’s very first business move, and it’s going to be hard to beat.
But this offseason, she made some other strategic shifts, bringing on a couple more guys. They’ve been the missing puzzle pieces to our equation, and we’ve been the most winning club in the league this season because of it.
I’ll never forget the commissioner’s conference last year when I told Reese I wanted to finish the season with a better record than every other owner who treated her as if she didn’t belong.
This year, we did exactly that. Together.
We spent the offseason traveling together anytime she needed to do some scouting. We went on a couple of vacations. One with the whole family. One with just her and me.
Reese was a missing puzzle piece in her own way.
She fits seamlessly into our little family. She gets along so well with both Kennedy and Miller, and of course, the Rhodes brothers think she’s great. Five of the six of us spend every day together at the field, and Miller and the kids are here whenever they can be, so it’s not surprising how close Reese has grown to them. She loves my family like they’re her own, and because biology doesn’t mean shit around here, that’s exactly what they’ve become.
That was evident shortly after our last season ended when Miller gave birth to her and Kai’s daughter, Emmy. Reese came with me to the hospital to meet the newest addition to the family and whenmydaughter told me thatherdaughter was named after me... yeah, I was a fucking mess in the best way possible. I vividly remember looking over at Reese, who rarely gets emotional, to find her crying along with me.
That day solidified it for me. That she was a part of this. Our little family of eight.
When Kennedy and Isaiah got remarried before the start of this season, renewing their vows back in Vegas, Reese was there too. In the pews, watching me proudly, the same way she did at Kai and Miller’s wedding.
One of the best parts of this year together has been watching Reese’s confidence grow in her work. She was always confident on the outside, held her own when needed, but last season when the media had something to say about her, I’d see it invisibly weigh on her shoulders. But only when we were home and never at the stadium.
But she’s taken her team to the World Series in her second year. It’s hard to argue with those facts or find something to complain about. And more than just being the first female team owner in the league, Reese wants to be known for winning.
So that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
I’ve won a World Series as a field manager before. I have the ring. But nothing else will compare to this one if we can pull it off. Winning it for Reese. Winning itwithReese.
The crowd erupts when Travis gets his fourth ball, giving us a man on base. No outs. Bottom of the ninth. Still a tied game.
A calm confidence settles me as I watch, because I know it’s going to happen. We’re going to win it all. At home. In Reese’s stadium.
Isaiah bumps his shoulder against mine. “Hey, Monty. Remember that time you gave a speech last year about loving us because you were going to quit your job but then you were back the very next day?”
I burst into a laugh, and I’m sure any camera operator that’s focused on me right now is confused as to why I’m smiling when I should be stressing.
But I can’t help it. This is fun. All of this is fun.
“You’re a little shit, you know that?”
Isaiah flips the brim of his hat to the back, leaning on the railing right next to me. “I’m aware.”
Milo Jones makes his way to the plate, and the whole scene is just poetic. Not only that he’s become one of our biggest offensive threats, but because we’re playing against Houston tonight. Against the player that Reese got so much shit for trading.
Except Harrison Kaiser has hardly contributed to Houston’s success this year. He’s been suspended twice. He was sent down to their triple-A team for a couple of weeks mid-season. Their field manager told me earlier in the series that they’re itching to get him off their roster after his contract expires at the end of their season.
Which hopefully is tonight.
Not that I had any doubt in my mind, but Reese clearly made the right decision last year.
As Milo approaches the plate, I look up. To the owner’s box. Reese’s eyes are already on me, a proud and meaningful smile on her lips. She knows it too. It’s about to happen. I can see my own confidence mirrored in her.
Her parents and grandparents are up there with her, and I just know that Arthur is beaming with pride for his granddaughter as he watches this game.
Reese gives me a wink before I return my focus to the field.
Milo’s first pitch is a ball.
The second, he gets a piece of it, but it goes wide. It’s a foul ball, earning him a strike.
