The score ended up 2-0 in favour of the Seattle Mariners, but Coast fans of Ryan Dempster and the Chicago Cubs were just delighted to see their hometown hero in action.
On Tuesday, June 22, more than 200 family and friends were guests of Dempster at Safeco Field in Seattle.
Dempster was stellar, pitching eight innings of two-run ball, but was let down by his offence who were stymied by the Mariners pitching.
Somehow though, all that just didn't matter. While cheering the Cubs onto victory would have been the best ending to the day, this was really all about just getting to watch Dempster at work and so close to home. Seldom in inter-league play does Chicago play in Seattle - only once every eight years. For all of us at the game, it was just the pleasure of trying to out-cheer 34,000 fans when "our man" came to the mound.
Gibsons and the Sunshine Coast can be so proud of Dempster - not only for what he has achieved as a pitcher, but for who he is as a man. In spite of his accomplishments and pitching ability, his fame, his "celebrity" and his financial successes, he is accessible and humble, such that he puts everyone at ease in his presence.
I've personally watched him go 10 rows up in the stands to shake hands, high five and sign autographs after a game. Except for his large stature, one would have difficulty figuring out who the baseball star was in the crowd.
Off the field, he's just one of the guys. He's a husband, a daddy, a son and a kid from the Sunshine Coast in all respects. In carrying himself the way he does, he's a "man's man," but not because of baseball. As he himself has said, baseball is his job; that's not who he is.
I asked him how he's able to keep his "feet planted on the ground" considering the spotlight that he lives under. Without thought, his immediate response was to credit his parents, Wally and Lori, his friends, boyhood coaches and the people of the Sunshine Coast.
"There's no way I can ever repay those who helped me get to where I am. I just hope they know I'm grateful," said Dempster.
As part of my other job while in Seattle, I worked with Steve Sleep and Jim Brown from Coast TV producing a documentary on Dempster that will air in the fall. What you will see in that feature is a young man who has the ability to throw a baseball fast and true, a multi-millionaire at work.
But when that documentary is done, I predict that's not the part that will impress you. In Dempster, you're going to see a man in the white-hot glow of the North American sports media spotlight, but you're also going to see and hear a humble and grateful man.
The Cubs may have lost last Tuesday, but we will always be the winner as long as that humble celebrity is out there pitching and enjoying that warm glow whenever he speaks of or represents us here on the Sunshine Coast. We can all be so proud of our very own hometown hero Ryan Dempster.
Dempster now sits a 6-6 on the season after a strong outing in the Cubs 6-2 win over the Oakland Athletics on June 16 and an 8-6 win last Sunday, June 27, against the Chicago White Sox. In the win over the Cubs cross-town rivals, Dempster went seven innings, allowing three runs on nine hits with eight strikeouts and one walk.
- with files from Ian Jacques
