Rocky Mount Baseball Community Celebrates

Word started spreading on Tuesday that Brian Goodwin had signed his pro baseball contract with the Washington Nationals just before the stroke of midnight Monday. Phones were ringing as the word spread.  Early Tuesday evening a conversation between Don Fish and Jammy Mitchell happened and during that talk they both decided that they were not going to let Brian get out of town  without all those who love baseball had a chance to congratulate him.

You see just two months ago Xavier Macklin signed with the A's one day and was off playing ball in Vermont the next. The Rocky Mount baseball world never got to tell him how proud they are of him.  They didn't want that to happen again.  Over night word spread, there's going to be a party for Brian at Ashley and Don Fish's house Wednesday night y'all come.

75 or so people came and ate Doug Saul's barbecue right in their back yard.  This was not a celebration for a Rocky Mount Gryphon but for all his teammates during the years that were part of the State games championship at 12 years old.  Two state titles as Babe Ruth Championships, two Southeastern Titles  in Babe Ruth and a second in the Babe Ruth World Series at 13 and 14 years old..  Yet to come was a state high school title.

This was a celebration by all the moms and pops of all the motels that have spent together with all these kids for all those years and all those tournaments. The vacations days used up in Arkansas, Tennessee or  Boston and even when the vacations days were gone they were still there following their sons. Brian joins Xavier as the two who have made it so far.  Could there yet be more from this group.

Tuesday night in the back yard of the Don Fish family  most of the mothers and fathers  were there to help Sylvester and Brenda celebrate. The Joyner's.The Williams', The Ramsey's, The Berry's,The Pittman's. The Cockrell's, The Clark's, and even Xavier's family came and so many more.  Coaches Pat Smith, Travis Ward, Jammy Mitchell and Kent Cox. Then there were those who just love baseball, They all came to congratulate Brian Goodwin and to celebrate what these kids did back then and what is still left in the future.

So many of this group that won all these titles are still deep in college baseball and whether there is baseball after college they have so much to remember.  The baseball world of Rocky Mount came together for one evening in the back yard of the Fish family to pat Brian Goodwin on the back  and to look at how proud they are of all of them. This was a family reunion put together in 24 hours. The baseball family of Rocky Mount.