Bio

First Name

Andy

Last Name

Vaught

Username

darth_vaughter

Location

Fort Wayne, IN

Other Interests

spoiling my nieces and nephews, reading, golfing, playing tennis, and dreaming about my next ballpark trip

Website

thirty81project.com

Bio

Baseball was the first hobby interest of my life – this grew into an exquisitely mediocre rec league career starting in tee ball, up through junior league and little league, and culminating with my pony league years.

I’m now an assistant coach at an NAIA university and spend a significant amount of my free time on the field or traveling to new stadiums I’ve yet to visit. I love this game.

Baseball Info

Favorite Team

Cincinnati Reds

Favorite Ballpark(s)

PNC Park, Oracle Park, Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Best Baseball Memory

In one game, approximately five minutes apart, I received two toss-up baseballs from Joey Votto at the Rogers Centre at a Reds/Blue Jays game in 2022. I was decked out in Reds gear and when I decided to keep the first ball for myself, even though there was a row of kids behind me, the hometown Jays fans had no problems voicing their disdain for my decision. Joey is one of my all-time favorite baseball players and my all-time favorite Red, so there was no chance I was giving that ball away, no matter how loud the fans were.

So, I kept the first toss-up for my modest baseball collection and when the second one came flying my way, it was a no-brainer to give it to one of the nearby kiddos for his collection. As it turns out, he was actually a basketball fan and was only attending the game to be with his friends. But he had been talking to the woman in the neighboring seat for most of the game. Throughout their conversation, he realized she was a much bigger baseball fan than him, so he decided to give her the ball to her so she could give it to her son.