Going Public…
It's been a month since the end of the World Series. The Padres made it to the play-off last year, the year Mike almost left for the Cubs. The year Mike and Ginny almost kissed. This year, 2017 they did it. Padres took it all – World Series champs.
Sportscaster seemed the next logical step in Mike Lawson's career. He'd been secretly taking lessons, and studying footage from ESPN in his spare time. He's been on air a few more times since is first near disaster on air two years ago. But this time was different, he had never been this nervous about going on air. Today's interview was about him, not stats or other games played, his personal life. The world was expecting him to announce an early retirement, now that he had his championship.
He took his seat on stage. Ginny and Blip joined him the studio for support and hung off to the back of the studio. A sound guy came over to adjust his mic and the make up lady did a quick touch of powder on his nose and forehead. From the furrow in his brow, you could tell he hated the idea of make up but he'd knew better get use to it if he wanted a second career in front of the camera.
A voice from somewhere off stage yelled "and you're live in 3… 2… 1… "
The show's host, Rob, did his normal show into material, then introduced his first guest of the day as "THE" Mike Lawson, Padres Catcher and San Diego's #1 bachelor. Rob's first question to Mike, "You're looking refreshed and better than ever."
"Thanks Rob, I don't think I've ever felt better."
"So, I'm going to get straight to it. Do we get an exclusive on your future with the Padres?"
"Well Rob, I wanted to take some time after wining the World Series to really consider all of my options. And after a lot of time talking to Al, Oscar, my teammates and my girlfriend, I've decided to …"
Rob quickly interrupts … "Mike, did you say girlfriend?" Mike smiled slyly. "I'm going to come back to that later, now what were you saying about retirement?"
"I'm not, retiring that is. I've decided to finish out my Padres contract and play a final year. I may need a double knee replacement, but I love this game, I love this team."
"I don't think any of us were expecting you to stick around on the field for another year. Does this have anything to do with a new love interest?"
"It's not a new love interest," said with a lot of emphasis on the word 'new.' "We've been together about a year now. Contrary to anything you've seen in the gossip columns, TMZ or anywhere else in the media, I'm not the man about town any more. No need when you've found the ONE."
Rob pushed for more information, which Mike was prepared for… There was a lot of strategy put into this whole interview, Rob didn't know it, but Mike was in control of the interview from the moment he agreed to the show. "So who is this lady who tamed the animal in Lawson?"
"Actually Rob, fiancé. Before the show I gave a video of the proposal to your producer if you'd like to see."
"I think the world wants to see Mike Lawson in love. If we didn't play it, I may loose my female following. Then again, announcing that you're off the market on my show may do the opposite." Rob said in jest.
Mike continues, "It was a pretty great moment. The team was doing a final picture shoot with the Commissioners Trophy out in the middle of the field at Petco. I had schemed with both the team and the photographer to propose at the end of the shoot… I was wearing a mic that played over a nearby speaker and Blip's wife, Evelyn, caught it all on camera." Mike looked up at the producer's booth with a nod, then over at Ginny and Blip, like there was no turning back.
- The video proposal -
On the screen - an image of a photographer on a tall ladder could be seen arranging the players, coaches and staff for a picture on the middle of the field. All the players are in their uniforms, staff in matching polo shirts with the Padres logo on it. You could easily hear the photographer ask for one final shot. "Can the team captain come up front? Also, the first female player? I want a shot highlighting you two. Go ahead and stand on the pitcher mound." Both Mike and Ginny made their way to the front and the photographer could be heard adjusting the rest of the team to fill in the gaps. In reality, they were handing something out behind their backs that couldn't be seen on camera.
Then, Mike dropped down to one knee in front of Ginny as all the players held out a rose towards their Captain. "Ginny, Rookie, love of my life." A tear is already coming down her face. Ginny begins to wipe the tears from her face as Blip hands her a handkerchief as if on cue. Blip said "you know there's no crying in baseball," and smirks.
Mike smiled, took her hands and continued. "You have challenged me, I mean really challenged me, and changed me for the better both on and off the field. I think everyone in the clubhouse would agree that you, in my life makes me a better man."
Blip shouts out "now you're tolerable, old man Lawson…" Pretty much everyone laughed at this point.
Mike continued, "I told you after our first kiss, I was never going to let you go. I told Al before spring training, bench me over her if our relationship get's in the way of the team. After we told the team, I'm told them I was going to marry you. A week later, I went and bought a ring, and have worn it around my neck every game since then. It was my lucky charm." As Mike was talking, , still on bent knee, he took a chain out from under his shirt and held out the engagement ring attached to it. "Please Ginny, will you…" before he can end his question, Ginny has bent over to kiss him. "… marry me" Mike finishes slightly breathless.
Ginny nods yes and throws her arms around Mike's neck as he stood up, and whispers something in his ear that the mic doesn't pick up. He slips the ring, still attached to the chain on her finger. "She said YES!" and pumps his fist in the air. By this time their teammates had now separated the petals from the stems and thrown rose petals towards the newly engaged couple.
"I love you!" Ginny declared, her first words that are actually picked up by the mic on Lawson's jersey. She now has jumped onto Mike with both legs wrapped around him and there is no way anyone is getting in the middle of this epic kiss. He's knees are sure to feel this the next day, but he doesn't care, he's going to marry this woman.
In the background, you can hear the team cheering for them.
- End video -
The camera snaps back to Rob, who looks dumbfounded for the first time in his career. Then immediately pans over to Ginny in a poorly lit area in the back of the studio. She has a big grin on her face and flashes her engagement ring. Pan back to Mike and Rob on stage.
Rob, "I'm not sure where to start. This must be the best-kept secret in baseball. Ginny, would you like to join us on stage?"
As Ginny makes her way to the stage, with Blip following closely behind, a sound tech mic'd her as she moved. Mike responded "I know, can you believe this amazing woman agreed to marry me. I wake up every day and wonder if I've been dreaming." Mike stood up to offer Ginny his seat, kissed her forehead gently then stood next to her with a hand on her shoulder.
It was clear the producer had not prepped the host for this news bomb, as he sat there staring at the two of them. Ginny jumped in, "We fought our feelings for a long time, which I think made things worse between us. After the season was over… Blip told us to go for a drive and figure out how to work together, because he wasn't going to go through another season of our bickering the way we did during the play-offs. We'll spare you the details, but we figured it out!"
The camera is panning around to find Blip, not realizing he moved when Ginny did, he's now only slightly off stage. You can hear Blip say from off stage, "I didn't mean for them to start dating, just stop fighting." Then Blip grinned.
Mike, "Yes, our relationship has been a secret for the past year. Like any professionals working together, we informed our boss of the relationship. But I think that this secret we had on the team, made us closer, more unified."
"Will you both be playing on the Padres next year now that you are engaged?" Rob had to bring it back to sports.
Mike and Ginny looked at each other and gave a little laugh. Mike started "Why wouldn't we? We've been dating and working together for the last year very well." Ginny continued with, "Well enough to not get in the way of winning the World Series. The only change is that now everyone in the stands knows. We each new separately, we were going to spend our lives together. We knew how to separate work from home. We're great co-workers."
Rob, "Ginny, what did you whisper to Mike after he proposed?"
"Rob, we kept our relationship out of the public eye for the last year because we keep to ourselves. It gave us time to fall in love, and not have the world dissecting the relationship. We plan to continue to keep our personal life out of the media as much as possible, we want to be a boring couple, so some things you don't get to know."
"Ginny, you are really a remarkable woman, trailblazing in a man's sport. Did you expect to fall for a teammate? Was it the beard? It was the beard…"
"I had said all of my career, I don't date ball players. But what I realized is I fell for a man who respected me as an athlete first, then fell in love with the woman second. He just happened to be my best friend and team mate. And maybe, a little of the beard." Ginny reached up to Mike's face and gently ran a finger along his jaw. Her touch still made him tingle inside.
"I have to ask, when's the wedding?"
Mike, "Well, Rob… If we plan on winning the World Series again next year, we need to have another team secret…"
Rob was getting a cue from off stage. "Well you heard it here. Mike Lawson and Ginny Baker, the new IT couple in sports." Then cut to commercial.