Mosier has memorable day

Reds fans from Celina who made the trip down to Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark on Sunday for Celina Day left disappointed as the Cubs shut out the Reds 9-0 to take three out of the four games in the weekend series.

Brett Mosier, though, had the time of his life.

The Celina native served as an honorary captain for the Reds on Sunday, giving him the opportunity to take the field briefly before the game. A strict timetable on when everything had to be done so the game would start on time meant a lot of work with the Reds along with Brett's father Rick Mosier, but the end result was a happy day for the Mosiers.

"I felt excited and pumped up," said Brett. "It felt really good."

"I told Brett we'd have a half-hour to wait, but enjoy it," Rick Mosier said. "It was not only special for him, but I got a little rush of excitement as well. It was cool."

A funny moment came when a group picture was taken. Warned not to get near the chalked lines of the batter's box and baselines, Rick positioned Brett out of harm's way.

"I was very careful," Rick Mosier said. "I took Brett to the side and the umpire said 'Move him in here.' I said (the Reds) told us to stay off the lines. The umpire said 'By the end of the first inning, they're gone anyway. Get him in here.' "

Brett is a big sports fan, but being in a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy could have caused him to remain only a fan if not for his parents.

Rick Mosier, a standout basketball player for Celina on the 1972 state semifinal team and later the Celina city treasurer, and Sheri Mosier, who passed away in 2011, helped form the Mercer County Challenger Baseball League in 1993 to allow Brett and other special needs children in the area the chance to play baseball.

"(Brett's) older brother Brian played Little League baseball, which I helped coach," said Rick Mosier. "Brett went to all the games and was into it. He said he wanted to do that. It wasn't a month later that Sheri was reading about Challenger League, a division of Little League Baseball. They were extremely helpful getting us information and telling us what we needed to do. It was a matter of selling it to parents of other children with disabilities."

To this day, kids from six to 18 play a five-week season in June at a diamond around the county. Able-bodied "buddies" help the players, either by pushing the wheelchairs around the bases or by helping point the players in the right direction. Each game is three innings long, everybody gets a chance to hit and play the field and no stats are kept. In the past, kids from Auglaize County were invited to come and participate. Now, that county has its own Challenger League.

For those players who have aged out of the program, alumni games are held to give the veterans a chance to play again for an inning.  

Brett's chance to make the field for the Reds game was helped by Bill Montgomery, president of Celina Group and a longtime friend of Rick Mosier.

"Through his connections with the Reds and Celina Day, (Montgomery) made the contact," Rick Mosier said. "He asked if Brett could be honorary captain for Celina Day. (The Reds) had no problem with the logistics. Jon Wagner (from the Reds' group sales department and a native of Sidney) was great and took great care of us."

When father and son walked out to take part in the pregame conference among the umpires and a coach from each team to present the lineup cards, Reds' first base coach Freddie Benavides gave Brett the Reds' lineup card to give to home plate umpire Mike Estabrook.

Estabrook reached into his pouch to give Brett an official game ball, on one big condition.

"He told Brett 'I'm going to give this to you, but you can't yell at me or throw it at me,' " Rick Mosier said with a laugh. "It was pretty light-hearted out there."

And did Brett honor the agreement?

"Yes, I did," Brett Mosier said.