Cole Schatzinger’s call of the familiar “Play Ball!” at the beginning of a recent San Diego Padres home game was, by all s, a home run.
“It was the best experience of my life,” said Cole, who is still excited about his call at Petco Park more than a week later.
For a 9-year-old who dreams of becoming an MLB player for the Padres, Cole has already made a great play in front of his dream team.
There was no hesitation or shyness as Cole walked up to his designated spot for the Padres versus Colorado Rockies game on April 13. Despite the cameras and the crowd of thousands, he yelled, “Play Ball!” to the delight of the crowd.
Cole, the son of Joshua and Lauren Schatzinger of Ramona, is a fourth-grader at Deer Canyon Elementary School in Poway.
His father Joshua, an audio visual estimator, is a Master Sergeant (E8) in the Marine Corps Reserves. He’s also been an assistant for Ramona Pony and has always coached the boys’ teams.
Cole’s mother, Lauren, is a teacher at Mesa Verde Middle School in Rancho Penasquitos, where she teaches 7th grade language arts and social studies. She’s also a Ramona Pony board member.
His younger brother, Brodie, 6, is in first grade, and also attends Deer Canyon.
Lauren Schatzinger was more than happy to relay the play-by-play of how her son happened to be chosen to give out the iconic phrase on game day.
“April 13 is Little League Day at Petco, and Ramona Pony Baseball was selected to attend,” she said.
Ramona Pony Baseball , their families and friends purchased about 280 tickets for the special event, taking up three sections of seating.
The kids were able to go down on the baseball field for about an hour before the game started, and participate in special games, face painting and other activities, Schatzinger said.
“The best part of being on the field was watching how precise the crew was in prepping the field,” Cole said.
Prior to the start of the game, Petco officials asked the Pony board to place their names on a wheel, and they spun the wheel.
“I was shocked when it landed on his name; I never win anything,” Schatzinger said.
As part of the experience, Cole was able to enter the VIP gate and go through the media entrance with his father.
“It felt like it was a castle, it was so beautiful,” he said.
And then, for a couple of minutes, all eyes were on Cole as he shouted baseball’s beloved phase.
“He’s my first born and a little quieter than his brother. But he was so animated and he said ‘Play Ball!’ perfectly,” his mother said. “The call was so joyful and you could hear the excitement in his voice.”
After the call, a Petco security guard took Cole and his father into the Padres’ dugout.
“The team wasn’t there yet, but he was able to look at everything and get some photos,” Schatzinger said.
Once Cole returned to his seat, the entire Pony section cheered for him.
“We love baseball and the Padres, and from the second we arrived at the stadium we received the gold glove treatment. And the ushers all made a big deal about his call after we got back to our seats,” Schatzinger said.
“He was overwhelmed, but in a good way. It’s just one of the coolest things ever that we got to be a part of,” she said.
In addition to Cole’s game day debut, the Padres beat the Rockies, 6 to 0.
“The day was summed up very well, by our son, right before bedtime,” Joshua Schatzinger said. “He wrote on his calendar, ‘best day EVER!’ and crossed the day off like he does every night. He was and still is very grateful for the opportunity and it will be a lifelong memory.
“It was quite a magical day for him and our family.”
