Father's Day and the Men's College World Series share a calendar date every year. With that comes heart-warming stories of young men fulfilling a lifelong dream shared with their father.
These players grew up envisioning themselves at college baseball's promised land, where the City of Omaha migrates to Charles Schwab Field for 15 days. Every year, the stands and concourses fill to capacity, and within the packed crowd, you can always find a couple of dads beaming with pride.
For Young Park, father of Stanford outfielder Eddie Park, these moments in Omaha bring tears to his eyes.
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"Every Father's Day from when Eddie was eight years old, I've always been at the field with Eddie," Park told NCAA.com. "Today, on Father's Day, Eddie is 20-years-old and at Omaha. This is a great gift for me. I remember, for a long time, his great efforts, sweat, praise and sometimes tears, I remember everything. Mr. Eddie Park, as a young man, I truly respect him."
Take it from the guy who's been here before. Brandon Moore, the dad of Auburn's Brody Moore, competed at the 1994 Men's College World Series as a Tiger, and now gets to share this experience with his son.
"It's cliche but it's unbelievable," Moore said to NCAA.com. "It's so fun to watch him in this stage. This is something he's worked for his entire life so to see him compete at the ultimate level is heart-warming and surreal."
Surreal is the best way to describe how Brian Turner, father of Arkansas' Michael Turner feels.
"It means everything," Turner said to NCAA.com. "From pee-wee baseball back home at Champion High School (OH) to here now is unbelievable. I'm just so thankful that he got a chance to play here. To play with all these great players. It's not just for me, it's for everybody and all the dads here, all the players here. It's just an unbelievable place really."
Jim Elko, father of Ole Miss captain Tim Elko, knows destiny was awaiting Tim all along.
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"Tim, this is his dream," Elko said to NCAA.com. "He came back this year for this reason right here. He wanted to go to Omaha to win a championship right here. I'm just happy for him and happy for all these boys. They all came together. There was a lot of adversity this year. There was a tough spot in the middle of the season but they all pulled together and they believed in each other and they're here and I'm so happy and thankful for them."
The full-circle moment is happening for Fred Battles, dad of Arkansas' Jalen Battles.
"He doesn't really show his emotions much, doesn't talk much. He's a humble guy. But for me, I am over the moon. I just can't believe that he gets to live out his dream, and his dream is basically our dream. We all travel. This is what we do. We go to baseball fields and to see him on this stage, I can't put it into words. I thank the man above."
