PHOENIX — Paul Aguirre attended all four of the Arizona Diamondbacks' World Series home games in 2001, but his magic Chase Field moment always will be the one he enjoyed Monday.
A lot of fans at the D-backs' game against the St. Louis Cardinals understand.
Aguirre, deployed to Afghanistan with the Arizona Air National Guard for the past seven months, surprised his two children as part of a first-pitch ceremony that ended with a joyful, tearful reunion at home plate.
Jackson, 6, and Alanna, 5, threw out ceremonial first pitches before the game to a man they thought was a Diamondbacks player.
As they walked toward the plate, the catcher removed his mask. It was a smiling Paul, who unbeknownst to his children had returned from duty in Kandahar on Sunday.
Alanna put her arms over her head in surprise, and both kids embraced their dad in a group hug that did not end and could be felt halfway across the world. It sent shivers and thunderous applause throughout the crowd.
“I was surprised,” Jackson said.
“I was thinking 'That’s Daddy, when the mask was even on you,' " Alanna told her father.
Both kids threw the ball right over the plate.
It was almost too much for Paul, an Arizona native and former season-ticket holder who called the D-backs "part of our summer tradition."
“I heard a little bit of the crowd reaction, but to be honest with you, I was just trying to control my own emotions," Aguirre said. "It was kind of hard seeing them, because I hadn’t seen them for eight months, almost. I had to kind of restrain myself.
"When I started walking out there, I was welling up with emotion."
Aguirre took his position behind the plate while his children were
looking at the video board in center field, where footage of him reading
a letter to his children was being shown. The message was shot
in the bowels of Chase Field earlier in the day.
Paul’s brother, Isaac, and his mother attended the game, as did many other family members and friends.
"It was better than we dreamed. When the Diamondbacks gave up this idea, it blew our minds away. What a cool thing," Isaac Aguirre said.
"We are real proud of him in service to our country, and the kids have been really brave. Seven months is a long time. They get to Skype with him every week, but that’s not the same. We would pick them up from time to time and get some uncle time with them, but all they would talk about was 'When’s my dad coming home?'
"We’re really excited for them."
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