Thank you, Pedro.
It could be as simple as just saying those three words when I see you at an American League ballpark later this year. But that doesn’t do your career here in Pittsburgh justice. Well, at least not for me. There are so many things to thank you for over the course of the past three-and-a-half years.
Here are just a few that come to mind:
Thank you for not thinking I was completely nuts the first time I asked you if you were OK with me dressing as you.
Thank you for hitting that walk-off homer on Aug. 8, 2010 … and all of those blasts into the river … and the one that landed in the boat. Oh, and the one that made some guy dance on the River Walk!
Thank you for being a part of bringing winning baseball back to my city.
Thank you for staying humble. That’s no small accomplishment in the face of the extreme love and hate that was directed at you over the years.
Thank you for that time you and your wife, Keli, made my Mum’s year by getting her a ball signed by her favorite player. That meant so much to her. And that meant so much to me.
And while I’m at it, thank you, Keli Alvarez! You are definitely one of the greatest people that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Always kind, always willing to go the extra mile for a guy who dressed like your husband. If you would’ve told me to go and kick rocks, I don’t think I would’ve blamed you! I can never repay all of the stuff you have done for me.
In the end, because of you guys, I have made a ton of new friends and have been able to take part in things I never thought that my mother and I would have a chance to do. For that, I will be forever be grateful.
Pedro, I’m sure there are great things ahead for you, Keli, Lucy and both the Alvarez and Murphy families. Baltimore is getting one heck of a player and an even better man and family. Although you are an Oriole now, you’ll always be a Bucco to me.
So, I guess, after all of that, maybe those three words do actually encapsulate what you meant to me.
So ... thank you, Pedro, for everything.
Sincerely, Demitrius Thorn, a.k.a. “Fake Pedro”
