Memories flow when Forsythe, mom talk Mother's Day

ST. PETERSBURG -- Mother's Day is meaningful to Logan Forsythe because he's close to his mother, Dana, and he also has a special memory of Mother's Day shared with her.

The Padres had just brought up Forsythe to the Major Leagues, but he did not get his first start until May 8, 2011, which also happened to coincide with Mother's Day. And the Padres had a unique way for their players to celebrate the occasion.

"My parents got in the day before, because it was very short notice, they flew in from Tennessee," Forsythe said. "[The Padres] told me right before the game that the mothers were throwing out the first pitch. So I had to get on the phone and tell my mom if she wanted to get to the field and throw out a first pitch, all the mothers are doing it.

"And she was like, 'I'll be nervous, I don't know if I want to do it.' And I'm like, 'Come on, Mom, it will be great, it will be fun.'"

Let the record show, Dana came through in the clutch.

"She delivered a strike," Logan said. "My mom's the athlete of the family.

"And what made it even better was that my dad and my grandmother were right there on the field. So after we did it, we all kind of got to hang out on the field."

Added Dana: "That was a really special Mother's Day, might have been my best."

When Logan talks about growing up in Memphis, Tenn., he gushes about his parents and how supportive they were for him and his younger siblings, brother Blake and sister Kelsey. Both boys played on traveling baseball teams, and Kelsey, who is four years younger, played soccer.

"My mom, what she had to deal with, three kids," Logan said. "And I can't leave out my dad. My dad coached my brother on top of helping me. And then my mom was back and forth between both of our games, on top of that, my sister, who was a competitive soccer player. So it was 24/7 for them. Every day they were happy and wanting to go out and make us better. I wouldn't be where I am today without them."

In the process, Logan said his parents wore out three minivans while employing a divide and conquer strategy that Dana explained.

"My husband and I never saw each other," Dana said. "My husband coached Blake, so I was always with Logan and my daughter. So we never saw each other. It was crazy."

Dana notes that their time was well spent.

"Oh yeah, the memories," Dana said. "We sacrificed a lot. Spent a lot of money. But the memories are worth it."

One story that sticks out in Dana's memory came when Logan played travel ball at age 12.

"I had gone to all of his games, but one weekend I had to go with my daughter to a soccer game, and that's the first game [of Logan's] I missed," Dana said. "Someone calls me and says Logan just got hit in the mouth with the ball and knocked a tooth out.

"I thought they were teasing me, because they knew I was worried because I wasn't there. But it did happen. He got hit in the mouth. Got up, spit out his tooth, went back in the dugout and told the coach he still was batting. He got back up there and hit."

When asked to characterize her oldest child, Dana noted "he's really the sweetest child."

"He likes to be a tough guy, and he is, but he really is sweet," Dana said. "He's a really good son."

And Logan said of his mother: "She's probably the nicest person I know."