Steven Farner’s relationship with his father thrived on Braves baseball.
“My dad would always talk about the great players when he was younger,” Farner said. “Even now, that’s probably 50 percent of our conversations when we talk on the phone — we’re talking about the Braves.”
Farner, 32, stood near the concessions of Turner Field on Sunday. Sporting a “Thanks Bobby!” navy T-shirt, he watched two great players of his own generation become Hall of Famers.
“These are kind of those guys that I had their posters on my wall growing up,” he said.
Much like his own father, Farner shares his love for Braves baseball with his two young sons. With 6 and 3-year-old boys, he can passionately tell them stories of his own childhood — about the ever-entertaining Bobby Cox coaxing umpires to throw him out and the heartbreak of the 1991 World Series.
“I was devastated,” he said. “I woke up the next day and didn’t understand why they weren’t going to play another game … it hurts my heart even now.”
Farner’s co-worker Rob Belknap, 30, is no different with his own two boys.
“Bringing them out here and they’ll ask about the numbers up on the levels over there, and explaining to them how they shaped the Braves’ organization over the years,” Belknap said. “As they grow up and watch the Braves it means a little bit more to them.”
Farner and Belknap’s boys all play baseball; it only seems right.
“You want them to grasp onto a really good player to grow up with,” Belknap said. “(Tom) Glavine, (Greg) Maddux, even Smoltzie, are the same way. You want them to grow up and be like, ‘I want to pitch like them,’ or ‘I want to play as hard as they do.’ Because that’s few and far between nowadays, to have a player of that caliber on and off the field.”
The two dads came to Turner Field Sunday sans children to experience a bit of child-like wonder themselves in watching Cox, Glavine and Maddux give their Hall of Fame speeches.
“These are my heroes,” Farner said.
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