By LYNN GROLL

groll@crescent-news.com

One date that Gary and Mary Kay Reineke will never forgot where they were at is Aug. 16, 2008.

How could they? After all their son, Chad, made his Major League Baseball pitching debut while also collecting his first major league win, hit and RBI in front of 33,956 fans at San Diego's PETCO Park against the Philadelphia Phillies.

While the evening was an exciting moment for their son, it was also a very glorious night for the Reinekes.

With a picture of his son on the scoreboard at PETCO Park, Gary said the reality of his son pitching on baseball's grandest stage had sunk in.

"When we got to stadium and they've got a great big picture of your son up on the scoreboard," explained Gary about when it hit him that his son was pitching in the "Bigs."

"After he got his hit, it came up on the scoreboard with his picture and they had (on the scoreboard) Chad Reineke's first major league hit and first major league RBI. He's standing on first base and the crowd's giving him a standing ovation ... goosebumps just run up and down your arms. As a parent you can't be any prouder than that moment we had with Chad. It was neat."

Although Mary Kay admits she can rarely sits still when listening to her son's games at home, that night she lasted through Chad's outing.

"I'm a nervous wreck period," said Mary Kay. "The only thing when I'm home, I'm usually up and down and up and down. We listen to his games in the basement and when he gets that 3-2 count with two outs, I'm usually up stairs. I sat during the game (in San Diego). I think it helped having Kelly (Chad's girlfriend) and her parents there too. It was just a wonderful moment the whole time seeing all those people."

Gary said it was particularly special sitting in attendance with the other 33,954 fans watching his son achieve a dream that he worked towards since being drafted out of Miami University in 2004 by the Houston Astros.

"I can't imagine the excitement he had in his mind at the time. There were cameras on all sides of us and they never took the cameras off of Chad. You're sitting there and thinking 'jeez, all these years and look at this.' We're sitting here in the middle of probably the greatest moment of your son's life."

"It's a dream come true," echoed Mary Kay. "It's something he's been working for."

Chad's journey to the majors took him through every level of minor league baseball with stops at Low-A Tri-City (Troy, NY) and Lexington, Ky. before moving onto High-A Salem, Va. during his first two years as a pro.

Later in 2006, Chad was called up to Double-A Corpus Christi, Texas and then spent all of 2007 at Triple-A Round Rock, Texas. He started this season at Round Rock and got his first cup of coffee at the major league level in July when the Astros called him up for one night for emergency purposes in Pittsburgh. Although Chad, a 2000 Ayersville High School graduate, didn't see any game action that night in Pittsburgh, it was a step closer to the majors.

Before the MLB trade deadline at the end of July, Chad was dealt to the Padres for the journeyman starter Randy Wolf. The Padres designated Reineke to Triple-A affiliate Portland where he made three starts before receiving the call-up to the Padres.

The switch from Astros' paraphernalia to Friars' gear has even been a difficult one for Gary, who said many relationships with parents and players were formed along the way while Chad was in the Astros' organization.

"I've still got my Astros stuff on. I'll have to get a whole new wardrobe now," laughed Gary while sporting a Houston Astros' shirt.

Forming those relationships along the way are some of the favorite memories that Gary and Mary Kay cherish from their son's baseball travels.

"All through the system you have people you get hooked up with and attached to," said Gary. "You really hate to see him take that next step because you're not going to see those people anymore more than likely.

"It was tough for Chad when he got the call-up to leave Houston because he went through the system with most of those teammates. But he was totally accepted by the Padres when he got to Portland. They made him feel comfortable. It's just another life step in his journey."

Gary said the parents of Astros' outfielder Hunter Pence, the 2007 National League Rookie of the Year who played in the minors at both Corpus Christi and Round, were some of the great people they've run into along the way.

"We've met some great parents," stated Gary. "We've met some great players all trying to do the same thing."

"Everybody's just been wonderful along the way," added Mary Kay.

Also seeing parts of America that they would've never seen had their son not pitched professionally are other favorites for the couple.

Thanks to the hard work their son's put in, the Reinekes are very appreciative of the trek their son's taken them on.

"There's been times that he could've fallen by the way side and he's just sucked it up and kept going," concluded Gary. "You just kept thinking how much longer can he be there shooting for something that might never happen. Let's face it, the number of players that go through the minor league system that never get to that last step is amazing. Then all of a sudden there's your son, he's made that step. It's just unbelievable. Organizations that he's been with have just treated him outstandingly."

Reineke was 2-1 with a 5.00 ERA in three starts and one relief appearance for the Padres this year and is out for the rest of the season with a stress reaction on top of his shoulder blade.