The Chattanooga Lookouts are quick to realize they have made the Class AA ranks in professional baseball because of two very distinct factors.
Their talents.
They have mothers who gave up a lot so they could succeed.
"You literally can't put into words how much they sacrifice, and I know every guy on this team feels the exact same way," third baseman Ryan Walker said. "When I needed literally anything, my mom was always there. I don't know how, but she was there, and I mean every offseason and every year.
"Moms are ready to foster your career any way you need."
Walker provided his mother, Tammy, a memorable treat Sunday afternoon at AT&T Field by collecting his first home run of the season - a solo shot in the sixth inning - as Chattanooga edged Birmingham 5-4 before an announced crowd of 1,840. The Lookouts improved to 21-16, climbing five games over .500 for the first time this spring.
LaMonte Wade's single to right field in the seventh inning scored Walker and Nick Gordon to break a 3-3 tie and catapult the Lookouts to a third straight triumph. Nick Basto homered to left-center in the eighth inning for Birmingham, but the Barons couldn't get any closer in falling to 12-25.
Walker's parents, who reside in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, came to Chattanooga on Sunday. They have to split time between watching Ryan and younger brother Eric, who is a freshman pitcher at LSU.
Lookouts manager Jake Mauer is the oldest of three brothers and is proud to admit that his mother, Teresa, was his first baseball coach.
"She had a little more patience than Dad, and she's been there through it all," Mauer said. "She coached when we started kid pitch, which was when I was like 7 or 8, and then Dad took us when we got to 10."
Mauer's parents visited him a lot when he managed the past four seasons for Cedar Rapids (Iowa) in the Single-A Midwest League, but he said Chattanooga is a 14- or 15-hour drive from their Minnesota residence.
"They usually don't tell me when they're coming," Mauer said. "They just show up. It's nice."
Wade went 2-for-4 Sunday with the two RBIs, and he continues to rank among the Southern League's top five hitters with his .333 average. He is quick to give credit to his mother, Emily, back in Baltimore.
"She used to take off work all the time to take me to my baseball tournaments and to my basketball tournaments," Wade said. "Some of those day trips were five or six hours. I wouldn't be here without her, that's for sure."
The Lookouts and Barons will play game three of their five-game series tonight at 7:15.