This story was excerpted from Steve Gilbert's D-backs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

It was May 19 and Wrigley Field was virtually deserted with cleanup crews making their way through the stands and a few media members finishing their stories about the D-backs' 3-1 win over the Cubs earlier in the evening.

The grounds crew had finished its postgame work and the field was empty except two figures running from foul line to foul line on the warning track. One was Mark Melancon, who just an hour before had collected a save for the D-backs, getting in his post-outing workout. The other was his 8-year-old son, Jack, soaking up precious time with his dad.

It's usually too late after night games for Jack to get to spend time on the field, but this was historic Wrigley Field and sometimes exceptions have to be made in order to create lifelong memories. This was one of those times.

As they were running, Jack turned to Mark and said, "Dad, this is really special. This is one of the best nights ever."

And that made it all worthwhile for Mark.

"For me, a night game at Wrigley is one of my favorite places," he said. "It's obviously one of the coolest stadiums with the history. And so to take [Jack] out on the field after a game at night, which he doesn't get to do very often, at Wrigley, is very special."

When they were done running, Mark took Jack over to where the visitor's bullpen is and showed him where he had warmed up. Then they walked in from the bullpen to the mound together, careful not to disturb the infield dirt the grounds crew had worked to manicure.

Jack stood on the mound, just as his dad had done, and looked around. Mark joined him and had him look around the stadium before directing his attention to home plate.

"I just wanted to show him how far away home plate was, what it looks like at night and just kind of reenact pitcher-hitter situations and stuff," Mark said. "When he pitches [in Little League] that's one of the first things I want him to learn is you just hone in on the catcher. Don't think about the hitter. Don't see the people behind the backstop. So I was just explaining to him that all these people are out there, but really the only thing I see is the catcher's glove."

Then they were off into the dugout and back to the clubhouse. The evening was over, but the memories will linger for a lifetime for both father and son.

"Really, it's about just hanging out, getting to enjoy these moments so later in life he can remember that and I can remember that," Mark said. "It is extremely special to put on a uniform every day. You know, it's a dream come true for me. So for him to kind of live that dream with me is even better."