DENVER -- Rockies manager Walt Weiss realized the baseball dream during a 14-season career. Now two of his sons are trying to live theirs, only with doses of reality that come from witnessing their father's life in the game.
Brody Weiss, 21, is an infielder from Riverside (Calif.) College, who this week joined the Waterloo Bucks of the Northwoods League, a collegiate wood-bat circuit. Brody is looking at continuing his development at the University of Nevada. Weiss' younger son, Bo Weiss, 18, a right-handed pitcher who just graduated from Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colo., has signed with the University of North Carolina, and on Saturday, he was selected by the Yankees in the 29th round of the MLB Draft.

:: Father's Day 2016 ::
Weiss said he believes his children are fortunate to have their eyes wide open to the difficult journey to their dreams. The Rockies drafted Brody in the 22nd round out of Regis, but he chose to sign with UC Santa Barbara instead. Unfortunately, a sports hernia and hip injury cost him a year while he was there. Brody then went to Riverside to restart at a two-year school and continue his education.
For Bo, it would take a signing bonus well above what a 29th-rounder would receive for him to back out of his commitment to North Carolina, where his father played.
"It all comes down to perspective," the manager said. "I've been in the game a really long time. I know the pitfalls. I know the trappings of the game. I know the visions of grandeur that come with that, when it comes to this game. More than anything else, it comes down to perspective.
"Our family knows how difficult it is to make a career out of this game, especially as a player. You have to plan for other things. You have to put yourself in position to do other things with your life to be successful. Now, both [Brody and Bo] dream of playing in the big leagues. I'll never try to get in the way of those dreams. Those dreams are real and they're important, and I'm going to support them every step of the way."

"But they understand some of the behind-the-scenes challenges that this game presents, they've been around it at the Major league level," Weiss added. "They've been in Major League locker rooms. They've been on Major League flights and in the dugout, and they have a very different perspective than most kids their age do."
Perspective is especially important for Weiss' sons, and for the children of anyone who has dreams of entering a business where the parent has succeeded.
"I don't want to act like that's a negative, because there are also benefits," said Weiss.
The Rockies manager coached Brody one year at Regis and was around his sons' youth teams, but he actually coached them more in youth football than baseball.
"They do get recognition," Weiss said. "But nobody understands the pressure that they have, Brody and Bo. Any type of failure, or any hint of failure, is magnified. They've had to deal with things that I never had to deal with."