"Proximity is important for Howie McCann. He lives in Duluth, Ga., six miles from his son Brian's home. He lives 28 miles from Turner Field, where Brian is the catcher for the Atlanta Braves. Most nights, he arrives in time to wave hello while Brian warms up the pitcher in the bullpen.

Howie has tickets behind the screen, yet most nights he never sits there. He coaches baseball and knows the best place to study a left-handed hitter is facing him from a distance. So while his wife, Sherry, enjoys the game from down low, Howie bounds up the stairs to the concourse, past the concession stands, and finds a section between third base and left field. He looks for an open seat in the last row of the lower deck, under the overhang, and watches from there.

He did this for Brian's second major league game, in 2005, when he ripped his first home run and caught John Smoltz for nine innings. The years to follow have given him no reason to move."