User talk:Tensmom

September 2014
Hello, I'm Trut-h-urts man. I noticed that you made a change to an article, Vernon Wells, but you didn't provide a reliable source. It's been removed and archived in the page history for now, but if you'd like to include a citation and re-add it, please do so! If you need guidance on referencing, please see the referencing for beginners tutorial, or if you think I made a mistake, you can leave me a message on my talk page. Thank you. Trut-h-urts man (T • C) 19:28, 14 September 2014 (UTC)

Thank you. Unfortunately, I'm not very proficient at Wikipedia editing and I'm not even sure that you will see my response on this page. Here's an article from the Dallas Morning News that mentions both of Vernon's parents: The Dallas Morning News April 24, 2002 Edition: SECOND Section: SPORTS DAY Page: 14B

Topics: Index Terms: 2002 MLB TORONTO BLUE JAYS VERNON WELLS III ARLINGTON NATIVE Column: RANGERS EXTRA Going backyard Vernon Wells returns to his Arlington rooters Author: KEITH WHITMIRE; Staff Writer Article Text: When Arlington's Vernon Wells III was a 5-year-old, his father would astound friends by throwing a baseball as high as he could for his little son to catch. "He'd get under it just like he was supposed to and catch it," Vernon Wells II said. "He's always been a ballplayer." Now the younger Wells is a major league ballplayer, full time. The former Bowie High School star returned to his hometown this week as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. Wells has had temporary call-ups before over the last three seasons, and even played at The Ballpark in Arlington last season, but this year he's a more-established member of the Blue Jays. Wells, 23, was projected as a fourth outfielder capable of playing all three positions but best suited for center. He's been playing right field lately while Raul Mondesi nurses an injury as a DH. After hitting .367 in spring training, Wells had played in all 17 of Toronto's games this year through Monday. He was hitting just .194 but had 10 RBIs, and his 14 hits included four doubles and three homers. "Knowing that your name is going to be in the lineup and going out to battle and play every day is the best feeling," Wells said. "Once the hits start falling, I'll feel a lot better." Proud parents His family couldn't be happier. The family looked forward to watching him play from one of The Ballpark's luxury suites, and countless others who saw him grow up planned to be in the stands. His parents, Vernon Wells II and Diana Petterson, visited him in spring training but had yet to see him play a regular-season game this year. Getting a chance to see their son play as a full-time major leaguer is a reward for watching all those youth league baseball, football and basketball games Wells played growing up. "They put me in the best leagues growing up, and they forked out the money and drove the miles for me to play in Dallas against the best players," Wells said. "There weren't any luxury suites then. They'd be lucky if they had bleachers." Now Petterson can watch her son play every day on her satellite TV system. "I'm biased, but I think he's doing great," said Petterson, who works for the Department of Labor in Dallas. "Watching him bat or catch the ball, it's just the most exciting thing you can watch, as far as I'm concerned." Wells' grandmother, Carmen Petterson, has newspaper clippings of her grandson over her desk where she works at Arlington Memorial Hospital. "Since he was 6 months old, he had a basketball goal in his crib," his grandmother said. "His dad put one in there. He's been very athletic all his life, and nobody's pushed him. That's what he wanted to do." Wells' mother said she knew her son was serious about sports when she saw him playing football as a 2-year-old with neighbor boys who were 7 or 8. "It was funny because the football was almost as big as him," his mother said. "It was cute because he had that serious look of determination even then." Big-league connections Although Wells grew up next door to the Rangers, he said he was never a devout fan of the local team. "I was more of a Mariners fan, and that was because of Ken Griffey Jr.," Wells said. "That was the only team I could watch play all nine innings because I was such a Griffey fan." He did go to many Rangers games growing up. His father is a sports artist who played pro football in Canada, and with his connections the younger Wells often got to visit with big-leaguers before the game. Former pitcher Dave Stewart, then with the Oakland A's, came to one of his Little League games, to the astonishment of his teammates. Now, Wells' 12-year-old sister, Sydney, gets to brag to her friends about all the major leaguers she meets. Soon, there will be another young Wells growing up around big leaguers. Wells and his wife, Charlene, are expecting their first baby in November. "Vernon told me if it's a boy, it's Vernon IV and we're calling him 'Quad,'" Charlene said. "Hopefully we'll have a girl." Vernon chuckled: "I don't think we're going to be doing that. We've made the decision to give the kid a break." Vernon and Charlene were high school sweethearts at Bowie, but unconventional ones. He was just a sophomore and she was a senior when they began dating. "He had something special that nobody else had," said Charlene, who thought Vernon was more mature than most of the senior boys. "But some of my friends had something to say about it. You know, "robbing the cradle.'" By high school, Wells had narrowed his sports to baseball and football. He was a standout quarterback for Bowie but, with a big future in baseball, his mother said she spent a nervous season watching him play football as a senior. Those football days are over, and so are all the long drives to dusty youth ballparks. "It was an amazing ride," said his mother. "We're just happy to be on the coattails."

TRACKING WELLS Arlington's Vernon Wells was the fifth overall pick of the 1997 June draft. His path to a full-time job in the major leagues: 1997: Hit .307 in his pro debut with St. Catharines in the New York-Penn League. 1998: Played at Class A Hagerstown and hit .285 with 35 doubles. 1999: Played at four levels: Class A Dunedin, Double-A Knoxville, Triple-A Syracuse and Toronto. Hit .261 as a September call-up for the Blue Jays. 2000: Hit .243 at Syracuse; appeared in just three games for Toronto. 2001: After hitting .362 in April at Syracuse, was called up for eight games in May, then again in August. Hit .313 with eight doubles in 30 games with Toronto. Caption: PHOTO(S): 1. Wells received a banner welcome last May when he came to Arlington as a temporary call-up. (FILE 2001/Staff photo); 2. Wells, who can play all three outfield positions, is congratulated after hitting a home run - one of his three this month for Toronto entering Tuesday's play. Though his batting average was under .200, Wells had a .375 slugging percentage and 10 RBIs. (KEVIN FRAYER/Associated Press); 3. Vernon Wells III was a portrait of success the day he was selected by Toronot. His father had already painted him in a Blue Jays cap. (FILE 1997/Staff photo); CHART(S): Tracking Wells Copyright 2002 The Dallas Morning News Record Number: 4368365