For Altoona’s Beau Burrows and Brenden Dixon, it’s something they both cherish having grown up in Weatherford, Texas.

“I’ve known Beau going back to when I was a little bitty,” Dixon said. “It’s always cool when you get to grow up with somebody however many years, 20 years down the road you get to share the field with them again. It’s cool.”

Last week, Dixon and Burrows had the chance to share the field with another player from the Parker County, Texas, area in Chesapeake’s Creed Willems.

“Creed catches all my bullpens in the offseason, so it’s fun to face him,” Burrows said. “When I throw BP, I’ll face Dixon, too. I’ve been around those guys for a long time.”

Brenden Dixon

While Burrows and Dixon are on the same roster, Willems being with the Baysox opens him up to some playful banter during games.

“It’s a lot of fun playing against those two guys,” Willems said. “There’s a lot of chirping, a lot of jokes being made, but it’s all in good fun, but it’s special getting to train with those guys and getting to see them kind of grow over the last couple years has been awesome and vice versa.”

That growth has included seeing Burrows come to Altoona from the Mexican League earlier this season after being signed by the Pirates as he works to return to the Major Leagues.

It’s something Dixon has been able to see time and time again from Burrows, his roommate throughout the season.

“To see where he’s been, he’s been at the top, and obviously he’s been at the bottom, and to see him overcome what he’s been through, and see what he’s doing now, it’s awesome,” Dixon said. “That guy’s great. He’s one of my guys. He’ll be one of my guys, probably for a long time so it’s cool to see him work out there.”

Creed Willems

Burrows is far removed from his first foray into Double-A baseball, but this time around, it’s been a rewarding experience getting to take the field with Dixon and against guys like Willems.

“It’s cool to be around these guys and facing them, and being in this league for years prior, and coming back, seeing all the old, nostalgic ballparks and the old cities and that kind of stuff. It’s very rewarding. It’s a lot of fun.”

Willems and Burrows faced off in Chesapeake with Burrows just barely getting the best of him thanks to some handy glove work by outfielder Tres Gonzalez.

“Creed always tells me he’s not going to let me get to my breaking ball, so I threw him a two-strike fastball, and he hit it straight up in the air, down the line, and it was an obvious home run off the bat, and Tres came out of nowhere, robbed it,” Burrows recalled.

For Willems, it was an “oh, so close” moment that could have fueled much banter this offseason, though he wasn’t afraid to tell him how he felt after.

“I told him, I beat you, but your outfielder beat me, just kind of giving him a hard time,” Willems said. “I told him in the offseason, if I got to face him, I’d take him deep. And it almost happened. It was a great play so I can’t really control it. And I told some of the other guys, it could have been any other pitcher, and I would have been OK with it, but against that one, it hurt a little bit.”

Sunday marked the final time the trio will be able to take the field together this season as the two teams wrapped up their series, but the memories they’ve made this season will last far beyond their careers.