Beavers pitcher Bumstead featured on wedding reality show

Published on January 14, 2005 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Portland Beavers News Release


PORTLAND, Ore. - Planning and executing the perfect wedding can be an overwhelming and stressful endeavor at times.

Imagine, then, having a team of television producers and crew at your side during the process, filming your every move around the clock for the three weeks leading up to the big day.

That was the case for Portland Beavers pitcher Mike Bumstead and his new bride, Christin.

The couple, married Dec. 11, 2004 in Christin's hometown of Mobile, Ala., had their recent wedding preparations and ceremony documented for an episode of "Real Weddings From The Knot," aired on cable television's Oxygen Network.

The show, filmed in today's popular "reality TV" format, follows a chosen couple in the weeks preceding their nuptials, giving what the network calls a "sneak peek into the good, the bad and the endlessly entertaining stories involved with planning a wedding."

"It was a lot of fun, but also very stressful at times with the film crew always there," said Mike, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 18 games with the Beavers in 2004. "After three weeks of having the crew with you the whole time, you forget they are even there, though."

The episode featuring the Bumsteads, who recently returned from their honeymoon in Hawaii, will air Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 10 p.m. (Eastern/Pacific) on Oxygen, with repeat episodes scheduled to follow during the week.

Oxygen is available locally on Comcast cable channel 68.

The two met at a minor league game during the 2003 baseball season while Mike was pitching for the Mobile BayBears, the Class AA affiliate of the San Diego Padres, parent team of the Triple-A Beavers.

On Feb. 19, 2004, the couple returned to the site of their initial meeting, with Mike proposing marriage on the pitcher's mound at Mobile's Hank Aaron Stadium, where stadium personnel and family members assisted with dramatic lighting effects, a scoreboard proposal and a candlelight dinner in the team's clubhouse.

The couple was chosen for the show after Christin, a former Miss University of Mobile, Miss Mobile and winner of a Miss America community service award, responded to an email from theknot.com, a comprehensive web resource for wedding information. The deal was sealed after the couple submitted photos and Christin's prepared home video that featured an original song, "Pick Us Please," set to the familiar tune of "Jingle Bells."

"We are very excited about Mike and Christin's story," said Sharon Bumstead, mother of the groom. "They are a very special couple, they love people and enjoy sharing."

Both Mike and Christin, who remained abstinent before marriage, hope their wedding story will serve as a source of inspiration for others.

"I hope through this TV show that our story will have an impact on someone's life," Mike said. "If a young person decides to make the choice to wait until marriage because of our story, then this was all worth it."

Mike, originally a non-drafted free agent signing of the Padres in 2001, excelled in two different stints with the Beavers in 2004, his first experience above Class AA in his four-year professional career with the Padres. The 27-year-old from Big Bear Lake, Calif., went 4-0 with a 2.57 ERA in 18 appearances (5 starts) with the Beavers, also spending time with Mobile and Class A Lake Elsinore during the season.

Mike and Christin's extended story and photos from their wedding are featured on the www.theknot.com. Pages specific to the Bumsteads' wedding can be found at and

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Pacific Coast League Stories from January 14, 2005


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