By KANDACE MCCOY

kandace.mccoy@register-news.com

Though it’s been 43 years since the Major League Baseball All-Star Game has been held in St. Louis, when Tyler and Trevor Flota and their parents decided to spend their family vacation at the 2009 All- Star Game at Busch Stadium, they knew it would be an experience of a lifetime.

Especially since Tyler snagged Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder’s 14th ball in the Home Run Derby. Fielder went on to be crowned the Derby King after smacking 23 home runs.

“We knew this experience would mean a lot to our boys,” said Tyler’s dad, Todd. He added that his sons are not only “huge Cardinal fans” but also share the hobby of collecting autographs.

“They recognize the players and always have stuff ready to sign [at games],” Todd explained. “They worked for a few weeks so they would be prepared with cards or balls for every player for the All-Star events. They had everything organized so they could react in a split second. It gets crazy fast when a player decides to stop and sign. You have to be willing to get up early and stay out really late.”

On Monday, for the Home Run Derby, Tyler and Trevor decided to hang out at the hotel where players were staying, an easy walk as they were staying in a hotel adjacent to where the players were. Luck — and maybe even a bit of premonition — was on their side that morning as Fielder stopped and signed autographs for both of them. After securing that autograph, the boys arrived early at Busch Stadium for the Derby, standing in line for a few hours in order to “get a good spot to catch balls during batting practice.”

“Tyler was excited after managing to catch two home run balls during batting practice,” mom Stacy Flota said. “It was so awesome.”

Then came the Derby.

As Fielder smacked No. 14 into the stands, Tyler ran after it. The ball bounced from another section and “rolled from a pile of people.” Tyler grabbed his prize and ran back to his spot, amid cheering fans.

“I was just wondering how I got it,” he said. “The odds of getting one are pretty slim, so I was just surprised and shocked. It was my first home run ball in a game.”

That evening, Tyler and Trevor ambled back over to the players’ hotel for more autographs and, while Tyler was getting an autograph from left fielder Ryan Braun of the Brewers, he saw Fielder heading into the hotel.

“We mentioned to Prince that Tyler came up with his 14th home run ball at the Derby and asked if we could take a photo,” Stacy said. “And Prince said, ‘Sure.’ We were so thrilled to not only get Prince’s autograph, but also one of his home run balls from the Derby and a photo with Prince.”

She added that during the entire All-Star trip, Tyler and Trevor were able to get about 50 autographs each, including Yadier Molina, Prince Fielder, Trevor Hoffman, Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, Josh Hamilton, Dan Haren, Zack Greinke, Nelson Cruz, Miguel Tejada, Ryan Braun, Aaron Hill, Ryan Zimmerman, Chad Billingsley, Jason Marquis, Matt Cain, Tim Wakefield, Raul Ibanez, Freddy Sanchez, Hunter Pence and Justin Upton.

Hall of Famer autographs included Johnny Bench, Ozzie Smith, Bruce Sutter, Earl Weaver, Rollie Fingers, Robin Roberts, Gaylord Perry, Goose Gossage, Dick Williams, Luis Aparicio, Vince Coleman, Jack Clark and Will Clark. The boys also got autographs from Bobby Knight, Billy Bob Thornton and Jenna Fischer, who plays Pam on “The Office” and participated in the celebrity softball game.

The Flotas all agree that the All-Star Game and events were “an amazing experience” for their family.

“It was pretty cool being around the players and the atmosphere of the week,” Tyler said. “The experience was a pretty great one.”

Trevor said his favorite part of the experience was the opening ceremony of the All-Star game. “It was interesting and neat,” he said.

But if you ask him which is his favorite autograph, he may tell you all of them, however, Stacy says his all-time favorite is the Albert Pujols autograph he got during a weekend series in Cincinnati.

And though Tyler, Trevor and their parents will never forget the up close and personal experience this past All-Star week, the boys plan to continue building their autograph collection.

It’s something they both plan to keep for a long time.