Boston at Seattle

For Father's Day, David took me out to the ballgame. We waited until the Red Sox were in town, which made it ideal. It was a great day for a ballgame, sunny, warm, with a perfectly cloudless blue sky. The game was tight, close all the way into the 8th, with the Red Sox hanging on to a 2-1 lead until their defense, primarily at second base, fell apart and they gave Seattle 3 runs. Seattle managed two successful bunts in the inning. Both were supposed to be sacrifices, including a suicide squeeze, but poor defense made them hits. Boston really misses Dustin Pedroia.

Seated behind us were a group of Japanese teenagers--junior high students. They were there to see Ichiro, and since we were in the right field seats, they'd come to the right place. It was not a great game for him--no great defensive plays and he went hitless--but they enjoyed seeing him, taking his picture, calling out to him and holding up their homemade sign that said "fight Ichiro."

Instant Classic!!!

Late season game in Seattle. The Mariners clinging to the outer edges of the wild card race like a drowning man to a piece of driftwood. The Yankees marching through on their victory parade. The M's do, however, have King Felix on the mound, finally living up to every expectation this breakthrough season.

The teams struggle against good pitching through 9 innings. The Yanks take a 2-1 lead on some questionable defense (aside-is Bill Hall's bat so valuable that it was worth playing him when he can't run?). The M's sputtering offense hits two major potholes. Ichiro is picked off twice. Never happened to him before. The second time he was safe, but the ump blew the call. Ichiro sits on the bench, simmering, stewing, clearly embarassed.

This is what makes baseball a great sport. The opportunity for dazzling one on one matchups and the chance for redemption. Still down 2-1 with two outs in the 9th, what remains of the once great Mike Sweeney slams a double off of THE-GREATEST-CLOSER-EVER-MARIANO-RIVERA and brings--wait for it--Ichiro--to the plate. It can't happen. Two Hall of Fame ballplayers facing off. Rivera hasn't blown a save against Seattle since the 90's. Ichiro is embarassed, humiliated by his prior failures (in perspective, at this point, he's 3 for 4 on the day). First pitch, Mariano tries to get ahead with his stinker sinker, and Ichiro is ready for it. He cheats in the box, adjusting his stance for a pitch inside and he catches the pitch perfectly, smashing a game winning arch to right field. PERFECT!

Ballgame August 31

The Mariners, without Ichiro, without Beltre, without Branyan, without Griffey, a pretty pathetic lineup. Everyone in the Angels lineup was outhitting anyone in the Mariner batting order. Not surprising, then, that the score was 10-0, with the M's managing 3 hits. The high water mark was inning #1, when they loaded the bases on 2 walks and a single, but then didn't score. The grandkids, however, were oblivious and seemed to have a great time!

Baseball Bucket List

With thanks to ESPN.com's Jim Caple, here's a list of 50 baseball related things to do before you die.

How many of them have you done?

Here are 50 things all baseball fans should do while they still have the chance:
• Spend a week at spring training.
I did this with Becky and her mom, when David was attending U of Arizona (thanks, Dave!!!). Had a great time in the Arizona heat, saw the Padres, Mariners, White Sox, Giants and D'backs.
• Learn to keep score.
I can't remember not knowing how to keep score!
• Learn about Tommy John surgery by throwing out your arm at the stadium speed pitch station.
That doesn't even sound like a little bit of fun. I don't want the embarassment of needing Tommy John surgery from throwing a 30 MPH "fastball."
• Watch "Field of Dreams," "Bull Durham," "A League of Their Own," "The Bad News Bears" (the original) and "The Natural."
Done, done, done and done. I enjoy them all, but particularly "Bull Durham".
• Use a wood bat.
Never used any other kind of bat until I was in my 20's. There's no feeling like the bees you get in your hands when a fastball gets in on your hands swinging a wooden bat.
• Enjoy a beer in the bleachers at Wrigley Field on a sunny summer day.
I wasn't in the bleachers, but I have enjoyed a beer in Wrigley Field. It's a great ballpark.
• Listen to Vin Scully call an entire Dodgers game.
Nope, but a whole game called by Dave Neihaus comes close.
• Read "Ball Four," "The Boys of Summer," "Nine Innings," "The Glory of Their Times" and any (preferably all) of Roger Angell's collections.
Yeah, and I re-read them regularly. I bought the hard cover version of "Ball Four" when it was first published. I rarely spent that much money on a book in those days.
• Go to Japan's Koshien high school tournament (i.e., where Dice K threw his famous no-hitter).
Nope
• Hit a home run.
We're counting sandlot games, I hope. Or softball.
• Coach a Little League team.
Yeah, ask Nathan about that. I'm a lousy coach, but I did it. Please don't ask David about my one-day stint as his coach. I'm still ashamed of the intentional walk.
• Ump a Little League game.
I've done this too. I'm a pretty fair umpire.
• Boo the Yankees in person.
Every chance I get.
• Play Strat-O-Matic, APBA, Dynasty League or a similar computer-simulation game.
Played tons of Strat-O-Matic, kept my own statistics, too.
•Attend a fantasy camp and have more fun than you can imagine feeling old and young at the same time.
Nope, not really on my list.
• Tour the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Yes.
• Oil your glove and stuff it under your mattress for the winter, then play catch the first day of spring with your parent/child.
No, sorry boys, I was lousy about that.
• Get to a game early enough to watch batting practice.
As far as I'm concerned, anything else is getting there late.
• Go to the College World Series.
Not yet, but a good idea, even if it means a week in Omaha.
• Play pepper.
Yes
• Go to a batting cage and see what it's like to hit a 90 mph fastball. Or, more likely, fail to hit a 90 mph fastball.
Nope. I have enough things in my life I can't do.
• Attend a townball game in Minnesota (the smaller the town the better).
Sounds intriguing. I'd never thought of it.
• Visit the "Field of Dreams site in Dyersville, Iowa and the old Durham Athletic Park (where "Bull Durham" takes place).
Nope
• Take your kids to see The Chicken or The Phanatic.
Yes, at the Kingdome when the Mariners played there. We were going to the BALLGAME, it just so happened that the Chicken was there.
• Run around the bases after a big league game.
Nope, can I walk?
• See Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols and Ichiro play in person and chant their names with a stadium packed with fans.
Yes to Ichiro, no to Pujols--but I'd do it--, and see the above about Yankees regarding Jeter. I was also there to chant "EDDDDDGAAAARRRR" and to hear people chant "DAAAAARYYYLL".
• Buy a fitted cap to replace the cheap stadium giveaway you got with the plastic adjustable strap in the back and the Piggly Wiggly logo on the side.
Never with a Piggly Wiggly logo, but many other chintzy caps.
• Sing "Sweet Caroline" at Fenway Park.
Yes. I've never understood the Boston-"Sweet Caroline" connection, but I've done it. I've also shouted "O" in Baltimore during the National Anthem when the lyrics get to "Oh, say does that star spangled banner yet wave..." I figure since the anthem started in Baltimore, they can play with it if they want.
• Recite "Casey at the Bat" and "Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Yes, to Casey, no to Tinker.
• Read the box scores religiously.
Is there any other faith?
• Join SABR.
No
• Get your favorite player's autograph.
I'm not a big autograph hound, but I have a few.
• Learn to throw a curveball.
OUCH!
• Take a week-long road trip through the minors, the lower the league the better, and make sure to include a team owned by Mike Veeck (that's Veeck, as in "wreck", his dad used to say).
This is the best idea on the whole list! I need to do this. The Northwest League is the perfect venue. You don't get lower than part-season 'A' ball.
• Cheer the Rally Monkey.
No, and why on earth would I?
• Eat at Boog's barbecue pit at Camden Yards, enjoy a Primanti Brothers sandwich at Pittsburgh's ballpark, the fish tacos in San Diego, a Dodger Dog at Dodger Stadium and garlic fries while circling the concourse in Seattle.
Yes to Boog's (and it is good BBQ) and to garlic fries, no to San Diego and a Dodger Dog, but willing to try both. You also need an Italian Beef at either Chicago ballpark and Gates' BBQ in KC.
• Attend a game in the Caribbean.
Not yet, but a goal.
• Buy a bleacher ticket and sneak into a box seat.
Oh yeah.
• Passionately argue in a bar over who belongs in the Hall of Fame.
I've had the arguments, but not in bars, unless you count Comiskey Park--there was enough beer flowing to match any tavern I've ever been in. Frank Thomas? Please.
• Collect baseball cards. Get your favorite player's rookie card and store it in a plastic sleeve. Treat all others the way God intended: by clothes-pinning them to the spokes of your bicycle in a pathetic attempt to make an engine noise.
I still have a Griffey card in the sleeve. And, I have to apologize to Terry Francona, his dad's cards (Tito Francona) were my first choice for bicycle spoke fodder. But, hey, that sounded just like a motorcycle!!!
• Rub the Babe's nose in Monument Park.
Nope, never been to Yankee Stadium.
• Camp out in front of the stadium for tickets to see your favorite team in the postseason.
I didn't camp out, but I did get to a Ticketmaster outlet pretty early to get tickets to the Mariners one-game playoff with the Angels in 1995. Technically not post-season, but in some ways better. Let all my kids take the day off school and go to the game. Great game, of course, with Randy Johnson beating Mark Langston, and the classic image of a dejected and defeated Langston sitting on home plate after Luis Sojo's bases-clearing double into the bullpen (and the bullpen ball bag) down the right field line in the Kingdome.
• Try to throw a knuckleball.
Yeah, I've tried it. Pitiful effort.
• Try to catch a knuckleball.
Nope
• Catch a foul ball. And then hand it to the nearest kid.
I've done that. I've caught 2 foul balls in my whole life, and both were in the same game, in the old Kingdome, watching Randy Johnson win his 20th, the first season he won 20. Great seats in the first row directly over the visiting dugout on the first base side. I gave the first ball to Becky, who was with me, and the second to a kid sitting next to us. He looked completely confused.
• Disobey your parents by staying up late to listen to a game with your transistor radio/iPhone tucked under your pillow.
My parents never told me not to, so I can't disobey. When the league expanded in 1962 so that California and Oakland were in the AL, the Boston games would go awfully late on the east coast.
• Go to the All-Star Game.
The 2001 game in Seattle, with Cal Ripken Jr. hitting a home run in his last All-Star appearance.
• Kayak in McCovey Cove (yeah, Barry Bonds is gone, but San Francisco Bay is still there).
Looks like fun.
• Eat a hot-fudge sundae in a mini batting helmet.
If you'll count hot butterscotch or strawberry and not only hot fudge (not a huge fudge fan), and dipping dots, too. In a Boston helmet and a Seattle helmet.
And finally …
• See your team play in the World Series. (Sorry, this might not be applicable to Cubs, Mariners, Rangers and Nationals fans.)
I've had WS tickets, but never got there. The M's lost in the ALCS three times when I had tickets in hand.

Becky, you are so tagged on this one!

Ichiro and George Sisler

A few years ago, Ichiro broke the record for most hits in a season, a record previously held by George Sisler, who played for the old Saint Louis Browns. Sisler's daughter and other family members came to Seattle and treated Ichiro very graciously.

This year, with the All-Star Game in St Louis, Ichiro took the opportunity to visit Sisler's grave. He and his wife laid flowers there. He called Sisler "a grand upperclassman of the baseball world," which I think conveys a great deal of respect from the perspective of Japanese culture. A very kind tribute and reflecting the kind of class I've worried is nearly gone from our professional athletes.

Ichiro was also quite excited about meeting President Obama, but my favorite part of his reaction to that is this:

"But I realized after seeing him today that presidents wear jeans, too. So my hope is that our skipper, [Don] Wakamatsu, was watching that and we can wear jeans on our flights, as well."

70 Years Ago-July 4, 1939

Lou Gehrig says his goodbye to the fans. An iconic moment of class and grace. Hard to imagine any major league player managing this now, not since Cal Ripken Jr. retired.

Gotta Love the Sox!

Check this guy out! He turns 100 on Sunday, and on Saturday, he'll be honorary batboy for the Red Sox. He was a batboy for the Boston Braves when he was 13. Big Papi will be wearing #100 on his uniform in his honor. One day in 1922, he met Babe Ruth (a Red Sox player, but at Braves Field that day) and also met guys like Honus Wagner, Rogers Hornsby, Grover Cleveland Alexander. Now he'll be hanging out with Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, and David Ortiz. Six degrees of separation strikes again. So cool!

Mariners ALERT!

It appears that Lukas has been paying attention this year, and wishes to offer a critique of the season.

I think he makes a good point.

Lukas at the Ball Game

What a day! Lukas, along with Becky and Mike and Grandpa, took in a late season game at Safeco Field. The Mariners, from time to time, have a peanut-free seating area and we took advantage of that to go out to the ballpark on a perfect late Summer evening. Well, let's call it potentially perfect, the Mariners-after a very nice series against NY-reverted to their usual form today, which ruined that aspect of the outing. But, the game started out with all of us getting free Ichiro tee shirts! Before the end, Lukas told Becky he was having a great time. He endured a pretzel (not shown), blue cotton candy and a foot long hot dog and left the game happy, if on somewhat of a sugar high.

Baseball stuff

Oriole Park at Camden Yards, May 12, 2010. A luxury box suite--pretty cool!

Wrigley Field

Safeco Field

Turner Field, Atlanta

Like I said, baseball is big in my family. I love to go to ball games all over and I've been to a few ballparks around the country. Here are some pictures of me and/or my friends and family at various ballparks or baseball venues.