Baseball season is coming to an end but finally…I’m BACK! I
wish I could write this blog after every game (and get paid for it) – but I’m
not sure I have the energy or creativity! So, first I’ll recap the end of my
trip last August and then I’ll provide a few other highlights from the end of
the 2011 season.
A game of inches
The last game on my 2nd Annual Baseball Stadium
Tour (2011) was at my (now) beloved Yankee Stadium – I was a real pro – it was
my second time visiting “Mecca”! One of my best friends in the entire world
spent the day with me on Tuesday, August 23rd. We went shopping, had
some authentic Italian pizza at Lombardi’s and experienced an earthquake. Being
from California, this was weird but in some strange way…comforting.
Now, let me preface the happenings of this game by
introducing you to my dear friend, Leigh. I met her on day one, freshman year
of college – we lived in the same suite – and we were instant friends. She is quiet yet profound when she speaks. She’s wonderful and kind and SO funny. We
are as close as sisters! She’s from Dallas, who brought Dr. Pepper to college
because she didn’t know if California had any! The only other time Leigh and I
have been to a baseball game together we sat in a family section with NO
alcohol…wasn’t the best moment in our friendship, but we’ve since worked
through it. This is Leigh’s take on baseball: I hate to see Derek Jeter strike
out, but I love to watch him walk away.
So, that being said…the Yankees were losing the ENTIRE game.
Offensively speaking, it was very uneventful…which is NO FUN for a
semi-baseball fan. In the bottom of the 8th, Nick Swisher hit a
3-run homer to make the score 6-3, A’s. Then Jorge Posada (HIP, HIP!) hit a
solo shot in the bottom of the 9th and that was followed by Andrew
Bailey loading the bases and walking in a run to make it 6-5, A’s…the
anticipation…with a 2-0 count, Swish hits a LONG LOUD OUT to deep center field
at the wall and the Yankees loseL!
As we are walking out, Leigh says, “Why didn’t they do this
earlier?”…I say, “It would’ve been ok but apparently Nick Swisher only has
Warning Tack Power” (she gives me a confused look)…let’s stick with her
statement, which was so simple and yet so TRUE!
And that’s why they play the game…
Cowboy Up!
At Minute Maid Park it was more exciting to watch the visiting players walk out
of the locker room in cowboy outfits - since this game meant a SWEEP in Texas
(and have my picture taken with Corey Hart) - than it was to watch Ryan Braun’s
homerun in the first inning or Shawn Marcum taking a no-hitter into the 5th
inning. This game didn’t have much to offer as far as excitement.
The park is a neat atmosphere – besides seeing the Twins
play the Yankees in 2005, this is only my second opportunity to see indoor
baseball. It’s very strange. There was a chance of thunderstorms so they kept
the roof closed. The stadium feels confined and small. You know how baseball
announcers say when someone hits a long homerun that it looks like the ball
went a mile. In this stadium, you don’t feel that way. The only place there are
stands in the outfield is in right and right-center…the whole left field and
left-center outfield is a glass wall and oh yah, a train, which operates when
the Astros hit a homerun…seems like a good use of space?!? Which we never got
to see…
Anyway, word of advice – if you order nachos here, just
order the regular ol’ nachos…they have this nacho stand that has all this fancy
stuff…RESIST!!!
September 28, 2011
This was one of the greatest days in baseball ever (my
opinion) – two teams fell from glory by the end of that day…the Atlanta Braves
and Boston Red Sox. There is a lot to be said: total collapse, utter demise,
monumental embarrassment, but Tim Kurkjian put it best on SportsCenter that
night…
“Wednesday night is why baseball is the greatest game ever
invented.”
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