Although basketball will always be my first and true love (I am from Kentucky after all), at one point baseball occupied a similar place in my heart. My Dad played both sports in high school and continued playing pick-up ball and softball up until he tore his knee to hell when I was around 12 or so. Dad taught me both sports and I remember lying in bed listening to Joe Nuxhall (the ole left hander rounding third and heading for home) and Marty Brennaman (And this one belongs to the Reds) calling Reds games as I drifted off to sleep.
I was both a player and a spectator. I played tee-ball and knothole (Little League), but I much preferred playing whiffle ball or homerun derby in the backyard. However, I did have some memorable Little League moments, including the day I got thrown out at home after almost hitting an inside the park homer. As for being a fan, highlights include being at the 1988 All-Star game (SABO! SABO!), running around the house with a broom when the Reds swept the A's in 1990, being woken up to see the end of Tom Browning's perfect game by Dad, and seeing my best friend at the time take a line drive hit by Wally Backman (whose baseball cards we spent the next several years destroying) off the forehead .
For me not much beat sitting at the ballpark, pounding some peanuts, eating a hot dog, and keeping score. Keeping score is a skill my Dad taught me and as far as I know, no two people keep score the same way. And for some reason I just find it fun to sit there and score the game.
Then the strike of 1994 happened. At the time I was 14 and it absolutely devastated me. I swore off those lameass millionaires and made the decision to never again attend a ball game. That's a big statement, and it's a tribute to my stubborness that I actually refused to go to games until 1999 and only then when it was free. I finally broke down a few years back and actually paid to go to a few Reds game. But the spell was broken for me back in 1994. I no longer follow baseball as intently as I used to and I no longer root for the Reds with the same passion I reserve for the Wildcats and the Bengals.
However, I still enjoy peanuts at a ball game more than anywhere else, and keeping score still takes me back to a time when I really enjoyed the game. So I decided to try and do this at least one over the next 1001 days.
The Process
My original intent was to go to a Major League park that I've never been to. I've seen games at Riverfront, Jacobs Field, and whatever the Diamondbacks call their field. I've also toured the Colorado Rockies facility. So I thought I might go to Seattle and see the Mariners or maybe St. Louis.
However, this past weekend I decide to go watch some Double AA baseball. The Tennessee Smokies are the Double AA affiliate for the Chicago Cubs and play just outside of Knoxville. After a full day of biking in the mountains my wife and I thought it would be a perfect nightcap.
And you know what? It was. It was the way baseball should be. I paid $10 bucks for each ticket and we sat in the 2nd row right on the 3rd baseline. The program was $3 bucks, had a scorecard in it, and when I flipped through it I saw a sticker telling me to head to fan services to claim my prize (free ice cream from Marble Slab!). I headed to where they had the starting lineups written so I could fill out my scorecard and lo and behold there were 3 other folks doing the same thing! I've kept score at several Major League games the past couple years and have never seen anyone doing that! I thought it was a lost art! But here at this AA game there were many of us!
The game was great. Sure the Smokies got beat, but it was fun hearing the crack of the bats, the chants of the fans to the organs, seeing the kids chase after foul balls, and most importantly, enjoying a fun evening with my wife.
I pounded some peanuts, kept score, and for one night, enjoyed baseball again.
No comments:
Post a Comment