I think of baseball a lot when I do my gesture poses. Throwing motions, runners leading off first base, fielders trying to make a catch on a ball over their head, and batting stances all make for good action poses. If you watched the video of me doing several gesture poses on my Warm Ups post of December 18th, you know what I mean. I am a baseball fan and a student of baseball history. I play vintage base ball several times a year.
Now that the Super Bowl is over, I am more than ready for baseball season to get started. Luckily, pitchers and catchers will start reporting to spring training very soon. Not too long ago, I put together a compilation of my top ballpark memories, and I thought I would share it on this blog. I edited it some, and it now reads like a top 25 list...
1. May 1,
1991 at Arlington Stadium. Nolan Ryan, then 44 years old, took the
mound against the Toronto Blue Jays and turned in the most amazing pitching
performance I have ever seen. He threw the Major League record seventh
no-hitter of his amazing career, striking out 16 and walking only two.
The last four innings were just edge-of-your-seat suspense like I have never
experienced before. When he struck out Roberto Alomar to end the game,
pure joy erupted at the old stadium.
2. April 15,
2009 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Seeing a player hit for the cycle
(single, double, triple, and home run in the same game) is about as rare as
seeing a pitcher pitch a no-hitter. Seeing a player get six hits in one
nine-inning game is even rarer than that. Seeing a player accomplish both
feats at the same time was something that hadn’t been done by anyone in Major
League Baseball in almost 110 years until Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler
did it this night during the Rangers’ 19-6 win over the Baltimore
Orioles. And he actually did it in eight innings since the Rangers didn't
bat in the bottom of the 9th. Two singles, two doubles, a triple, and a
home run. I wrote a little mini-article about the experience my son and I
had at the game that got printed in the June 2009 issue of the Rangers
game program magazine...
3. October 22,
2010 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. 2010 ALCS Game 6. My son Seth and I went to our first ALCS game
and got to see the Rangers beat the Yankees 6-1 to clinch the series win and
celebrate the club’s first-ever American League pennant. We stayed for
the celebration and the trophy presentation and had just a magical night.
Former Ranger Alex Rodriguez struck out looking to end the game.
4. October 27, 2011 at Busch Stadium, St. Louis,
MO. Game 6 of the 2011 World
Series. I didn’t know where to put this
for the longest time. It has been called
the greatest baseball game ever played by more than one baseball expert, but for
Seth and me, it was an agonizing defeat.
The Rangers were one strike away from winning the World Series in both
the 9th and 10th innings, but lost two run leads in both
innings. Cardinals’ third baseman David
Freese hit the game-tying two-run triple in the 9th and the winning
home run in the 11th. We had
trouble sleeping that night after that.
And as agonizing as it was, it is still a game that I remember more than
any other. And since we had tickets for
Game 7, our stay in St. Louis was extended. As disappointing as it was, it was good
father-son bonding time between Seth and me.
5. October 28, 2011 at
Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO. Game 7 of
the 2011 World Series. This was the
first Game 7 of a World Series in nine years, so getting to go to this was
really special. Our team lost, but the
real disappointment had come the night before, in Game 6. This Game 7 seemed anti-climactic after the
incredible game that had occurred the night before. Still, it was GAME 7.
I remember thinking as we waited for the gates to open that this was just
too much importance put on one single baseball game. Maybe that's why
recent World Series haven't gone to a Game 7 very often.
6. October 27,
2007 at Coors Field. Game 3 of the 2007 World Series. My National League team, the Colorado
Rockies, went on an amazing run in which they won 21 out of 22 games.
This streak included sweeps in the NLDS and the NLCS, and the team found itself
in its first World Series. This was the first time that either of my
favorite teams had ever made it to the Fall Classic, and I felt a strong urge
to go to one of the games. I had just started a new job, and I couldn’t
take any time off work. So, I grabbed Seth on a Friday after work and hit
the road. We spent that night in Amarillo and got into Denver the next
day. We went to Game 3 of the World Series on Saturday night and saw the
Red Sox take a 3-0 Series lead by beating the Rockies 10-5. While the
result was disappointing, nothing could beat the experience of going to our first
World Series game.
7. November 1,
2010 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Game 5 of the 2010 World
Series. 2010 was the first World Series
appearance by my American League team, the Texas Rangers. I managed to
get on the website and snag tickets for Game 5. Unfortunately, this
turned out to be the final game of the 2010 season with the San Francisco
Giants winning the World Series. The game was a pitchers’ duel between
Cliff Lee of the Rangers and Tim Lincecum of the Giants. The score was
0-0 until the seventh inning, when eventual World Series MVP Edgar Renteria hit
a three-run home run off Cliff Lee. The final score was 3-1 after a solo
shot by Nelson Cruz.
8. April
26, 1995 at Coors Field. The Rockies and Mets played the very
first game ever played at the wonderful new Coors Field. About five
inches of snow had fallen earlier that day, and I was worried that the game
might be postponed. This concerned me a great deal since I didn't have
tickets for the next day. But the snow stopped, although the temperature
only rose to about 39 degrees by game time. The Rockies fell behind by
one run in the top of the ninth, and then rallied to tie it in the bottom of
the ninth. They fell behind by one again in the 13th, but managed to tie
the score again in the bottom of that inning. The Mets scored another run
in the top of the 14th. Dante Bichette of the Rockies then hit a walk-off
three-run homer in the bottom of the 14th to give the Rockies an 11-9 victory
in the new ballpark.
9. October 16,
2011 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. 2011 ALCS Game 6. The
Rangers won their second consecutive pennant by beating the Detroit Tigers
15-5. It was like deja view all over again after seeing the first pennant
win the previous year. This year, there seemed to be more confetti, and
the Ballpark had been improved in the previous off-season with a much larger
High-Definition video scoreboard.
10. April
5, 1993 at Shea Stadium. The brand new expansion Colorado
Rockies played the very first game of their existence on the road against the
Mets. I happened to be living in New York at the time, so I got
to see this one. Unfortunately, Dwight Gooden pitched a four hit shutout,
but I have been a Rockies fan ever since, literally from day one.
11. August
22, 1989 at Arlington Stadium. Nolan Ryan struck out Rickey
Henderson to become the first pitcher with 5000 career strikeouts.
He finished with 13 Ks for the game, but Oakland won 2-0 as Bob Welch
and Dennis Eckersley combined for a shutout of the Rangers.
12. March
31, 1998 at Bankone Ballpark. My Rockies were playing the Arizona
Diamondbacks in the D-Backs’ very first game ever. I flew out
to Phoenix to see the Rox beat the new team 9-2. This was also
the very first game ever played at the Bankone Ballpark, and the pre-game
festivities included a spectacular roof-opening ceremony. This was the
second time I had seen a new Major League team play in its very first game and
the third time that I had been to the first game ever played in a new Major
League ballpark.
13. April
11, 1994 at The Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers finally got
a wonderful new ballpark, and I was able to attend the first game ever played
there. And I managed to only pay six bucks for my ticket. Needless
to say, I didn't have the best seat in the house. World-renowned pianist
Van Cliburn and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra performed the finest
rendition of the National Anthem that I have ever heard. The Brewers
wound up spoiling the Rangers' Opener, 5-4.
14. May 1, 2007
at The Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers were playing the Yankees, which
is always an event at the Ballpark. The Yankees pitcher, Phil Hughes,
took a no-hitter into the 7th, and I think he would have finished it if he
hadn't pulled his hamstring. He left the game, and the Yankees bullpen
wound up giving up a run and a couple of hits, but the Yankees still won
10-1. My four year old, Elijah, spent most of the game talking to a
young couple sitting in the row in front of us (Elijah is not shy). In
the 9th inning, Derek Jeter hit a foul ball into our section, and the young man
in front of us managed to get the ball. He took a look at it, turned around,
and gave it to Elijah. So my four year old got a Major League Baseball
game ball even though I never have (after I don't know how many games
attended). I guess it pays to be outgoing...
15. September 3,
2011 at Wrigley Field. When I was in high school, I used to watch Cubs
games on cable on WGN, and I always wanted to go to Wrigley Field and see Harry
Caray sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the 7th inning stretch.
After over 30 years, I finally got to go to a game. Unfortunately, Harry
Caray has passed on, but the celebrity guest singing during the 7th inning for
this game was Jon Lovitz. The game had an hour and a half rain delay in
the bottom of the 7th, so I got to explore the park without missing any of the
game action. When the game resumed, the Cubs led the Pirates 5-3.
That score held until there were two outs in the top of the 9th.
The Cubs needed just one more out, but former Cub Derrick Lee hit a grand
slam to give the Pirates a 7-5 lead. The Pirates closer, Joel Hanrahan,
pitched a perfect 9th, and the Pirates won.
16. September
8, 2007 at LaGrave Field, Fort Worth, TX. The Fort Worth Cats
were playing the Saint Paul Saints in Game 5 of the best-of-5
American Association Championship Series. The game was tight until the
7th inning when the Cats scored 3 runs to take a 4-1 lead. They wound up
winning by that score, and the championship celebration was something to
see. My son Seth, who was 8 years old at the time, was with me, and we
watched the trophy presentation, etc.
17. October
3, 2004 at Minute Maid Park. I took my son on a day trip down
to Houston on the last day of the season since
the Astros were playing my Rockies in an afternoon game. The
Astros won 5-3 and wound up clinching the National League Wildcard spot, the
only time I have ever seen a team clinch a spot in the playoffs at
home. The celebration was something to see and even included confetti
falling from the roof.
18. April
8, 1991 at Arlington Stadium. This was the first Opening Day I ever
attended, and I was treated to a ceremonial first pitch thrown by President
George Bush. This is still the only time I've ever seen a sitting US
President in person. Watching the Secret Service operation was worth the
price of admission (I was only in the four dollar seats, haha). Even
though Nolan Ryan was pitching for the Rangers, the Milwaukee Brewers wound up
winning the game.
19. October
3, 1993 at Arlington Stadium. This was the last game ever played at
the old Arlington Stadium. Even though it was a former minor league
park and was lacking in a lot of areas, the place carried some great memories
for me. I still miss it sometimes. This was also the last game ever
played by George Brett of the Kansas City Royals. He singled and scored
in his very last at-bat. And even though Nolan Ryan was hurt and didn't
pitch, this was the last game in which he was on the active roster.
20. April 6, 2012 at Minute Maid Park. Opening Day is always special, especially
when I can see the Rockies play. Yes,
the game is just one of 162, but the fact that it’s the first of those 162 and
that it comes after a long winter without baseball, makes it a very special
event. I took both boys with me down to
Houston for this one. The Astros were
moving to the American League in 2013, so this was their final Opening Day as
an NL team. The Rockies won 5-3, and Troy
Tulowitzki hit a home run that bounced on the railroad tracks high above the
left field stands and went completely out of the ballpark (the roof was open).
21. July 25, 1990 at
Arlington Stadium. Nolan Ryan had 299
career wins when he took the mound against the Yankees. He didn’t have his best stuff, and the
Rangers were trailing when he left. But
the Rangers came back and won the game in extra innings thanks to a walk-off home
run by Rafael Palmiero. The hoopla
surrounding Nolan’s first attempt at 300 wins made this game very special. He wound up getting that 300th win
in his next start, way up in Milwaukee.
22. August 24, 2012 at Wrigley Field and U.S.
Cellular Field. This day was special
because we all (Jen, Seth, Elijah, and myself) got to attend two baseball games
in two different ballparks in one day.
We went to the 1:05 game at Wrigley Field and saw the Cubs come from
behind to beat the Rockies. After the
game, we grabbed a bite to eat at the McDonald’s across the street from Wrigley
Field and then caught the train and went straight to U.S. Cellular Field. In that game, the White Sox blew a huge lead
to the Mariners in the top of the ninth but then rallied to win the game in the
bottom half of that inning. An amazing
day of baseball…
23. October
2, 1998 at The Ballpark in Arlington. The first postseason game I
ever attended. 1998 Division Series Game 3. The Rangers had the
misfortune of playing a Yankee team that had won a record 114 games in the
regular season. Texas lost this game 4-0 and wound up only scoring 1 run
in the entire series.
24. September
14, 1978 at Arlington Stadium. My first major league game. The
Rangers and Angels played into the ninth inning with the Angels holding on to a
3-1 lead. California then erupted for 13 runs in the top of the
ninth, setting a major league record for most runs scored in a ninth
inning. That record still stands to this day.
25. June
30, 1992 at Candlestick Park. This was my first game away from
Arlington Stadium and my first National League game. I loved the fact
that the pitchers had to bat! John Smoltz started and won for the Atlanta
Braves over the San Francisco Giants.
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