Sunday, July 5, 2009

a baseball moment

Forgive me for an entry, but I'd like to have a baseball geek-out moment or two.

The above graphic, which is rapidly becoming one of my favorite photos to look at, was made by none other than my talented/lovely/hilarious graphic designer-friend, Shevvs. (It seems I cannot get through an entry without linking her blog. So just check it out, okay?) I'd also like to take this moment to congratulate Hunter Pence and Miguel Tejada on making the 2009 All-Star team. (Tejada as a reserve Shortstop and Pence as a reserve Outfielder.)

My first major league baseball experience was when I was 8 years old. This also coincided with the first year I played softball. (From the ages of six to eight, I played baseball on my brother's little league team. The transition to playing with a bunch of girls was not easy, and I was not exactly happy about it. I didn't want to play softball, I wanted to play BASEBALL.)

My whole family and I went to see the Houston Astros play the Atlanta Braves in the Astrodome. We had tenth row, Mezzanine level seats, and the emotion I remember most was how overwhelmingly excited I was. I watched as the players warmed up, sitting next to my dad, asking about a million and one questions about everything. (What team are we? Who plays second base? Is he good? How fast can the pitcher throw? How far apart are the bases?) My older brother had just turned 13, so he was in the "stat-speak" phase, where every other thing he mentioned was a number or abbreviation. I remember sharing a cotton candy with my little brother. I remember how exciting the atmosphere was, it was palpable.

This was the game that I fell in love with Craig Biggio, the Houston Astros and baseball. This was the time that I realized that my brothers and I could actually spend several hours together without fighting. And even though the players of my childhood are gone, replaced with athletes that are dangerously close to my own age, I still get that same feeling whenever I'm at a baseball game. The venue has changed. My views have shifted (no longer do I pick favorite players based off their position or number) but the excitement is still the same.

So in case you were wondering why I love baseball so much, I think that's my answer.

1 comment:

  1. First of all, I LOVE this story of your first game. My story was similar. Big exciting trip to San Fran, seats all the way up in the nosebleeds. I remember the seats were orange, they made me itchy because they were all static-y, and my mom kept putting sun tan lotion on us. The players were SO small and I didn't really know what was going on...Candlestick didn't have much in the way of announcers and we were behind the I didn't have much to watch. But it smelled like ball-park and I loved it!

    Also, I love your graphic. :D