Baseball is Coming

I don’t know what it is about baseball that gets me all giddy inside. Is the history of it? Is it the feeling of family and the smiles it brings when going to a game? Is it because we can play the game well into our elderly years? I’m really not sure what it is but I do know this, I absolutely love the game of baseball. I love the idea of it. I love the excitement I feel waiting for the first pitch. And I love the superstitions of the game. Some by the players but more so by the things I have to do before game time. Certain things must be done before game time or the game just isn’t the same. First and foremost, if I’m not at the game an hour before the scheduled first pitch, well, then its hurry up time from that point forth. When coming into the gates, a must buy is the game program. You see, then I have to eat two hot dogs with katsup, mustard, onions (grilled or not) and relish, with a medium diet coke (Dr. Pepper is preferred). Then it’s a trip down to the bullpen to watch the opposing pitcher warm up. That’s where I get my first glimpse into how the game will go for our boys. I can usually tell whether the pitcher is on or not. Not by how he is pitching but how the coach is reacting to his pitches. If he’s talking a lot, that means he’s not happy with what he sees. If he just lets the guy go, then I get nervous.

By this time, its back to my seat to enter the starting lineups into my game program and watch all the mandatory, yet boring, introductions to the sponsors of the game which is usually a bank president and his grandson who get to throw out the first ball that nobody cares about, unless it was me. Then the entire crowd would be chanting my name…>Darrell…Darrell….Darrell

Sorry, I’m back

Have you ever seen the baseball parks where the grass is mowed in different shapes. Sometimes in a swirl, sometimes spelling the team name. Well, I think its worth every penny to have that done. I’ve also decided that its not done by computer graphics but rather done by one Japanese man doing it by the ancient art of Big Yard Mower Design. I fight the urge to watch the lines in the grass while the game is going and I laugh my head off when the players run in the same direction as the lines. That’s just comedy to me.

Then of course there is the quarter game. If you don’t know what this is, it’s a great game for those in your group that aren’t avid baseball fans but need to find another reason to be there. OK, first of all, everyone has to have a pocket full of quarters. Then, you have to have a cup and that’s it. Everyone puts a quarter in the cup to start the game. First person who gets to hold the cup is the only one who can win the money during that batters ups. If the batter gets a hit, the money is his. If he walks, he passes the cup losing nothing. If anything else happens, he has to put a quarter in the cup before passing on. I have played this game where one person ( my brother) won the cup each time he received it. That was a sad day in Cup Play.

OK, now for the last thing that has to happen during the game….the 7th inning ice cream cup. Now this is very important because you have to buy the cup in the 5th inning so that you can actually eat it by the 7th. If you have ever had one of these cups, you also know that they are has hard as a brink when u get it. So, by the 7th it is edible and wonderful. Chocolate of course. Nothing else hits the spot. Now I know there are some that prefer the ice cream helmet with soft serve ice cream in it. The problem is, by the time you get back to your seat with this, its only a helmet full of cream, no ice.

OK, so there you have it. Baseball at a glance. If anyone has there own version of a game, please let me in on it. I’d love to hear it.