Yesterday, I went to one of the best baseball games I've ever been to. The whole story behind it and the game itself was great and one worth retelling.
To preface, on Monday afternoon I was playing Star Wars: Epic Duels with some guys (Tyler, Kyle and Stephen) in the dorm lobby. While we were playing, Allen walked over and said something to the effect of "I know that you three (me, Tyler, Kyle) would probably be interested in this...I got some free tickets to the Royals game tomorrow night, would you like to go with me?" When I heard this, my immediate reaction was of course. Turns out, Dr. Roberts (president of the seminary) got these tickets from some unknown benefactor and gave them to Allen. These tickets were initally going to be given away during the Royals Chapel but weren't available then. So it ended up being me, Allen, Kyle and Stephen who went (Tyler had to pick up a friend at the airport that night and couldn't go).
So yesterday afternoon, the four of us headed out to the "K". On the way, looked at the tickets and found that there was free parking too. When we got to the stadium, it was several hours early. It was plenty of time to walk around the Outfield Experience, along with getting our free t-shirt (it was T-Shirt Tuesday so we got a free Royals t-shirt). It was a beautiful day at the ballpark and a perfect evening for baseball.
Since the rest of the stadium wasn't open yet, I suggested we walked down to the Pepsi Party Porch and watch batting practice taking place. We were early enough to see the Royals taking BP. It was the first time I had been out there and it was surprising how really low the porch is to the field. As we were standing out there watching, there was a ball hit on the field near where we were standing. One of the Royals pitchers (Ron Mahay) who was out on the field gently tossed the ball up to some fans about a few feet away from me. They missed catching it and it landed back on the field. I stood there and didn't see where the ball went. Suddenly I see a ball come flying up in the air and a little behind me. I turn back and took about two steps and with my right hand I caught it bare handed. It was completely unexpected and totally cool.
When the opened the rest of the stadium up, we decided to head over to our seats. On the way I saw someone signing autographs by the Royals dugout. I figure why not and decided to try and get my baseball that I just got signed. As I got about halfway down the steps, I saw that it was Trey Hillman, the manager signing autographs. I got down there and stood in a short line and waited for my turn. When it was my turn I handed him the ball and my Sharpie pen. As he was signing it I said "I wanted to thank you for coming to Midwestern Seminary last month." He said "You're welcome, I had a good time there." I then said "It was a real blessing." He then replied "Thank you, I appreciate that." as he handed me the ball and my pen. I walked away with a smile on my face.
I got over to where the other guys were sitting and saw the view from our seats. We were in the Dugout Plaza section, it was lower level behind the first base dugout near home plate, just right underneath the second level. They were some of the best seats I've ever sit in at a baseball game. It was an awesome experience and the game hadn't started yet.
The Royals were playing the Cleveland Indians. This was my second time this year seeing this matchup. Unfortunately, Trevor Crowe was not there as he is in AAA right now. The pitching matchup was Brian Bannister vs the reigning AL Cy Young Winner Cliff Lee. The game was a fairly close one. There was some back and forth going on and some exciting plays. One included at collison at the plate which resulted in the Indians player getting booed the rest of the game.
The game seemed to go the way of the Indians when they hit a 3 run homer in the 6th to make the score 5-1. The Royals scored a run and in the 9th were down 3 runs with the score 5-2. In between the 9th inning, me, Kyle, Allen and Stephen got on Crown Vision (the big screen). It was really cool and I was able to get a picture of it.
The bottom of the 9th was simply crazy. The fireworks started with one out and Mike Jacobs at the plate and Kerry Wood, the Indians closer on the mound. Jacobs worked the count to 3-2 and then proceeded to take a pitch out of the park. The solo HR made the score 5-3. The very next batter was Mark Teahen. On like the first pitch of the at-bat, Teahen takes Wood yard as he hits a home run of his own. The back-to-back solo HRs made the score 5-4. Miguel Olivo was the next batter and proceeded to take a walk. The Royals send in a pinch runner (Mitch Maier) and then have David DeJesus at the plate. DeJesus then hits a triple which scores Maier and ties the game at 5-5. The next batter was Willie Bloomquist, former Mariner and a favorite of mine. Bloomquist hits a deep pop out which allows DeJesus to tag up from third and score the game winning run. The Royals win in dramatic fashion 6-5.
The crowd was loud right after Jacobs hit the HR and kept getting louder and louder. It was a tremendous atmosphere. It ranks up there as one of the best MLB games I've ever been to. With that win, the Royals are 3-1 in games I've been to. It's the time of game that definitely is worth retelling the story.
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