Perfect Games!

Game 17: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO

Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals – Thursday, June 20, 2o13

We arrived in St. Louis around 10:30 AM after a short flight from Minneapolis. We checked into our hotel, posted our Twins blog, and headed back to the airport to take the MetroLink rail into downtown. St. Louis is right up there among cities with a really well-developed public transportation system. We got off at Union Station and right next to it was the Hard Rock Café. We had lunch there and took quite a few pictures. This place had a beautiful painting done by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead titled “Butterfly Study II”, which we learned, was valued at $13,000. After lunch, we hopped back on the MetroLink and headed over to the LaClede’s Landing Wax Museum. This place was OK. They had an interesting collection, but not many items were labeled and there was a lot of renovation going on. From the museum, we walked over to the park by the Mississippi River to see the famous St. Louis Arch. What an astounding structure! We also noticed that the park was full of cardinals. Pretty birds! We took a few more pictures and then got back on the MetroLink to go to Busch Stadium. Three stops later, we were dropped off right in front of the ballpark. Getting here was such a snap!

Busch Stadium, which opened in 2006, is a most impressive ballpark. As the Cardinals have won the second-most World Series titles (eleven in all), after the Yankees, they had plenty to show and tell. The front of the stadium had really nice statues of Cards greats and further down the side, they had a huge statue of Stan “The Man” Musial. The perimeter of the stadium was also marked with commemorative tiles that noted great moments in Cardinals history. Before too long, we were joined at the stadium by Tatenda Mahlokozera ’09, a former member of the Thamattoor Lab, and Brian Wadugu ’09, who is also a former Thamattoor student. It was fun to catch up with Tatenda and Brian. As it turned out, this was Brian’s first baseball game!

After walking around and taking pictures of the outside of the stadium, we all went in. We still had a half hour before game time, so we toured the concourse and took more pictures. The view beyond the outfield was simply breathtaking, with the city and its sweeping Arch in the background. The Arch was also inscribed onto the turf in the playing field. We finally got to our seats that were in the first row on level 3 down the left field line. We had a great view of the whole field and it was great to see such a large crowd of over 43,000 fans at the park. Over this four game series, the Cards drew nearly 176,000 fans! It was a beautiful evening, but a bit on the warm side. Game time temperature was 87 degrees F.

The game was lopsided, but that was not surprising given that the two teams at opposite ends of the spectrum were going at it. St. Louis has the best record in all of baseball this year, whereas the Cubs have scuffled so far and are tied for last place in the National League Central Division. The Cards went up 1-0 in the second when Yadier “Yadi” Molina worked a lead-off walk and then made it to third on a double by Matt Adams. The next batter, David Freese, brought Molina home with an RBI ground out to the shortstop. The Cubs tied it up in the very next inning, when Welington Castillo drilled a pitch from St. Louis starter Lance Lynn deep over the left field wall to start the third. The Cards, however, regained the lead in the bottom of the frame when Matt Holliday hit a ball in the hole that got past the short stop to score Matt Carpenter, who had doubled earlier. Two walks later, the bases were loaded with only one out and it looked like the home team was poised to put up a crooked number. Cubs starter Scott Feldman, however, was able to extinguish the threat by inducing an inning-ending double play from Adams. But the Cardinals did blow up in the sixth. Holliday led off with a first pitch homer to center, off Feldman, setting off the fireworks and flashing lights at the park. Soon, the bases were loaded with only one out, but Pete Kozma popped out to third for the second out. The pitchers’ spot was up next. Lynn was pitching a marvelous game to this point, a completely different pitcher from the one we saw, just a few days ago in Miami, where he won, but was beat up in the Marlins-Cards slugfest. Still, St. Louis manager Mike Matheny decided to lift Lynn and used Allen Craig off the bench. In his first pinch-hit appearance of the season, Craig, on a 3-2 count, dumped a 2-run single to right to put the Cards up 5-1. Another run scored later in the frame when Carpenter’s liner to left brought in Jon Jay from third. The 6-1 score ended up being the final tally.

During the game, we let Tatenda and Brian remain in their seats to watch the game, while we walked around the ballpark to view the action from different vantage points. This is a spectacular stadium, inside and out, and it also hosted the 2009 All-Star Game. Cardianls fans are SO LUCKY!

After the event, the four of us walked back to the MetroLink station. Tatenda and Brian got off after a few stops and we continued on to the airport. We took the hotel shuttle from there and it was just before midnight when we got back. For the second night in a row, we were going to get less than four hours of sleep. We had a 6:25 AM flight to catch to our next venue.

Doesn’t matter though. We are having fun! See you soon.

Game 16: Target Field, Minneapolis, MN

Chicago White Sox vs Minnesota Twins – Wednesday, June 19, 2o13

We left Dallas around 9:00 AM and arrived at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport just before noon. We took a shuttle to the hotel, but it was too early to check in and they did not have any rooms for us. So we worked on our Rangers blog in the lobby, eventually checked in, posted the blog, and headed over to the Mall of America, where we had lunch at a really nice Japanese restaurant. Part of the fun was chasing food around our plate with chopsticks. Ah! Just in case you were wondering, there is no Hard Rock Café in the Twin Cities.

We walked around the Mall for a bit and took the light rail to Target Field. Public transportation here is really good and we were dropped off right outside the ballpark. We got there nearly an hour and a half before game time on a beautiful evening. After years of playing inside a dome, the Twins moved to this modern outdoor facility in 2010. As it turns out, this place will be hosting next year’s All Star Game.

As usual, we walked around the outside of the ballpark first and took plenty of pictures of the statues and other displays honoring Twins greats and the franchise’s history. The giant gold glove just outside the gates was really cool! We then went inside Target Field and looked around some more. The grounds crew were still watering the field, putting in chalk lines, and inserting bases at the corners. There was a good crowd on hand today of more than 30,000. Not bad, considering it was a Wednesday evening. We slowly made our way to our seats that were down the right field line close to the foul pole. Soon, we were joined by “Freshman” Dan Maurer ‘16, a member of the Thamattoor lab. Dr. Tyler Morin, a former visiting professor in the Colby chemistry department, also joined us a little later. It was fun to see them outside of Maine.

The game started in style. Alejandro De Aza led off with a home run that landed in the right field stands, not too far from where we were sitting, to put the White Sox up 1-0. That lead would not last long as the Twins put a three spot on the board in the second inning with one swing of Brian Dozier’s bat. He hit a huge shot over the left field wall with men on second and third. Fireworks, and twinkling lights on the Target puppy, greeted the homer. The home team added another run in the next inning via an RBI single to left by Trevor Plouffe that scored Josh Willingham from third. The home team really blew it open in the sixth with another three run outburst against Deunte Heath who had come in to replace starter Chris Sale. The fifth run scored on Willingham’s liner to left that brought in Joe Mauer from second. Then, Justin Morneau launched a two run shot with Willingham on first, for his first homer since late April. This broke the longest home run drought of his career. More fireworks and flashing lights came on to celebrate the home long ball. Staring at a 7-1 deficit, the visitors tried to get back in it. They got a run in the seventh on an RBI single to center by Dayan Viciedo that scored Conor Gillaspie from second, and two more in the eighth on a two RBI single to center by Adam “Biggin” Dunn with men on second and third. The Twins had to bring in their closer, Glen Perkins, in the ninth and he did his job with a 1-2-3 inning to preserve the 7-4 win. This also marked the first time that we saw the home team win on this leg. We are now 1-5 in that category.

During the game we walked around the ballpark and saw the action from different angles. The Twins have a really nice area set aside that describes the history and construction of Target Field. There were also cool displays of tribute to older ballparks and previous versions of the teams here. We also got to go inside the Metropolitan Club which is a really swanky place with all kinds of interesting baseball memorabilia. What fun!

After the game, we took the light rail to the airport and then a shuttle to our hotel. By the time we got back, it was almost midnight. It was clear that we would be getting only a few hours of sleep before having to get up again and fly out to our next stop. We were tired but happy that we got to see another nice game at a new ballpark.

We’ll see you from our next stop. So long!

Game 15: Rangers Ballpark at Arlington, Arlington, TX

Oakland Athletics vs Texas Rangers – Tuesday, June 18, 2o13

Too bad we didn’t have an aircraft carrier to land on, but the Dallas Love Field Airport worked just fine. We arrived there from Houston around 12:00 noon for Game 15, which marked the halfway point of our goal.

We rented a car and headed directly to the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. This is among the very best museums that we have seen yet. It’s hard not to go through here without getting goose bumps and being gripped by an overwhelming sadness. This museum, in the former Texas School Book Depository, marks the site where President John F. Kennedy (JFK) was assassinated in broad daylight on Friday, November 22^nd, 1963. We spent a full three hours at the museum, taking a guided tour. We saw the window from where Lee Harvey Oswald was said to have fired at the President and had a clear view of the spot where JFK was shot. We learned about Kennedy’s life and times, and followed the timeline of the events on that fateful day, nearly fifty years ago. The museum chronicled President Lyndon Johnson being sworn in aboard Air Force One, Oswald’s subsequent capture and arrest that came at the expense of police officer J. D. Tippit’s life, and the assassination of the assassin by nightclub owner Jack Ruby on live TV. Print, radio, and video news reports from those days, including those of Walter Cronkite, as well as accounts of eyewitnesses, were on display. The model-to-scale of the assassination site and nearby areas, constructed by the FBI, was especially impressive. Even for those who don’t believe that Oswald acted alone, or even that he was the real killer, the museum had plenty to offer. There was a whole segment on the Warren Commission, its report, and the criticism of its inconsistencies. Every important event leading up to the closure of the assassination investigation in the late eighties was accounted for nicely.

After the museum visit, we went over to the Hard Rock Café, which was only a mile away, for lunch. We then headed to Arlington, and on the way, we took the exact route as Kennedy’s motorcade including the sharp left turn onto Elm Street from Houston, past the spot where he was shot, and right by the nearby grassy knoll.

We checked into our hotel, posted the Astros blog, and then ran downstairs to catch the trolley that was going to take us to the ballpark. The trolley was just leaving as we came outside and we chased after it. Fortunately, one of the passengers inside saw us, got the driver to stop, and we were able to get on. Whew!

We arrived at the ballpark, about a half hour before the game was scheduled to start. That still gave us enough time to walk around the outside and take a few pictures before going in. We got two complimentary Rangers pitchers with glasses when we got in. It was a pleasant evening (although a bit warm) and it was nice to actually sit outside to watch the ballgame. We again had seats by the third base line, just a few rows back from the wall, and about two-thirds of the way between home plate and the left field foul pole.

This was a contest between the top two teams in the American League West. The second place Rangers were trying to gain some ground on the Oakland Athletics. The main attraction of the game, of course, was the Japanese-Iranian pitcher Yu Darvish, who was starting for the Rangers. In a well-publicized brouhaha a couple of years ago, the Rangers ponied up nearly $52,000,000 to the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters ball club just for the rights to negotiate a contract with Darvish. They then spent an additional $60,000,000 to sign him to a six-year contract. So we got to see a $100,000,000+ arm on the mound. Yu has pitched well for the Rangers this year and came into the game with a 7-2 record. He was, however, a bit off in this one. Although Yu pitched six frames and struck out ten, he also gave up five runs (four earned), which is the most he has allowed in a game this season. The A’s scored first when Brandon Moss hit a solo homer to right in the second inning. Later in the same inning, the bespectacled Eric Sogard laced a single to center that scored Josh Reddick. Reddick had singled earlier and then stole second. The A’s went up 3-0 in the third when Darvish gave up another home run, this time to John Jaso, who also sent it over the right field wall. The Rangers, however, responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame to make it 3-2 thanks to A. J. Pierzynski’s two run hit up the middle that scored Leonys Martin and Ian Kinsler. On the play, Kinsler collided with catcher Jaso and cut his chin on the catcher’s mask. He got stitches between innings and stayed in the game. Tough guy! Darvish just couldn’t keep the A’s down. He started the fifth by giving up a single and a double, and then uncorked a wild pitch that scored Josh Donaldson from third. Later in the inning, an unearned run scored in the form of Seth Smith, on a misplay by first baseman, Lance Berkman to make it 5-2. In the eighth inning, a lead-off triple by Brandon Moss and sac fly by Donaldson, made it 6-2, which ended up being the final score. The lesser known A’s starter Jarrod Parker pitched seven frames giving up just two runs to earn the win.

In the late innings, we walked around the park and took more pictures. After the contest, we took the shuttle back to our hotel and turned in for the night as we had to drive back to Dallas early in the morning to catch a flight to our next stop.

See you from there. Bye now!

Game 14: Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX

Chicago White Sox vs Houston Astros – Monday, June 17, 2o13

We took a late afternoon flight out of Tampa and arrived in Houston, just before 4 pm. We rented a car at the airport, checked into our hotel, and drove to Houston’s historic Theatre District where we had a late lunch at the Hard Rock Café. It was a much smaller place than the one we were at yesterday. We then walked to the ballpark, which was about a mile away. It was another hot and humid day. The daytime high here was near 100! As soon as we got outside from any place that was air-conditioned, our glasses would fog up instantly. Viva la Condensation!

The ballpark came to our rescue again! For the third straight day, we watched a major league game indoors. And for the second day in a row, we were at a venue named after an orange juice manufacturer. Viva la Vitamin C!

The Minute Maid Park has a retractable roof, but from what we learned, it is closed off most of the time. As we got there nearly 45 minutes before game time, we got to walk around the perimeter of the park and take pictures. This is a really nice place. A big attraction was the plaza outside where there was a statue of Craig Biggio throwing to another statue of Jeff Bagwell. Viva la Killer B’s!

We made our way inside the ballpark and stopped at a team store to pick up a cap and ball. After that, we strolled around leisurely for a few minutes before heading to our seats. We were sitting just a few rows back from the third base line, about half way between home plate and the left field wall. The view was fantastic. The inside of the ballpark reminded us more of Marlins Park than Tropicana Field. The place was cavernous and it was a good 435 feet from home to the centerfield wall

The crowd was paltry, but those who were there were truly passionate fans. We saw one fan whose entire face was painted with the Astros logo and the three ladies who were sitting were behind us came armed with several placards, a scorecard, glove, and large cut-out alphabets to spell “Jose.” One of them had on a real cool sweater that looked like a wrap around baseball. In the late innings, they moved closer to the field and were lucky to get a ball tossed to them by Astros third baseman Matt Dominguez. Good for them!

The Astros have struggled this year, but have played well lately. This was the fourth game of their series against the White Sox and they won the first three. They jumped ahead 1-0 in the first inning when Jason Castro ripped a double to center that scored Jose Altuve, all the way from first. In the third, Castro came up with an encore. He hit another RBI double, this time to right, that scored Brandon Barnes from third and put the Astros up 2-0. The game stayed that way after five innings and it sure looked like the White Sox were on their way to suffering a four game sweep and dropping their fifth straight. Their starter Jose Quintana was sent to the showers after just four and two thirds and the Astros’ starter Bud Norris was pitching like the staff ace and cruising through a shutout.

But one of baseball’s special charms is its utter unpredictability. Just when you think you have the game figured out, it taps you on the shoulder and shakes its head.

It happened in this one via an improbable sixth inning for the visitors. Alejandro De Aza led off the frame with a single to right, but the next two hitters lined out to the outfield and it looked like Norris was going to get around the De Aza hit. With two men down, Adam “Biggin” Dunn hit a well placed single up the middle that advanced De Aza to third. That brought Paul Konerko to the plate and he hit a ball that just barely made it past the pitcher and by the time the shortstop Ronny Cedeno got to it, Konerko was safe at first, and De Aza had scored to make it 2-1. The next batter Conor Gillaspie hit a grounder that was fielded well by second baseman Altuve, who fired to Norris covering first, but the pitcher apparently lost the ball in the lights and did not make the play. Just like that the bases were loaded, but not for long. The next hitter Dayan Viciedo sent a fly ball to deep center and for a while, it looked like center fielder Barnes would get to it. The ball, however, fell just out of his reach and by the time it was fielded and thrown back in, the bases had cleared and Viciedo was at third with a triple. Suddenly, the White Sox were up 4-2 with all four runs in the inning coming after two were out! The ‘Stros had a golden opportunity to come back in the seventh when they had men on first and second with nobody out. The White Sox bullpen, however, asserted itself by striking out the next three hitters to preserve the lead. Neither team scored any more runs for the rest of the game and Chicago was able to salvage this one.

During the game we got to walk around the inside of the ballpark and take pictures. This place has some of the nicest ballpark workers we have met so far. When one of the ushers found out that this was our first trip to Minute Maid, he personally escorted us to the PR office, where they issued us certificates for attending the game. So we now have official proof that we were here.

After the game, we walked back toward the Hard Rock Café, retrieved our car from the parking garage, drove back to our hotel, and turned in for the night.
We will see you soon from our next stop. So long!

Game 13: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL

Kansas City Royals vs Tampa Bay Rays – Sunday, June 16, 2o13

Wow! This was one heck of a Father’s Day!!

We took an early morning flight out of Miami and arrived in Tampa just before 9 AM. We got to the hotel, posted our Marlins blog, and took a shuttle to Tropicana Field, which was about 22 miles away in St. Petersburg. We learned that George “The Boss” Steinbrenner was once a part owner of this hotel. We were, at first, a little surprised to see so many Yankees fans here, but it all made sense as the Steinbrenners lived in the area, and the Yankees have their spring training facility nearby. Also, Jeter has a colossal mansion around here that has been dubbed “St. Jetersburg.”

The ride over the I-275 bridge, with the ocean on either side, was spectacular on this beautiful, bright day in the Sunshine State. We got to the ballpark nearly an hour and a half before game time. For the second time in as many days, we would be seeing a game indoors. The Trop unlike Marlins Park, however, has a permanent roof. We walked around the outside of the stadium for a while and then went in. They were giving away headsets to kids under 14, so we got one of those. While the outside of the Trop was rather plain with hardly anything to see, the inside was simply extraordinary. The big attraction was the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame. We spent a lot of time there and it was absolutely fantastic. There were all kinds of Ted Williams exhibits and the individual stalls of the most elite hitters in the history of the game, with their memorabilia, have to be seen to be believed. What a fabulous place!

We then walked around the ballpark and somehow, believe it or not, completely missed the famous touch tank with the stingrays in them. We would have found it, had we looked for it, but we did not remember it at the time. Oh well!

We did get some really nice pictures of the field from different angles. The grass looked kind of weird (made sense, since it was not really grass, but astro-turf) but the ballpark itself was beautiful. We really liked this park. It was bright inside and the mammoth roof was most impressive. After making our rounds, we went over to our seats that were just a few rows behind the visitor’s dugout along the third base line.

The game turned out to be a tight and enjoyable contest. As Tribe fans, we were happy to see Roberto Hernandez, formerly known as Fausto Carmona, start for the Rays. Hernandez (that does not even sound right after having known him as Carmona for so long!) pitched for Cleveland for a number of years and is best known for that memorable postseason game against the Yankees in 2007 that he won with swarms of midges flying all around his face. Joba Chamberlain, on the other side, was completely undone by the bugs.

Although Hernandez pitched well in this game, Wade Davis, whom the Rays traded to the Royals last off-season, was simply too good in keeping his former teammates in check. The Royals went up 1-0 in the first on Billy “Country Breakfast” Butler’s RBI single to right that scored Eric Hosmer from third. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Rays came right back in the bottom of the frame when they scored two off Davis. The first run scored when Luke Scott’s double to left brought home Matt Joyce from second and then Scott scored on a Desmond Jennings single, also to left. Davis, who threw 35 pitches in that first inning, buckled down and would not give up another run as he retired 16 of the next 18 hitters. KC, meanwhile, tied the game in the fifth on a solo shot by Jeff Francoeur to left and surged ahead in the sixth, when they posted a pair of runs after two men were out in the inning. Alcides Escobar’s single to left scored Scott, who had doubled earlier, and also moved Fracoeur, who was intentionally walked, to second. The next batter, Alex Gordon hit an RBI single to right scoring Francoeur and making it 4-2 in favor of the Royals. Gordon helped the Royals pad the lead in the eighth, when he hit a sac fly off Rays reliever Cesar Ramos to score Escobar from third. The score was now 5-2. The Rays did put up a fight in the bottom of the ninth. Jose Lobaton, who came into the game as a pinch hitter for Jose Molina in the seventh, launched a homer to right center off Royals closer Greg Holland to pull the home team within two at 5-3. Excitement started to rise in the stands as Joyce worked a walk to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of Ben “Zorilla” Zobrist. Zobrist, however, struck out to end this terrific game.

Although the home team dropped this one, the Rays fans did get some good news. It was announced during the game that Rays starter Alex Cobb, who was struck on the right ear by a vicious line drive the day before, was going to be released from the hospital. Looks like he will be making a full recovery.

After the game, we went back to the hotel, rested briefly, and took a shuttle to Tampa’s Hard Rock Café for dinner. The HRC here is actually part of a sprawling Seminole Casino and had the largest collection of music memorabilia that we had seen yet. It was quite astounding and a bit overwhelming. After having dinner, browsing for two hours, and taking nearly five hundred pictures, we returned to our hotel. This time we stayed up for a while and had the luxury of sleeping in for a bit.

We are now at the airport getting ready to board the flight to our next stop. See you soon!

Game 12: Marlins Park, Miami, FL

St. Louis Cardinals vs Miami Marlins – Saturday, June 15, 2o13

We took an early flight out of New York and arrived in Miami around 10 AM. After posting the blog and checking into the hotel, we took a cab to the Biscayne Bayside area, where we had lunch at Miami’s Hard Rock Café. Afterward, we made our way to the ballpark using the city’s still evolving public transportation system. It only took us a couple of hours to negotiate the less-than-five mile trip from the Hard Rock Café to Marlins Park!

Still, we arrived at the ballpark, almost an hour before game time. It was a sweltering day, really hot and humid. It reminded us of our recent stop at Baltimore. There was, however, an unexpected relief! Marlins Park, which opened just last season, is the newest ballpark in the majors and has a retractable roof. Thankfully, the roof was closed and we watched our first-ever major league ball game indoors. It was a weird experience. Just being closed made the park seem smaller, but it was not. For example, the centerfield wall was about 408 feet away. During the game, we walked around the park and took plenty of pictures. It was a bit spooky because the place seemed virtually empty. The announced attendance was 16K plus, but it just didn’t seem like there were that many people. An interesting attraction was the Bobble-head Museum featuring bobble-heads from all thirty teams.

The game began with an incredible offensive onslaught by both teams. The Cardinals sent 10 men to the plate and jumped to a 5-0 lead in the first. Yadier “Yadi” Molina’s two-run single to left with the bases loaded opened the scoring. David Freese then hit an RBI single to center that was followed by Daniel Descalso’s RBI double to right. The ball was being sprayed all over the field by the Cards’ hitters. Peter “Pete” Kozma hit into a fielder’s choice, but the fifth run scored on the play when Freese came home. Just when it looked like the scales were off the fish, the Marlins bit back. They sent 9 men to the plate in their half of the first and responded with four runs! Juan Pierre got things going with a lead off triple (triples are always fun to watch) and came home on an infield single by Ed Lucas. Then, with two outs, Derek Dietrich walked. Adeiny Hechavarria (and we thought Thamattoor was a complicated name!) hit an RBI single to center and, after Greg Dobbs got plunked by a pitch, Rob Brantly hit a soft line drive that landed in front of the center fielder Jon Jay for a two-run single. Carlos “Mr. October Jr.” Beltran started the second inning with a solo shot to right that hit the foul pole (the fair pole?) to put the Cards up 6-4. The Fish came right back in the bottom of the frame when Giancarlo “Mike” Stanton hit a two-run homer to right center to tie it up. The home run set off an interesting display of jumping marlins, flashing lights, and water splashes on their multi-colored center field sculpture. (To see a Youtube video of a Marlins home run celebration click here.) Freese, following Beltran’s example, hit a lead-off solo shot in the third to untie the ball game. In the fifth, the Cards pitcher Lance Lynn ripped a two-run single to right to help his own cause and put St. Louis up 9-6. In the bottom of the frame, Brantly hit a sac fly to center that scored Hechavarria and brought the home team a run closer at 9-7. The Cards, however, blew it open in the eighth with RBI singles from Allen Craig and Molina. Later that inning, a wild pitch scored Craig to make it 12-7. The ninth inning was highlighted by a towering pop up by Ty Wigginton that nearly hit the cross-bracing of the roof before being caught by Stanton, and Beltran’s second homer of the game, this time to left, to give the Cards a 13-7 advantage which ended up being the final score. This was the highest scoring game that we have seen so far, a total of 20 runs off 28 hits!

The game ended around 7:30 PM, but thanks to another set of adventures with public transportation, we got back to our hotel around 10 PM. We turned in early, as we had another flight in the morning to our next town.

We’ll see you there. So long!

Game 11: Citi Field, New York, NY

Chicago Cubs vs New York Mets – Friday, June 14, 2o13

We sure hope the beginning of this trip is not an indicator of how the rest of it is going to take shape. With torrential rains pelting NYC on Thursday, our early afternoon flight out of Portland, ME was cancelled. We were rebooked on a later flight and that, too, was delayed by a couple of hours. So, instead of 2:30 PM, we made it to the Big Apple around 9:30 in the evening. It was good to be back in this city, finally, although we were a little bummed that our tickets to a guided tour of the Tenement Museum, that was scheduled for earlier that evening, had to be sacrificed. Drat!

Friday turned out to be a much nicer day. In the morning, we took the subway out of Queens to Manhattan and then to the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked over to the J&R Electronics mega-store and purchased a pair of binoculars. We then took the subway uptown toward Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. We had tickets for a tour of the ballpark in the afternoon. It was AMAZING! We visited Monument Park and then went up to the Yankees museum. That was followed by a trip to the press box and finally to the Yankees locker room. We saw the lockers of Derek Jeter, Mariano “Mo” Rivera, Robinson Cano, Andy Pettitte, C. C. Sabathia, Mark “Tex” Teixeira, Travis Hafner, and Brett Gardner, among others. Jeter and Rivera actually have two lockers each, apparently because they get so much mail! After the tour, we ate at the Yankee Stadium Hard Rock Café and then got on the subway to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met was fascinating as usual. We spent about two hours there, spending most of our time looking at paintings by American artists.

After the MMA visit, we took the subway back to Queens and made it to Citi Field, nearly two hours before game time. So we walked around the outside of this impressive and really beautiful ballpark, and took plenty of pictures. The Fanwalk in front of the stadium is really awesome, and punctuated with tiles commemorating important events in Mets history. This new facility just opened in 2009, the same year as the new Yankee Stadium, and is easily among the top modern ballparks that we have seen so far. It is also the site of this years All Star Game. When we got inside there was still enough time to take in the Mets Hall of Fame Museum. There were all kinds of really cool memorabilia including those of the Mets World Series trophies in 1969 and 1986. After visiting the museum, we went up to the top level of the concourse and leisurely strolled around. Batting practice was still going on and that was fun to see. We then walked over to our seats that were on the third level above the first base line, about halfway between home plate and the right field porch. Soon, we were joined by Victoria Gonzalez ’10 (a former Thamattoor student) and Professor Dina Merrer of the Barnard College chemistry department. Professor Merrer spent the previous four days with us in Maine, when she came up with three of her students to run a few experiments. It was good to see her again in New York. And it was fun catching up with Victoria, who is now in medical school. Believe it or not, she plays for a softball team with the splendid name of “Your Worst Enema!”

Closer to game time, we were a little worried as the sky turned dark and ominous, but fortunately, it cleared up and the evening turned out to be quite spectacular. The first pitch of the game was thrown by Kelly Hansen, the lead singer of the multi-platinum rock group, Foreigner, who were scheduled to play a postgame concert. Foreigner also provided a riveting rendition of the national anthem prior to the game.

The game itself belonged to the Cubbies. They scored in the first inning on a two-out homer to right field by Nate “The Great” Schierholtz. The Cubs loaded the bases in the second and, after an RBI single by Darwin Barney and a bases-clearing triple by David DeJesus, added another four runs to go up 5-0. The Mets got a triple of their own in the third, but it came on a gruesome play. Juan Lagares hit a fly ball to deep center and DeJesus, in an attempt to catch it, careened into the wall full force and hurt his shoulder. He was in considerable pain, but after some assistance from the medical staff, was able to walk off the field. He was replaced by Ryan Sweeney. Lagares, who made it to third on the play, subsequently scored on Daniel Murphy’s single to center field. The Cubs got the run back in the sixth when Luis Valbuena, a former Indian, doubled to center to bring home Anthony Rizzo, who had also doubled to center, earlier in the inning. The Mets tried to make it close. In the seventh, an RBI single by Murphy brought home Chris Cowgill, who had doubled earlier and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. The next batter, David Wright, hit a single and the Mets had men on first and second with only one out. Lucas Duda then hit a line drive to left that scored Murphy for the Mets’ third run. On that play, however, Wright was thrown out at third. Too bad for Wright, who otherwise had a great night going 3 for 3. The rally fizzled and the final score ended up being 6-3. Cubs closer Kevin Gregg got the save.

After the game, we were treated to a spectacular concert by Foreigner. The stage was assembled quickly on the outfield grass just behind second base, the lights were turned down, and the band started working the crowd with their classic songs (e.g. Cold as Ice, Head Games, Waiting for a Girl Like You, Double Vision and Feels Like the First Time). We also purchased their greatest hits collection, Jukebox Heroes, especially since the band was donating the entire proceeds from their CD sales at the ballpark to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

As much as we loved the concert, we reluctantly left just after 11 PM as we had to be on an early morning flight to our next destination. After getting back to our hotel and packing up, we retired for the night.

See you at our next stop. Hope you will be able to come along. Bye now!

With school letting out today for the summer, we are off on our most ambitious trip yet – a jaunt through nine cities over the next several days! Hope you’ll be able to join us for our first game of this new round tomorrow. See you soon!

We checked out of the hotel yesterday morning and, on our way to the airport, stopped by the Ripley’s Believe it or Not Odditorium in Baltimore. What a freaky place! They had all kinds of bizarre exhibits ranging from the disgusting to scary to sublime. It was definitely one of the better Ripley’s that we have been to yet.

We arrived in Manchester, NH around mid-afternoon and were home by 7:30 last evening. This was a short trip to make up a missed game. That’s just as well because we have a long haul coming up in less than two weeks. We’ll catch up with you then. Hope you’ll come back and visit.

Cheers!

Game 10: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD

Detroit Tigers vs Baltimore Orioles – Saturday, June 1, 2o13

We drove down to Manchester, NH yesterday morning, took a flight out of there to Baltimore, and checked into a hotel near Camden Yards just after noon. The last time we were here, it rained so hard that the game was called off. This time, it was a brutally hot day with temperatures in the nineties. We walked over to the ballpark a good three hours before game time and spent an hour or so at the adjoining Sports Legends Museum. It was well worth the visit. A significant portion of the museum is devoted to the Orioles and there was an entire room dedicated to Babe Ruth who was born here. There are many interesting things to see for fans of other sports as well. Exhibits featuring the Baltimore Colts and Ravens, Johnny Unitas, Michael Phelps, and Maryland collegiate athletics, among others, were all prominently on display.

After the tour of the museum we walked over to the ballpark. Soon we were joined there by Professor John Toscano, and former members of Team Thamattoor – Traci Speed ’03 and Jess Levasseur ’10. Traci was accompanied by her friend James, so we had a good group on hand. Our seats were behind home plate, but shaded by the stands. Thank goodness!

As noted earlier, we saw Anibal Sanchez’s near no-hitter in Detroit about a week ago. This game was equally as memorable. We could go easily another fifty years and not see one quite like this. Pitching for the Tigers was their ace Justin Verlander, who has an impressive resume that includes a Rookie of the Year award, five All Star appearances, an AL Cy Young award and Most Valuable Player award (both in 2011!). He came as advertised and pitched seven strong innings giving up just three runs. The real story, however, was the Tigers offense. They scored a run in the second to jump ahead 1-0 on an RBI hit by Matt Tuiasosopo (one of the coolest names in baseball!) that scored Victor “V-Mart” Martinez from third. Tuiasosopo picked up his teammate Alex Avila, who had grounded into a double play in the preceding at bat. The Orioles, however, promptly tied it up in the third when J. J. Hardy hit a solo homer off Verlander. But then came the crazy and historic fourth inning! It began with three back-to-back-to-back home runs by Martinez, Jhonny Peralta, and Avila. Orioles starter Jason Hammel hit the next batter, Tuiasosopo, and was immediately ejected. That brought out Orioles skipper Buck Showalter who, surprisingly, was allowed to vent without getting tossed out as well. The O’s called on lefty reliever T. J. McFarland to replace Hammel, but there was no relief in sight. A single and double later, the bases were loaded with nobody out and Miguel Cabrera, the last person the Orioles wanted to see, stepped to the dish. It seemed as if the entire stadium, which was packed, knew that the inevitable was about to happen. T. J. fell behind 3-2 and then left one over the plate.  Oops! Cabrera hit a rope that ended up in the left field stands for a grand slam!! What a way to bring up his 200^th home run as a Tiger!!! The Tigers posted eight runs in the fourth. It was the first time in Orioles franchise history that they gave up four home runs in one inning. An RBI single by Chris Davis in the bottom of the fourth and another solo shot by Hardy in the fifth got the O’s a bit closer, but in the seventh, Prince Fielder also hit a solo shot to put Detroit up 10-3 which ended up being the final score of the game. This game featured seven home runs (five of them by the Tigers) and we saw a grand slam live for the first time. There was also plenty of on-field drama with the ejection of the pitcher and Showalter getting into it with the umps. We also got to see Verlander pitch a beauty! What a game!!

Before, during, and after the game, we walked around the Camden Yards taking pictures. Really cool statues of Oriole greats adorn the plaza beyond left-center field, and the instantly recognizable, red brick B&O building that rises over right to center is even more impressive than on TV. The movie Major League II, featuring the Cleveland Indians, was shot at this location back in the early 90’s. This is definitely one of the top ballparks in the Bigs and it was fun to see a large crowd of nearly 40,000 on hand.

We are heading home later today and will be in touch soon from there. Adios!