Last night my brother, sister, brother-in-law, nieces, a friend of my sister's and I all went to see a Cleveland Indians baseball game at Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland. I'd never been there, but had seen plenty of Indians games broadcast from there on TV. I have to admit to feeling a tad star struck when I got there. I've been to the Tribe's minor league games in Akron where the Aeros play at Canal Park, but this was the Real Deal, the Major Leagues. The park is spectacular, beautiful, incredible, everything you'd ever imagine a major league ballpark to be. I was downright wowed by the whole experience, even sitting up in the nosebleed section in a mostly empty stadium, which was sort of sad to see because I remember how many years in a row every single Indians game was a sellout. Now you can't give away tickets to see them play. The last time I had seen a live Cleveland Indians game was in 1969 in old Municipal Stadium, now gone from the Cleveland landscape. Luis Tiant was pitching for the Tribe and "Hawk" Harrelson was the swaggering handsome young player that set all the female hearts aflame with his wild long locks of hair. Ah, that was so long ago now..... Anyway, this newer park is fantastic, a perfectly manicured lawn, the diamond was like something out of a movie, the cityscape around us was beautiful both as the sun set and as darkness enveloped the city and the buildings sparkled with a few lights on here and there. The Goodyear blimp soared above us overhead as the game was being played below us. I brought a good pair of binoculars so I could see what was going on. It was exhilarating being able to see so much so close up with them. All those big league players playing a little boy's game, which turned into an epic battle between two almost evenly matched teams. Instead of going the usual 9 innings, it went a ridiculously long 16 innings. We left at the bottom of the 14th inning, the score still tied 3-3. Last year when my sister was home, we went to an Akron Aeros game and left in the 7th inning. Just once, I'd like to go to a ballgame and stay for the duration, but last night's game went so long that everyone was getting bleary eyed and sleepy and a little rain began to fall, so for the 14th inning, we snuck down to some prime seats just off of right field and got a magnificent view of the action. When it became apparent that the game had no end in sight, we left and listened to the remainder of it on the radio on the way home. The hero of the night was Jack Hannahan, a good Irish name, and he hit two solo homers to start out. When he did so, Irish music played to celebrate his accomplishment. Well, turns out that he hit the game winning RBI as well, so he's sort of become my new favorite Cleveland player. He looks and reminds me of a very young Jim Thome, who played for the Tribe during the glory years of the 90's, then left and just last week returned to the team, an older, slower and not as proficient 41 years old, but still, every time he came to bat, the audience stood and cheered for this old hometown hero returned to the fold. It was gratifying to see someone like him back in Cleveland uniform, even if he IS a bit older and slower than he was in his glory years. My guess is that he'll retire after this season, but what a way to go out, in the uniform he started out in. Good on him. Now he has a young protége, Jack Hannahan, who looks and dresses a lot like Thome did in his younger days, even wearing his socks pulled up high over his pants legs like ballplayers of old. Well, Jack Hannahan, you've won a new fan. I love ballplayers like him who pay tribute to the old way of doing things and who have not forgotten that baseball has a long history and tradition in this country. It's not for nothing that it's called "America's Pastime". Hannahan obviously hasn't forgotten, and good on him! And what a night he had last night! I will never forget what a wonderful night I had at Progressive Field, living the magic of live major league baseball in a spectacularly beautiful park on a lovely warm summer evening. Perfect!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
My first Tribe game since 1969!
Last night my brother, sister, brother-in-law, nieces, a friend of my sister's and I all went to see a Cleveland Indians baseball game at Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland. I'd never been there, but had seen plenty of Indians games broadcast from there on TV. I have to admit to feeling a tad star struck when I got there. I've been to the Tribe's minor league games in Akron where the Aeros play at Canal Park, but this was the Real Deal, the Major Leagues. The park is spectacular, beautiful, incredible, everything you'd ever imagine a major league ballpark to be. I was downright wowed by the whole experience, even sitting up in the nosebleed section in a mostly empty stadium, which was sort of sad to see because I remember how many years in a row every single Indians game was a sellout. Now you can't give away tickets to see them play. The last time I had seen a live Cleveland Indians game was in 1969 in old Municipal Stadium, now gone from the Cleveland landscape. Luis Tiant was pitching for the Tribe and "Hawk" Harrelson was the swaggering handsome young player that set all the female hearts aflame with his wild long locks of hair. Ah, that was so long ago now..... Anyway, this newer park is fantastic, a perfectly manicured lawn, the diamond was like something out of a movie, the cityscape around us was beautiful both as the sun set and as darkness enveloped the city and the buildings sparkled with a few lights on here and there. The Goodyear blimp soared above us overhead as the game was being played below us. I brought a good pair of binoculars so I could see what was going on. It was exhilarating being able to see so much so close up with them. All those big league players playing a little boy's game, which turned into an epic battle between two almost evenly matched teams. Instead of going the usual 9 innings, it went a ridiculously long 16 innings. We left at the bottom of the 14th inning, the score still tied 3-3. Last year when my sister was home, we went to an Akron Aeros game and left in the 7th inning. Just once, I'd like to go to a ballgame and stay for the duration, but last night's game went so long that everyone was getting bleary eyed and sleepy and a little rain began to fall, so for the 14th inning, we snuck down to some prime seats just off of right field and got a magnificent view of the action. When it became apparent that the game had no end in sight, we left and listened to the remainder of it on the radio on the way home. The hero of the night was Jack Hannahan, a good Irish name, and he hit two solo homers to start out. When he did so, Irish music played to celebrate his accomplishment. Well, turns out that he hit the game winning RBI as well, so he's sort of become my new favorite Cleveland player. He looks and reminds me of a very young Jim Thome, who played for the Tribe during the glory years of the 90's, then left and just last week returned to the team, an older, slower and not as proficient 41 years old, but still, every time he came to bat, the audience stood and cheered for this old hometown hero returned to the fold. It was gratifying to see someone like him back in Cleveland uniform, even if he IS a bit older and slower than he was in his glory years. My guess is that he'll retire after this season, but what a way to go out, in the uniform he started out in. Good on him. Now he has a young protége, Jack Hannahan, who looks and dresses a lot like Thome did in his younger days, even wearing his socks pulled up high over his pants legs like ballplayers of old. Well, Jack Hannahan, you've won a new fan. I love ballplayers like him who pay tribute to the old way of doing things and who have not forgotten that baseball has a long history and tradition in this country. It's not for nothing that it's called "America's Pastime". Hannahan obviously hasn't forgotten, and good on him! And what a night he had last night! I will never forget what a wonderful night I had at Progressive Field, living the magic of live major league baseball in a spectacularly beautiful park on a lovely warm summer evening. Perfect!
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