Holy crap, that was a baseball game

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Or “Ask the guy who spent 6 hours at a professional baseball game yesterday.”

Friday, I got an email from the administrator of my academic program. There were 8 tickets available for the Sunday Astros game, made available by a rich benefactor whose foundation gives a large grant to our program. This happens a few times a year, generally on Sundays – said benefactor has a strong commitment to the local NFL team (he owns them). Email the administrator back, names go in the hat, and a ticket is awarded. 4 of these tickets are $300 a pop, 5 rows behind home plate. In my 9 years in the program, I’ve gotten them once, this year, and watched Roger Clemens pitch 8 innings of shutout ball. The other 4 are along the first base line, a little farther back than first base, on the field level, about 30 rows back ($45).

I entered, despite extremely pregnant wife and toddler in the terrible 2s. Despite a 3 hour respite to watch the Longhorns beat up the Sooners yesterday. Yeah, I’m a bad person, but it is playoff baseball. And my parents promised to help out today. And I got a $45 ticket.

We showed up at about 11:30 AM at the ballpark, and settled in. Bratwurst and a giant soda during the second inning. Quickly down 0-4 after a grand slam in the 3rd. Watched an anemic Astros offense get decimated by Hudson, and just waited for the end of the game. Backe is pulled early, relieved by the typical Phil Garner relief pitching by comission of Gallo->Rodriguez->Strickland->Qualls.

Well whaddayaknow. Hudson’s pulled and I remembered the Astros were hitting Farnsworth this year. Berkman grand slam, Ausmus homerun and it’s tied and our throats are raw and our hands are starting to hurt from clapping and we go into extra innings. Qualls pitches through the 10th, then 2 innings by Lidge, then 3 by Wheeler. Wheeler is caught by Raul Chavez, and there have been a lot of substitutions and I realize things are getting interesting when our catcher, Ausmus, comes out to play first. We get up and yell every time there is two strikes, every time there is two outs, every time an Astro gets on base. By the 13th, I phone my brother, who is watching, to ask who is left. His answer “No one but Clemens.” My friend has a date at 6 PM and he has to leave at 4:30. I tell the bastard (who drove) that there’s no way that I’m leaving and that I’ll find a way to get home (I live around 20 miles away). So Clemens comes in in the 15th and is awesome. People are leaving, but at the top of the 17th they announce that this is now the longest game in playoff history. Clemens is awesome, mowing through guys, making up for his bad start in game 1. And Burke hits a walkoff in the bottom of the 18th and I’ve never yelled so loud at a professional sporting event. It is 5:50 PM, and the game started at noon.

By the end, our 30 minute walk to the train and then to the car was necessary just for some decompression. I have no desire to watch baseball again for a year and I have no idea how I’ll key myself up for the NLCS against the Cards…

2

You lucky bastard! That was an incredible game. And you were there!

Baseball fans will be talking about that game for a long time.

3

That’s probably the most unbelievable part of your story. If i were at that game, it would have taken the imminent death of a close family member to get me out of the ballpark before the final out.

Well, i guess they beat the traffic. :rolleyes:

You’re a very lucky person. That was one great game. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole second half, and i’m not an Astros or a Braves fan.

4

I’m a Braves fan, and I wasn’t even upset when the Astros won. I just wanted that freakin’ game to be OVER.

::sigh:: If only Andruw had caught that ball in the 9th…

Oh well, there’s always next year.

5

edwino - I have some logistical questions.

At Yankee Stadium they stop selling beer towards the end of the game - I forget which inning, or if it’s just for night games.

Did they sell beer through the end of the game in Houston? Did they run out of hot dogs? Were the vendors selling stuff through all 18 innings?

6

Honestly, I don’t think it was a great game, just long. Once into extra innings, there weren’t many scoring chances. I have to admit, I enjoyed seeing Roger swing for the fences.

7

I got back in from out of town yesterday shortly after the game started only to find two invites to go to the game. Between the 3rd and the 8th, I was kinda glad… then I kept thinking “Aargh, what if?”

Heh, it was a beautiful afternoon yesterday and I didn’t see one bit of it. What a show! Sure brought back memories of the '86 classic with Hatcher, Bell, Cruz, Ashby, etc.

8

Now, now, while it is regretable, people do have other commitments besides baseball nowadays. Some have to go to work, or pick up the kids, or return the kids to the ex-spouse by 6 pm on Sunday when visitation is over, or visit their parent at the nursing home, or study for the mid-term on Monday, etc.

9

I really enjoyed the game and I only caught it in the 10th, I was out shopping with my Wife and kids. (I’m a Yankee Fan by the way).
Incredible baseball. What a way for Houston to win.

10

You lucky dog! I would so have loved to have been there. I bet besides your arms being tired, and your throat raw, that you’re deaf, too!

What a game. :smiley:

Go 'Stros!

11

Well, yeah, who knew the 'Stros and Braves were gonna play the fourth and fifth games of the series all in one go?

I was at the “Wings over Houston” air show Sunday. Sometime between 3 and 4 PM the announcers mentioned the game was tied. I watched the end of the show, hung around the flight line another half hour waiting for traffic to disperse, got in the car, turned on KTRH and was shocked to find the game still on. Drove an hour to go home and and still got back in time to watch the 17th and 18th innings on TV. Good stuff.

12

As a Cardinals fan, this is the one result I absolutely did not want. I ultimately wanted the Braves to win, because I would have enjoyed seeing Pujols and company feasting on their bullpen.

But, if the Braves were bound to lose the series, I at least wanted them to win the game yesterday. It would have forced the Astros to burn Pettitte today, thereby giving the Cardinals a much bigger advantage to start the NLCS.

As it stands now, I’m worried. More worried than I was last year. Somebody hold me…

AO

13

Oops. Wrong signature!

cf’75

14

Yeah I got asked this question actually, and the answer is I don’t know. Usually last call is the 7th inning stretch. I got up to pee in the 5th, and in the 8th I felt the urge again. Damn large soda and beer. But I couldn’t very well leave, so I held it. By the 11th inning, I decided it’s now or never and ducked out at mid-inning. The concessionary seemed crowded still and I wasn’t particularly motivated to spend extra time to get more food when there was a game on in extra innings.

I don’t feel bad that people left – people come with babies and toddlers and young children and as a parent I can understand how their needs can’t be ignored. There was a whole family with 4 girls under 10 sitting in front of us, and two of the girls were slouched over in their chairs by the 14th when they left. My friend had a date with a girl at 6 PM and had to go home, clean up, and pick her up (they had concert tickets so it’s not like it could have been delayed). He was pissed but he assured me that the girl was really, really hot.

Apparently that was Roger’s first time coming out of the bullpen since 1984. His first ever pinch hit. 23 Astros played (all except Oswalt and Pettitte).

15

I saw this too and am just trying to grasp how amazing that is. 1984? I mean, 1984!!! I remember watching the Cubs blow it at the end year, when I was 7 years old!

16

He actually laid down a sweet sacrifice bunt the first time up. I missed the other at bat…but saw Burke finish the game off.

17

I’m a Cards fan, too, and although I wanted the Braves to win, I was delighted to see both these teams wearing themselves out before one of them gets to St. Louis.

I have a tremendous respect for Roger Clemens. It’s not just for the diamond-legend thing, but also that he could poke fun at himself in ESPN commercials.

Now, I have to go do a load of red laundry. All my Cardinal shirts are dirty. :smiley:

18

Apart from being an absolute wahoo game, what stood out for me was the classiness of Rocket Roger. All the media immediately jumped on him for post-game interviews. He said about three sentences, then pointed at Burke and said, “Hey, how about the kid here! What a job!” And then he left the field and let Burke, the rookie, have the glory and the interviews.

That was the mark of a true professional, IMNSHO.