You never forget your first time

I'm playing catch-up here a bit, I know. On Friday, a friend and I took her kids to their very first professional baseball game ever: Indianapolis Indians at Norfolk Tides (the Tides are the triple-A team for the sort-of nearby Baltimore Orioles) in Harbor Park. My friend has a four year old boy and a six year old girl. She was pretty sure it was her first ballgame, too; she couldn't remember ever having been taken to games when she was younger. Taking the kids to the game had a bit of sentimental value, because a Tides game was my first professional baseball game, too, back when baseball was something I was forced to watch my younger brother play every Saturday afternoon in the spring and summer and going to Tides games for family nights with his Cub Scout troop was a semi-regular occurence. That was back when they were the Tidewater Tides, they were the farm team for the Mets, and they played at Met Park near the airport. Definitely some nostalgia going on.

As far as the game itself...well, we went down 9-3. The pitcher seemed to have forgotten where the strike zone was, the fielders had apparently taken the night off, and the bullpen was definitely playing homage to the Red Sox with their complete suckitude. But you know, I didn't really care, and not just because everyone in Hampton Roads knows the Tides suck.

No, what I enjoyed about the game was all the other stuff. Watching the kids devour hot dogs and cotton candy. A three year old's face as he leans on you, eyes glued to the game. Explaining things like the seventh inning stretch and the bullpen. Overpriced ballpark beer. Winning a gallon of wiper fluid because the bullpen finally managed to strike a guy out. The silly games in the middle of each inning. Listening to my friend call everyone she knew because she'd just caught a foul ball that had almost hit her daughter in the head! Singing "Take Me Out To the Ballgame." Watching two amazing little kids tear around the bases after the game, waving at you as they round third and head for home.

Driving home with the windows down and the music up, knowing that for the first time in a long time, two little children and their mother were able to escape the mess their lives have become and just enjoy a night at the ballpark.

Because that's why we do this, isn't it? Why baseball is the national pastime. We go to a ballgame, spend too much money on beer and souveniers. Yell, scream, curse, and laugh; make new friends with people sitting around you who are there for the same reason you are - to get away from the stress of everyday life and watch some guys playing a game they love. Ballparks are interesting; they're almost completely enclosed and being in one is like being in a whole different world, a world where all these people have come together for love of one thing - the game of baseball. It's a pretty amazing feeling. Those kids are never going to forget that night, and I'm just lucky to have been a part of it.

In other news, Josh Beckett may have some competition for the coveted position of Trinity's Baseball Boyfriend because hello, Conor Jackson, you are a stud! Char says I can have an AL boyfriend and an NL boyfriend, so I'm totally going to. I'm terribly jealous that she gets to see him in person tonight (hi, my name is Trinity, and I go from introspective to shallow in 0.6 seconds).

The Sox are taking on the Tigers tonight, with Dice-K on the mound for us. I can't tell yet whether Dice-K hasn't found his stride yet this season or if he's really just an average pitcher. He doesn't often go deep into the games (which, given the state of our bullpen, is not what we need), and he walks a lot of guys. He pitches into full counts a lot and throws a lot of pitches. Dice-K throws for strikes but doesn't get them, and doesn't pitch to contact, which is what he should be doing with mediocre stuff like his. It's not like our fielders aren't going to back him up. If there's one thing the Sox can do, it's field. Maybe with the exception of Mr. E6 himself, Julio Lugo. But as long as nobody hits to shortstop, we're fine.

Hey, Dice-K just walked his fifth guy tonight. And Julian "Batshit" Tavarez is already warming in the bullpen. Sigh.