As most of you know by now, I am an avid baseball fan, and although we didn't travel too far this summer to see ballgames, we did attend some pretty important games and events. With the regular season ending recently (10/2), it's time for reflection on the games we were at. We hit the ground running by going to Opening Day at Angel Stadium, attended the Home Run Derby in San Diego, and we went the Padres/Brewers game in August in San Diego. All of these games were pretty awesome to be at, so let me tell you about each below!
OPENING DAY - ANAHEIM ANGELS VS. CHICAGO CUBS - APRIL 4, 2016
There is no better feeling in the world than to know baseball is back for an entire 6 months, and this year we decided to go to Opening Day in Anaheim! After work on a Monday, Robbie and I braved the Southern California traffic and made our way to Angel Stadium with much anticipation to be the first to take in the sights, sounds and smells of the ballpark; they were wonderfully familiar! We arrived just in time to hear the National Anthem being sung, accompanied by a huge American flag covering the entire outfield! Yes, baseball was back, and I was in my happy place!
Being Opening Day is like a holiday for us, we spent a little more on the tickets than we usually would and got seats about 13 rows up from the visitors dugout. First pitch was thrown, and the 2016 season was underway!
The baseball world had high hopes for the Chicago Cubs coming into this season, and if their first game was any indication, the season was going to be a great one for them! The Cubs wasted no time swinging their bats, and cruised to a 9-0 win, their first of what would be a major league leading 103 wins this season! "Hey Chicago, Whaddya Say....!"
One cool thing to note, the day of this Angels/Cubs game was also the NCAA National Championship game. Being Robbie and I are privvy on the tournament each year, Robbie pulled up the game on his phone, and watched Villanova win the Championship over UNC on a stunning buzzer-beater, and we were the first at the ballpark to witness it! Everyone in our section was peering over at Robbie's phone, and when that shot went in, everyone erupted! About 10 minutes later they showed the ending on the Jumbotron! You can watch that game's buzzer-beater here. For those 5 seconds, the college basketball game was more fun than Opening Day baseball!
HOME RUN DERBY - PETCO PARK, SAN DIEGO, CA - JULY 11, 2016
Attending the 2014 Home Run Derby in Minneapolis was what we thought to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us, so we felt blessed to have gone again this year, as the All-Star festivities were right in our back yard. We had so much fun at the first one so we jumped at the opportunity this year, too! This year, we invited one of our friends, Kristina, who is a lifelong Padres fan, having lived in the San Diego area her whole life! We were excited! We couldn't believe that half the baseball season had happened without us attending any games besides Opening Day; very unlike us!
The Home Run Derby was on Monday July 11th, the pre-cursor to the All-Star Game! They did Petco Park up real nice for the mid-summer classic, and the vibes in and around the stadium were rocking! We drove down to San Diego a few hours before the Derby started. We had a much more difficult time getting to Petco than we did Target Field. I miss public transportation in Southern California. :(
The format was new this year; each competitor had 4 minutes to hit as many home runs as he could, and it was set up in a single elimination bracket, pitting one batter against another. After each round, the slate was wiped clean and each competitor started with zero home runs. Giancarlo Stanton was our favorite to win!
The Home Run Derby always has a very relaxed feel, and this year was no different. As the Derby was in full swing (no pun intended), a DJ was in the outfield spinning tunes the whole time! That definitely added to the fun atmosphere!
In the first round, Baltimore Orioles Mark Trumbo beat LA's Corey Seager. The Boo-Birds were out for Dodgers' Corey Seager, as expected, and he ended up on the short end, with Trumbo edging him out by 1 homer. Up next in Round 1, Giancarlo Stanton of Miami vs. Robinson Cano of Seattle. Stanton put on a show in the first round, going yard 24 times! Cano, not so much. He only managed 7 home runs. Better luck next time! On the right side of the bracket in Round 1 was the Reds' Adam Duvall going against San Diego's own Wil Myers! Myers came to the plate to a Standing Ovation, and he reached double digits, hitting 10 into the stands. Adam Duvall spoiled the home team's party by hitting just one more than Myers. I was cheering for Myers because Duvall is a Red. NL Central bias. :) Last up in Round 1 was the defending Home Run Derby Champ, Todd Frazier of the White Sox vs Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies. Winner went to Frazier by the slimmest of margins.
Round 2 started with Giancarlo Stanton hitting 17 home runs. Stanton went first in this round, so he had to set the bar high if he wanted to move on. Mark Trumbo hit just 14, so Stanton was moving on to the championship round! Yay!! Next up in Round 2 was the old Red (Frazier) vs the new Red (Duvall). Frazier earned his second trip to the HR Derby Championship round by 1 home run.
The much anticipated final round came, and Stanton dared Frazier to hit more homeruns than he could, which was 20! Frazier looked up to the challenge as he was right on pace, but then he ran out of gas during the home stretch, falling short by 7 home runs! Stanton wins, Stanton wins!!
Here is a fun stat on the night for Stanton, courtesy of MLB.com: "Stanton's home runs traveled a total projected distance of 27,187 feet, which is 5.15 miles and 9,918 feet more than any other competitor. Frazier was second with a total distance of 17,269 feet." All of Stanton's home runs went 5.15 miles! For my WI friends, he hit all his home runs in the distance between Barron and Cameron. Or, a little less distance from St. Paul to to Woodbury for my MN friends! Unreal!
The Home Run Derby was definitely worth the price of admission, and it was so much fun to be there with Kristina!! Next year, the All-Star festivities are in Miami.....maybe Stanton can win it back-to-back years in front of his home crowd!! Time will tell!
MILWAUKEE BREWERS VS. SAN DIEGO PADRES - AUGUST 2, 2016
When the 2016 Brewers schedule came out last year, we noted the road trip they had to San Diego, and we were determined to get to at least one of those games this year, as we missed out on the opportunity during the 2015 season. This series is usually during the week, and this year was no different, but this time we planned ahead. Just like the Home Run Derby, we attended this game with our friend Kristina! We had Kristina to thank for our GREAT seats, as one of her coworkers has season tickets to Padres games, and Kristina was gracious enough to share this game with one of the biggest Brewers fans on the planet. Little did we know that this game was going to be one I will never forget, and for that, I will need to back up a little bit.
During this past off-season, the Brewers were regarded as having one of the Top 10 farm systems (minor league systems) in the league, with phenom Shortstop Orlando Arcia as the headliner. Brewers fans everywhere knew it was just a matter of time until he was called up, and we knew it was going to be sometime towards the end of the season. Then the news broke, Arcia was being called up to the majors the SAME DAY we were going to be in attendance. To say I was giddy was an understatement! This was huge news for Brewers fans! I apologized to Kristina ahead of time for acting out of my mind during the game. I can't express how big this game was!
A few days before the game after our tickets were secure, Kristina showed us that our seats were only about 15 rows up from the Brewers dugout! Things couldn't get any better than that! Knowing this information, I made a sign to bring to the ballpark commemorating this big event, and it read "I'm Here For ARCIA" and I waved it proudly. After getting to our seats, Robbie and I headed down towards the dugout to try and catch a glimpse of the rookie, and in the middle of that, who walks out? David Stearns, our new young and heroic General Manager! My sign caught his attention and his face lit up! Robbie voiced his pleasure as well with the sentiment of "I love you Stearns!" I could tell this was a proud night for him. I was also able to see the Brewers reporter, Sophia Minneart shoot her pre-game segment right in front of us! When we retreated back to our seats to wait for the game to start, a Brewers photographer snapped a picture of me that I was sure was going to be in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal the following day! Shortly after this, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I look back, and I had no idea who it is, and it was clear that she didn't speak English, only Spanish. With the help of Robbie and Kristina picking out select words, I realize I was standing face to face with Orlando Arcia's sister and what I believed to be his niece! I about fell over! We snapped a few photos with both of our phones and all I could do was say 'Gracias, Gracias!' I probably looked like a fool to her. But I can only assume that the next time she saw her brother, she whipped out her phone to show him those pictures! I am definitely bringing this sign with me to my next Brewers game. Who knows, maybe I will meet him next! Arcia is just the tip of the iceberg in regards to the talent we have in our farm system waiting to be called up. In complete un-biased honesty, the Brewers will most likely see the success that the Chicago Cubs are currently having in about 3 years! Arcia is the start of something good for Wisconsin baseball!
Brewers pitcher Zach Davies started this game, and throughout the year, he emerged as our ace. Funny how things play out like that. He was not who I expected to be consistently good this season. Anyway, Davies went out with the lead in the 3rd after a wild pitch, scoring Hernan Perez. Davies then gave up an RBI Single in the bottom of that inning. Braun broke the 1-1 tie in the 6th, hitting a home run much to the dismay of the home crowd. It is true, baseball fans do hold 3-year-old grudges! Then in that same inning, Chris Carter (who would become the NL home run champ with 40 total) hit a double scoring Hernan Perez again! 3-1 Brewers! The Padres scored another RBI Single in the bottom of the 6th, but the Brewers held on to win, 3-2!
As for Arcia, he went 0-4 with a strike-out which happened to be his first plate appearance. During his first at-bat, Robbie was taking video in hopes to capture his first hit. While he was doing this, some guy a few rows back screamed at him to sit down. This guy clearly had no idea what he was witnessing, but maybe in a few years he will understand. Arcia's first major league contact came in the top of the 4th when he grounded out to third base, and had the same result in the 8th. He then grounded out again in the 6th to the shortstop. Although he didn't do much on offense, his defense is what got him to where he is now! He flashed his glove on many occasions during the game, allowing Brewers fans to see his worth! Arcia's first hit came a few days later on August 5th vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks. Good for him. As he got more comfortable at the plate in the last 2 months of the season, his bat started to heat up, and he finished the year with a respectable .219 average, collecting 4 home runs, 17 RBI's, 8 stolen bases, 44 hits, and 21 runs in just 201 at-bats. He will only get better with time!
It had been a while since we have been at a game where the Brewers have come out the victors, and it was extra nice that it happened on such an historic night. Usually we duck out of ballgames early to beat the crowd out of town, but we stayed until the very last pitch and the victory high-fives after this particular game! I'm excited for our future. Baseball is a marathon, and I'm willing to wait!
Although we didn't make it to too many games this summer, the one's we did get to, we made them count! Baseball brings out the child in me, and that's why I love it. I'm humbled.
"There are only 2 seasons: Winter and Baseball!" -Bill Veeck
