Why Baseball Is Awesome

I'll never forget the first time I went to a major league baseball game. It was the summer of 2004, I was 17. I was in Massachusetts visiting my mom's side of the family in a tiny sea town called Manchester-by-the-Sea, as I usually did almost every summer. This particular summer, my uncle offered to share some of his season tickets so I could go with my dad and my brother. I thought, why not, I've never been. Sounds fun. What followed was one of the most memorable experiences of my life....



The first thing I remember is getting on the subway to get to Fenway-it was PACKED. Everybody had their shirts and hats on, and there was a definite buzz about the place. When we got to our stop, literally 95% of the train emptied out. I think that's when the excitement started to build.

As we stepped into Fenway, I was in awe-it just felt like a magic sort of place-it had been there for 92 years at that point, and while there were certainly many additions and fixtures that were newer than that, parts of the original park still existed.

When we sat down, I immediately smelled the scents of a ballpark-peanuts, hot dogs, and beer. And the excitement in the place? I had never seen anything like it. I had been to Utah Jazz games back home, but even during the days of Stockton and Malone, I had never seen people so excited. I remember the next thing that hit me was what a beautiful summer night it was-warm, clear, and humid (being Boston). I thought to myself why can't more sports be played outside?!


And then the game began-when the starting lineup was announced, the place went wild-everyone was on their feet. Not even 3 innings in, I was hooked. I started remember player names, keep track of different pitches, the whole thing.

Then, around the 6th inning or so something truly crazy happened. Pedro Martinez threw a pitch and after what seemed like about only a second, the ball bounced off the top of the dugout and hit smack between my brother and I's seats. My dad, being alert, dove and grabbed it before someone else could get it. I think it was probably then I realized how exciting baseball could actually be.

While I can't remember the exact score, the Sox won big that night. My uncle was incredulous at our luck in catching the ball--in over 20 years of going to Fenway, he had never caught a foul ball, and I had snagged one at my first game ever.

I haven't looked back since.

Since then, I've followed the Sox religiously. Not only that, but all of baseball--I've now been to Fenway Park, Coors Field, and Angel Stadium. It's a goal of mine to visit every park in the country (yes, even Yankee Stadium...) In the mean time, I can appreciate being close to Coors Field, a newer park, but a great one nonetheless.

One final note-it's interesting how many people think I'm crazy for loving baseball like I do. Last night was opening day for the Sox, and after 5 innings of watching at my brother's place, he told me he couldn't watch anymore. So I went to the closest bar, where I sat alone at the bar, enjoyed a hard cider, and cheered on my team. I noticed the manager was starting to close up, so I asked him what time he was closing.  "Usually 2," he said, "but probably 10 tonight since it's so dead." I told him I would be sure to be out by then, but he insisted I stay. "Finish watching the game!" he said.

It's always nice to meet somebody else who gets it.