I love baseball. It's the one and only game that can bring tears to my eyes (ok, it's the one and only spectator sport). Twice in the last 7 days I have had tears in my eyes due to a baseball-related event. The first time was earlier this week during the All-Star game when Ted Williams was carted around the field and let off at the pitcher's mound so he could throw out the first pitch. As he got to the mound all of the players from both leagues--and these are the best, most popular players of the day--swarmed the mound to shake hands, greet, and get the autograph and blessing of one of baseball's all-time greats. As he sat in the cart, he first asked for Sosa. Sammy came over and they smiled and shook hands (I love Sammy, wish he would've surpassed McGwire's record last year), then Williams pointed at Mark McGwire (for those of you who don't know, he's the one who holds the record for most homeruns in a season, set last year). McGwire came over for a few words from the hitter and a hand shake. Finally the crowd dispersed and Ted was helped out of the cart. Ted's pretty old and can't walk around very well so Tony Gwynn helped him to the mound and pointed him to home plate where Carlton Fisk waited for the first Pitch. Good ol' Ted threw that pitch right to Fisk. The crowd cheered and stood up again.
Wow! Baseball's great.
There was a story in CNN/SI about Williams at the All-Star game that recounted a discussion that Williams had with some of the players:
"They wanted me to meet [Don] Mattingly when he was going good, and [Wade] Boggs. And we went to this high-class restaurant and we're talking about hitting, the intimate part of hitting, where you put your foot, everything like that. Finally, I said, 'Did you guys ever smell the wood when you foul one real hard?'
"They looked at one another, like what's this guy smoking now? And I said I could smell it quite a few times, and it smelled like wood burning. I said the next time I see Willie Mays, the next time I see Cepeda, the next time I see Reggie Jackson, I'm going to ask them. They said, 'Oh, sure, we've smelled it, too.' So I asked McGwire the same thing, and he said he could smell it, too."
Wow! I love baseball.
Now we fast forward a couple of days to tonight. Tonight Safeco Field opened up for the first game ever played in the Mariner's new home field. It was an uphill battle to get the field funded, built and open on time. I've got a lot of mixed feelings about some issues in baseball, and the way this field came to be is one of them (owners vs. players, inflated salaries, rabid collectors, little league parents, the fact that it's a MAN's sport, etc. are some more of those issues). But they still don't take away from my joy of watching a great baseball game, nor can they erase the almost perfect moments of humanity that surround baseball. And, well, the field's beautiful.
Moments from tonight's game (in progress as i write this, now in the fifth inning, Mariners behind the Padres 1-0):
The Mountain--that's Mt. Rainier--the Sound, the Space Needle and the Sunset on a warm and yet cloudy Pacific NW summer's day. This is a good day to roll back the 11,000 ton ceiling and let the fresh air in.
Grass. Real, green grass and dirt. A pattern cut into the grass, not a patch of astro turf in sight.
The train horn calling out over and over as the trains roll under the stadium seats. They say this is the sound of the stadium. This is the sound that will epitomize Safeco field.
Running the bases. Fred Hutchinson was a great man and humanitarian who died of cancer. He played baseball on the very first Mariners team. His grandson, Joey, was the first to run the bases. As he rounded first base, his Rainiers little league jersey slipped off his shoulder, but he kept running right into the arms of Ken Griffey Jr. (my third favorite Mariner, Alex Rodriguez is my second) and Jay Buhner (who is my favorite Mariner).
Dave Niehaus, the voice of the Mariners. This man is amazing. If I associate only one thing with the Mariners it is his voice: so distinctive, so amazing, so expressive. In 1995, at the end of the regular season, right before the Mariner's made the playoffs, Dave was gone for a few weeks. Seattle's fans were scared and praying and thinking of him. He started announcing a game, not feeling well. Then bottom of the second inning and Dave was rushed to the hospital with a mild heart attack. Not tonight though. Tonight, Dave starred in two of the moments. In the first he stepped out to the field, dressed in a tux, and read a passage from Kinsella's Shoeless Joe. "They will come...."
The second. No one, and I mean no one, knew who was going to throw out the first pitch. Originally it was going to be our Republican congressman Slade (Skeletor) Gordon, but thankfully he was called back to D.C. The field announcer says, "He still doesn't know he'll be throwing the first pitch, but here's the Voice of the Mariners for the last 21 years...." HUGE cheer from the crowd.... "Dave Niehaus." Out walks Dave, tux still on, bow tie on, ball in hand, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, a tear streaking down his cheek. He stands on the mound, unbuttons the tux, raises his hands to a cheer from the crowd, and throws out the very first official pitch in Safeco field. The whole stadium standing, cheering this amazing person, the Voice of the Mariners, David Niehaus. Who else! Who else is loved by everyone in the stadium. Who better to throw out he first pitch? Who else could so well represent the Mariner's and baseball? No one. "My oh my!" Dave is it.
We lost the game, 3-2, but who cares. It's baseball.
Perfect.
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