Baseball

Play Ball!

July 20, 2012


Ah, the crack of the bat, the noise of the crowd, the smell of the…pressed Cuban sandwiches? That’s how we do it, here in Tampa Bay.

Yesterday my family and I went to a Tampa Bay Rays game—I’m the baseball fan in the family, so a summer isn’t complete for me without a game or two over at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. We like going to day games during the week—the crowds are usually smaller and we don’t get home at midnight.  (We’re fuddy-duddies, I admit.)

We had a great crowd today, more than 27,000. Lots of kids from local camps and childcare centers banging thunder sticks and hoping to catch a foul ball.

My favorite part:

The Tropicana Field roof—and the air conditioning contained therein.

Rays lefthander David Price getting ready to pitch.

Sorry, I didn’t get a photo of the Cuban sandwich before we ate it...

Oh, and best of all, the Rays beat Cleveland 6-0. And since Rays pitching struck out 10, we all get coupons for free pizza from Papa John’s!

Rays baseball—an awesome summer tradition. What are you favorite summer traditions?

Baseball

I [Heart] Baseball

April 07, 2010

"Baseball is a ballet without music. Drama without words."
Ernie Harwell

Last night our local pro baseball team played its season-opening game. They won in a most exciting fashion, with left fielder Carl Crawford knocking in the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the ninth. Go Rays!

Photo courtesy Stockvault.net

We watch a fair amount of televised sports in the Johnson household. I could blame it on the boys (the 40+- and 15-year-olds), but I admit that as often as not, I’m the one switching on the set. I’ve already written about the Sunday afternoon tradition of football and queso dip. I would have discussed the Tampa Bay Lightning, our hockey team, but the less said about this season, the better. And now it’s time for baseball.

"That’s the true harbinger of spring, not crocuses or swallows returning to Capistrano, but the sound of a bat on a ball."
Bill Veeck

In some ways, baseball is my favorite sport to watch on TV. Aside from the attraction of athletic men in uniforms, I like the somewhat cerebral nature of the game. I find it restful. I can do a crossword puzzle, sketch, read the paper, surf the net (I’ve got a game on now, as I type)—and still not miss anything. Baseball’s leisurely pace allows me to watch the action (and yes, there IS action) as well as putter around the house. I don’t know why, but this appeals to me.

"This is a game to be savored, not gulped. There’s time to discuss everything between pitches or between innings."
Bill Veeck

Even watching a baseball game in person is relatively relaxing. The Rays’ stadium is an air-conditioned dome in St. Petersburg, a blessing in muggy, thunderstorm-y Florida. We’ve made many happy memories in the stands, eating peanuts, hot dogs and cotton candy (and pizza and chicken tenders…). Once, when our son was in Little League, we marched around the field with other uniformed Little League teams while the pros warmed up. We’ve appeared on the “Kiss Cam” on the JumboTron and my husband once caught a foul ball. We went wild with excitement when the Rays went from last in the league in 2007 to the World Series in 2008.

If you want to know more about baseball, I suggest It Takes More Than Balls: The Savvy Girls’ Guide to Understanding and Enjoying Baseball by Deidre Silva and Jackie Koney. (With me, there’s always a book recommendation.)

The Rays have just taken the lead over the Orioles. Time to hunt up my sketchbook and settle in for the duration.


"Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona."
George F. Will