Chávez Ravine First

Pittsburgh Pirates at Los Angeles Dodgers, July 2, 1989

Dodger Stadium, Sec 106 Box A

My first time in Dodger Stadium. Unfortunately, I don't think I appreciated the moment.
I was now a Bostonian, and I reeked an aura of superiority, like all Bostonians.
I was now better then everyone else. I had Fenway Park in my hometown.

That changed shortly afterward when I was back to being a miserable Philadelphian with a perpetual sense of inferiority and a crappy baseball stadium. But back to this day.

It was a beautiful summer day. A 1PM game. The Pirates were a decent team, but not a draw by themselves on the west coast. Still over 40,000 were on hand. We were seated between home plate and 1st base. My buddy "guaranteed" we would catch a foul ball. Being I have already, up to this point in my life, been to at least a hundred Major League games and never sniffed a foul ball, I was excited. And they started flying. At games end my friend counted 17 alone in our section. Close, but no cigar.

John Tudor took the mound for the Dodgers with Doug Drabek pitching for Pittsburgh.
The game was scoreless until the top of the 4th when Pittsburgh's Andy Van Slyke drove in Glenn Wilson.

Jose Gonzalez homered for the Dodgers in the 5th with Jeff Hamilton on board giving Blue a 2-1 lead. Gonzalez drove in another in the 6th.

The Pirates scored another with a young pinch hitting Barry Bonds at the plate in the 9th....on a passed ball when Wilson was on 3rd. No RBI in that ruling.

Dodger reliever Jay Howell struck out the final two batter to end the ball game for his 15th save of the season. John Wetteland was credited with the win with Drabek getting the loss.

Kirk Gibson was hitless, Eddie Muarry went 3 for 4 and Delaware Country native and future Angels skipper Mike Scioscia caught for the Dodgers.

More Thorogood

George Thorogood and the Destroyers, July 2, 1982

Mann Music Center, Sec GA

Makes sense that he would come up again so quickly (6/23/04) as this is a band who I have seen many times over a span of many decades.

Thorogood is a guy from Naamans Gardens, not far from my own hometown. And one of my first jobs was at a Wilmington Dry Goods, not far from Naamans Gardens. Plus I was raised on 93.3 WMMR, a radio station that was very kind to Thorogood in his early days.
I'm sure that is how I found out about this show.

This is the second time I have seen Thorogood live. He was just coming off a tour as the opening act with The Rolling Stones. This show was the band's first since returning from Europe with The Stones a few weeks earlier. Their popularity grew rapidly in the Delaware Valley. Many fans, like myself, we too young to see him in the nightclubs.

This is about the time he ventured into larger venues, like The Mann.
The Mann is in West Philly, past the Zoo. It is an outdoor venue with the stage and some seating under cover.

The Nighthawks opened the show.

This was an opportunity to let loose without the time constrant of being an opening act.

Songs included:

Hello Little Girl
Kids From Philly
Who Do You Love?
I'm Wanted
Cocaine Blues
One Way Ticket
One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
As The Years Go Passing By
John Hardy
Nobody But Me
Bottom Of The Sea
Night Time
I'll Change My Style
Miss Luann
Madison Blues
The Sky Is Crying
Can’t Stop Lovin
That Same Thing
Bad To The Bone
Move It On Over
I’m Just Your Good Thing
Ride On Josephine
It Wasn’t Me
New Boogie Chillun
No Particular Place To Go
Reelin' and Rockin'

Hit Bull Win Steak

Buffalo Bisons v Durham Bulls, June 29, 2000

Durham Athletic Park, Sec 115 Row K

Calvin LaLoosh: I held it like an egg.

Crash Davis: Yeah, and he scrambled the son of a bitch. Look at that, he hit the fucking bull! Guy gets a free steak!

First time in the new Durham Athletic Park.
A crown jewel of minor league parks. This is not the same stadium the movie Bull Durham was filmed in the late 80s. The park has a mini Green Monster (blue) in left with the "Bull" from the movie.
The Bull was a movie prop for the Kevin Costner movie. It remained at the old park after the filming and was relocated to the new digs some years later.
The stadium also has some seats in right field with a hill in center for blankets and kids rolling down the hill.
The Buffalo Bisons began Thursday night where the left off Wednesday night against the Bulls, scoring runs often. The Bisons put three runs on the board in the first as David Roberts, Bill Selby and John McDonald all scored.
Jeff Patzke tripled to start the second for Buffalo and later scored on a Marcos Scutaro single down the left field line.
Pat Borders hit his eighth home run, his second in two nights, in the fifth inning to put the Bulls on the scoreboard 5-1.
Bulls starter Dan Wheeler lasted five innings giving up five runs on 11 hits and struck out three. Wheeler took the loss, his sixth on the season.
Mike Duvall replaced Wheeler at the beginning of the sixth inning. Duvall gave up three runs on four hits in two innings of work.
The Bulls would not give-up, with the score 8-1 and two outs in the ninth, they loaded the bases. Dan Fraraccio hit a two-RBI single up the middle, scoring Dustin Carr and Pat Borders. Alex Sanchez loaded the bases again with an infield single. Eddy De Los Santos stepped to the plate and delivered a base hit to right field scoring two. All-Star third baseman Aubrey Huff walked to load the bases for the third time in the inning. DH Ozzie Timmons chopped a 2-1 pitch to the second baseman to end the game.
Bisons starter Willie Martinez (5-2) was the winning pitcher throwing eight innings of one run baseball scattering five hits. Jim Poole was credited with his first save of the year after facing Timmons for the last out of the game.

First MLB Game

Boston Red Sox v Baltimore Orioles, June 29, 1991

Memorial Stadium, Sec 41 Row 21

The cheap seats. Made a last minute decision to trek down to Baltimore to see the Red Sox. We just moved from Boston and had a fix to see the Sox.

We dressed up the newborn in his Sox hat for his first MLB game and sat in the aluminum seats one row in front of the sun.

This was a national Saturday game of the week. I can't remember which network broadcast the games back then. It was a pretty full park with 44,023 on hand at the old park on 33rd Street.

Certainly a pitching matchup to forget. Danny Darwin for the Sox and Roy Smith for the O's.

Not a bad game when you can see both Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken hit home runs.
Ripken hit a solo shot in the 3rd inning to put the Birds up 2-0. Boggs shot to deep right in the 6th off Smith was with second baseman Jody Reed on 2nd after a lead off double to left.

The Orioles responded with 2 of their own in the bottom half of the 6th and 2 more in the 7th.
The 6th place home team won 7-3.

South Philadelphia's John Marzano caught for the Sox and went 1 for 4.

Battle of the Beltway

Baltimore Orioles v Washington Nationals. June 27, 2008

Nationals Park, Sec 130U Row DD

Already been to the park several times so I knew my way around. Had out of town friends and we tagged a few kids along. Very impressive stadium with an impressive crowd of 35,830 for this less than intense rivalry.
Prior to the Expos relocating to DC, Baltimore had 30% of their ticket base coming up from metro DC. So the owner of the O's fought tooth and nail to prevent baseball from returning to DC. And he was successful for a long time. And DC area people know this.
So the rivalry is more Hate (Orioles owner) Peter Angelos more than it is a Nationals/Orioles thing.
Jesus Florez and Lasting Millege got some old fashion NL small ball going and the home Nats jumped to a 2-0 lead in the 1st.
This battle of cellar dwellers produced what was expected. Baltimore's Adam Jones did go 3 for 3.
The Nats won the series opener 4-2.
We spent more time with the kids touring the park and ending up in the Red Loft over looking center field. Not as good of a view as our seats behind the home dugout. But this is a great standing up ballpark.
In a side note, it looked like Teddy Roosevelt was finally going to win the Presidents Race. And my daughter was none too excited to finally see the day.
As Teddy rounded the corner in the lead, the Oriole mascot stuck his foot out, tripping Teddy. Leading to another George Washington victory.

Culture Shock

New York Mets v Philadelphia Phillies
June 27, 1987

Veterans Stadium, Sec 720 Row 7

Brought a young lady home from college to meet the parents and decided to mix in a Phils games.
If you aren't from Philadelphia, it is quite a eye opener. The parents, the dirty rowhouses, the sirens, getting a cheese steak in an utterly scary neighborhood.
So I assured her we would pick up a 6 pack at the corner bar and no one would be inside at 11 AM.
Nothing to be afraid of.
She reluctantly went in with me. The other option was to sit alone on 3rd Street in a locked car.
As we opened the door, the crowd almost spilled onto the street in the blinding morning light. Not a stool empty. Not a mouth without a either a beer or cigarette in it. Not many teeth in those mouths. Welcome to my world honey.
We grab the 6 and head to The Vet. Scalped a pair of tickets and got ready to watch the defending World Series champion Mets.
The rivalry wasn't as intense then as it is now. For a Saturday afternoon game, only 40, 128 were on hand.
The Mets jumped out to an early lead with a Gary Carter double to left, scoring Lee Mazzilli.
Von Hayes responded with a home run in the bottom of the 1st for the Phils.
The Mets lead 5-2 going into the bottom of the 9th. Pinch Hitter Chris James came in for the Phils and lead off with a homer off Jesse Orosco. Future Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt doubled and was later knocked in by Glenn Wilson to close the gap to 5-4. But that is where it ended when Lance Parish grounded out to 2nd with Mets closer Roger McDowell on the mound.