Chicks Dig The Long Ball & Other Ball Park Observations

Thanks to the solid Twitter advice from @metricjulie & @TheOtherMurray (my younger brother) I went to the Blue Jays game this afternoon. It was my 1st game of the year and while I’m a little ashamed to say it took until June 19th for that to happen, there were reasons.

I made my way to the park with intention of buying a 500 level ticket, but when I got to gate 9 and the ticket booth I ended up asking for a specific section in the 200 level. And then I asked what the price difference was for the 100s. The difference, $0. And so I ended up with a ticket for section 128, row 9, seat 110. Much closer to the field than I had planned. But I’m totally okay with that.

I didn’t get to the park (Rogers Centre) as early as I usually would, but that’s okay. I found my seat, read the Ricky Romero (my new favourite Blue Jay) interview in my score book and got ready for the game. I was seated between 2 larger, older men which wasn’t ideal but the one on my left was gone after the 6th inning and one on my right was gone after the 8th.

As the game started and Jesse Litsch and Matt Cain dominated on the mound, I started to notice some things around the ball park and on the field.

RT @metricjulie: @phjoshua What the hell is wrong with you. Between sports and anything else, you always go sports.

RT @TheOtherMurray: @phjoshua: Jays game. Not even a hard choice.

1. It was pretty cool to see the police officers saluting both the American and Canadian National Anthems. I’d never noticed that before.

2. The ball boys look silly in those huge, over-sized, batting helmets. I understand that they are a safety precaution. And I understand that safety comes first. But they look more ridiculous than Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli wearing those things.

3. There were no vuvuzelas at the Rogers Centre today. I don’t know if security was taking them away, or if nobody even tried to bring them. But I think they would be awesome at a game with the dome open. Think about it for a second. The visiting team is up to bad, the pitcher gets the sign and a bunch of dudes in the upper deck start rocking their vuvuzelas. The batter gets thrown off while he’s waiting for the pitch and then they stop when the pitch is thrown so that the fielders can communicate. They could also be blown like crazy after home runs. I say let’s make it happen. Toronto is arguably the most multi-cultural city in the world, we’ve got to be able to do this.

4. Chicks still dig the long ball. 1996 and the Nike commercial with Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux are long in the past, but still the message remains. Today’s game was a pitching gem with the only 3 runs in the game coming for the Jays in the bottom of the 8th inning. And the first 2 of those runs came courtesy of an Aaron Hill home run to left field. And let me tell you this, after I was done chanting “get up, get up, get up” when the ball left the bat and it cleared the fence, the three 20-something girls in the row behind me went crazy. There’s just something about a home run that gets the fans excited, and the girls especially. I think it’s probably got something to do with the manly, strong, awesome part of things. I get it. Well done Mr. Hill, you made the ladies happy.

5. Winning still feels good. When Kevin Gregg induced a pop-up to end the game I stood and cheered along with the other 20,665 fans in the Rogers Centre. The final score was Toronto Blue Jays 3 and the San Francisco Giants 0. Blue Jays win, Blue Jays win! My walk home didn’t feel as long. My beer tastes better right now as I drink it. The day feels like a success. Winning cures all.

So there it is kids. 5 things I picked up while I was at the Blue Jays game this afternoon.

Now I’m looking forward to Tuesday night and July 10th for the next 2 games I’ve got planned to go back and watch some live baseball action.

Go Jays Go!

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Joshua Murray

creator of content, daddy blogger, writer, coffee drinker, fan of the Batman. proud mo bro. prouder dad.