Baseball is Life!

My last post ended with “Next Stop … BASEBALL” and it was. The last couple of months have pretty much been all about baseball. New ballparks, group outings to the ballgame, and the playoffs!

I made my way to Minneapolis to see a game at my 29th of the 30 ballparks in the country. Just one left, hope to get there next year (San Francisco Giants). I decided to go to the Twins game on Sunday, September 11th. I stayed at a hotel in Minneapolis rather than an AirBnB in Minneapolis and that morning, when I turned on the TV I couldn’t find the reading of the names at Ground Zero. It’s not televised outside the tri-state area I guess. That was probably the first time I didn’t see it in 21 years. At mass later that morning I was taken aback by the fact that they didn’t mention or pray for the victims of 9/11. It was just so sad to me. It almost felt like it had been forgotten. Luckily, I was able to listen to the reading of the names on 1010 WINS on the Audacy app. The Audacy app has become my “go to” on this road trip. On my long

drives I use it to listen to podcasts. But most of all I listen to The Fan, WFAN New York Sports Radio pretty much daily, even when it’s not baseball season. That app has been my connection to home all year.

I chose that day to go to the Twins game because, for 9/11, I wanted to be somewhere where I’d sing our National Anthem just like I did on the 4th of July. It was Armed Forces Day at Target Field that day, which finally made it the patriotic day I was looking for, I may have shed a few tears in the process as well. Check out the picture of the umpire crew for the game … I’ve never seen them in a huddle like that, my guess is they may have been saying a prayer given all the soldiers that were on the field.

I saw the Twins v Cleveland that day (I’m not writing the new name of the Cleveland team because it’s ridiculous, just can’t do it – so they’re Cleveland, that’s it). At that point in time, they were neck ‘n neck for 1st in the Central Division - yet the ballpark was empty. WTH?!?! My seats were in the second row behind the Twins Dugout – and somehow I was the only one in my row. The only one – during a pennant race. I said to the people behind me, “where is everyone? they’re in a race for 1st with this team.” To which they replied “it’s because Twins fans suck.” Haha. At least they were honest. I did root for the home team that day, especially when Gio Urshela was up. Wish he was still a Yankee.

I didn’t spend much time in Minnesota, I was just there for the ballgame. From there I traveled to Wisconsin to see the Yankees play the Brewers. That weekend had been planned for about a year, a mini reunion from Yankee Fantasy Camp. Glenda, one of my teammates from Yankee Fantasy Camp, lived about an hour from Miller Park. She organized the weekend for some of our teammates plus some other friends and family to see the games on Friday and Saturday night. Saturday night we had a suite. We had a great time despite the fact that they lost both games. I was able to catch up with people I hadn’t seen in years and also met some wonderful people. Elaine and I had a great weekend in Milwaukee. I had actually contemplated going to the game on my own Sunday before driving to my next stop to hopefully see a win. But decided not to overschedule myself, like I usually do. Instead, I listened to the game on radio… and they won!

St. Louis was my last stop before coming home for the playoffs. I made the detour to St. Louis for another other kind of worship (other than baseball that is). Conveniently the Joyce Meyer Women’s Conference was scheduled for my free weekend between the Yankee v Brewers series and the last Yankee homestand of the season. Being at the conference by myself worked out well for me, the seating is first come first serve and it was easy to find a single seat down close, even if I didn’t arrive crazy early. I met some wonderful ladies that weekend and quickly realized although I went by myself, I was not alone.

I made it home in time for the last Yankee home stand of the season. Friday night Alison and I were in my seats. The other two days I had exchanged a few games to get more than two seats together. Saturday was with my teammates from Fantasy Camp – the usual crew I get together with every year. Sunday there were eight of us cousins – we called it Thorn-cato day. My mom and I were joined by our young Thornton and Broncato cousins. It was a cloudy rainy day, but they got the game in and we had a great family day.

Then we found ourselves watching October baseball once again … the first round we were there for the clincher game, which was a blast. Unfortunately, we couldn’t win against the cheaters, I mean, the Astros in the ALCS. So now we wait eagerly for Opening Day 2023. For Yankee fans, the Astros have become almost as hated as the Red Sox. Actually, the chants they get at The Stadium are definitely worse than I’ve ever heard against Boston. To me, it’s not just about their cheating, it’s the fact that they were never punished that disgusts me. The players took the immunity and let their manager and general manager take the fall. To me, that’s not a champion, that’s a coward. It's a shame because Altuve had such a great backstory. A short guy who was told to go home when trying out for the team because he was too small. His father told him to put his uniform back on and go back to the try outs. That’s someone who should be an inspiration, but no matter how well he does on the field, I have lost any respect I had for him.