As this blog gets underway and opening day soon approaches, I figured Bullpen Blast's first post should be about how I fell in love with the game of baseball.
My first memories of America's favorite pastime was when I was barely taller than a baseball bat. As a young one (age 5), a yellow Wiffle ® Ball Bat and a plush baseball were among the gifts I received for Christmas that year. When the weather got warmer (which doesn't take long in California), my dad and I would play ball in the backyard. Before each game, he'd always ask me which hitter I was going to be that day. And everyday I'd answer with Ken Griffey, Jr. (who played center field for the Seattle Mariners at the time). He was my first baseball hero. I would tell my parents, my friends, and my teachers that I wanted to be Ken Griffey, Jr. when I grew up. Everyday I would practice his swing. My dad would pitch the ball to me and I would try my hardest to hit out of the park, and sometimes I did. Which really meant hitting the ball over the fence and me having to go with my mom or dad to the neighbors to ask for my ball back.
My friends and I were obsessed with baseball. We would buy and trade baseball cards, comparing the stats of our favorite players. During recess and after school, we'd get as many people as we could for baseball games. We'd bring our mitts, baseballs, bats, and we'd wear the hat of our favorite team proudly as if we were actually on the roster. After watching the San Francisco Giants vs. the Pittsburg Pirates on opening day, I became a Giants fan. I was introduced to players such as Barry Bonds, J.T. Snow, and Darryl Hamilton. Although Ken Griffey, Jr. was the player that got me into baseball, I wanted to play first base for the Giants like J.T. Snow. So at every game, I'd wear my Giants baseball cap. Our friends that weren't as into baseball as we were would sit on the bleachers and keep score for us.
What really got me hooked were the games that my dad took me to. The first was the San Francisco Giants vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks on September 21, 2000 at AT&T Park (the first year the Giants played at AT&T Park). It's one thing to watch baseball on television, but when you're actually there - it's a whole different ballgame (pun intended). The game, the crowd, the energy - it's an experience I think everyone should have at least once in their life. The Giants won 8-7.
My second game was when we lived in New Jersey. It was August 26, 2001 - New York Mets vs. Florida Marlins at Shea Stadium. A friend of my dad's got free tickets to a Met's game, so they went and brought their kids along. It was funny because neither my dad, my dad's friends, or any of the kids were fans of either team. But since we were in the city and it was close to where we lived, we cheered for the Mets. It was a great game. We got to see great playing from Mets players Mike Piazza, Tsuyoshi Shinjo, and I got to see Al Leiter's (the Mets' starting pitcher) first career triple. We had such good seats on the third baseline, that their was a point that Leiter caught a ball with his bare hand and we could hear the contact of the ball smacking his hand.
Those two games instilled my love of baseball forever. It was amazing that (aside from my family and friends) I was among complete strangers, but we were all united in the common goal of cheering on the home team and we were all united in our love for the game.
- Jordan Hart
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