Baseball!

Ok, I will admit. I’ve been pretty far removed from the game I grew up enjoying for the past few years. Yes, a big part of that is because my team, the Chicago Cubs really has not been anything remotely close to average, much less good in recent memory.

But, hope springs eternal and this year, the Cubbies look like they could be pretty good. New manager, new players, new attitude. And…renewed interest from this fan.

I found this great app, called MLB At Bat. Lets you keep track of all things baseball, and it lets you access TV and/or radio broadcasts of the games, for a fee.

I went with the radio subscription. $20 for the entire season, with no blackouts and with access to broadcasts from both the home and away teams of every game. That’s a lot of baseball!

For me, it means getting to listen to Pat Hughes right on my phone. Good times.

You can also listen to archived games on your computer…which is nice when you can’t catch the game as it happens. There’s even a button to hide the scores when you go to listen to a replay. Cool stuff.

Looking forward to listening to the games this spring and summer. It’s nice to be back in the ‘swing’ of things with baseball. Hopefully the Cubs can put together a good year. Either way, it’s fun to enjoy the games.

Have a great day.

Fun with Fatherhood – Cubs Comeback

A nice evening turned into a memorable one last night.

I had put the boys to bed, and after a half hour or so I went back into their room to check on them. My oldest son was still awake, as he sometimes is. He seems to have received his father’s sleeplessness gene.

So I sat down and chatted with him for a few moments and then asked him if he wanted me to turn the radio on to help him fall asleep. He said yes and after a few moments I got up to turn on the clock radio in their room.

When I turned it on, the familiar voice of Pat Hughes came through the speaker. The Chicago Cubs were playing and it was a close game versus the Milwaukee Brewers. We were trailing 5-4 and about to head to the 9th inning.

The only reason their radio was on that frequency was because I’d attempted to listen to a game on it last week. I had forgotten about that and didn’t expect it to be tuned to that station, nor would I have probably thought at the time to tune in the game.

We were both happy it was on, though and I told my son that Pat would let him know everything that was happening. I also informed him that listening to ball games, often times before bed, was something I used to do as a kid.

Then as I was about to get up to leave I thought, ‘Why not listen to the top of the 9th with him and see if the Cubs can tie it up?’

He was still lying down, and I was at the foot of his bed as Pat’s voice announced the beginning of the 9th inning through the darkness of the room he shares with his non-sleep deprived, mouth open, looking as comfortable and content as could be, passed out little brother.

Hearing Pat call each pitch is always a delight and it was fun to introduce my son to the real experience that is listening to a ball game on the radio.

The first batter got on base, thanks to an errant throw. My son and I exchanged a high-five and cheered on the next batter. Strikeout. Darn…but a wild pitch to the next batter advanced the runner to second. Scoring position. Sweet!

That next better was David DeJesus. He’d already hit a grand slam in the game, so there was hope for him to knock in the tying run. Crack! Triple, tying the game at 5. We were fired up. Another high-five later and we focused on the next batter, hoping for the go-ahead run now.

Swing and a miss for strike three. No! But wait, Pat’s voice started to escalate. The ball had gotten away from the catcher and DeJesus made it across the plate to score the go-ahead run in the process!

That got him excited enough to sit up for this round of high-fives. Go Cubs! I envisioned in my head what the play looked like based on the radio call from Pat, and wondered if my son was doing the same.

After another strikeout it was time for another big hit. Alfonso Soriano got the job done and put the Cubs ahead 7-5. Who knew this half inning would turn out so great? I was clapping now and turned to my son to get another high-five.

Wouldn’t you know it, the kid was asleep. Out cold, just two minutes after celebrating the previous run. Guess he was content knowing the Cubs were winning 🙂

I wish I could tell him it ended well in Milwaukee. He will be waking up here shortly and I’ll be informing him that the Cubbies couldn’t hang onto that lead. They lost the game in the 13th inning.

But that’s ok. I’ll remember listening to the top of the 9th inning of this game. A comeback, a great call from the booth, and a few minutes of quality time spent with my oldest son. Hopefully he will remember it too.

Cubs Win

Opening Day is still about a month away and my beloved Chicago Cubs are not exactly favorites this year, but after seeing this (it’s a trailer for “MLB 12 The Show”) I think I am officially ready for baseball to begin once again 🙂

Now, this lifelong Cubs fan certainly doesn’t need a video game commercial to attempt to portray how unbelievably amazing the scene will be if we ever do win a World Series. However, I must say that this clip does a pretty good job at capturing the emotion of what might be…someday.

Could this be the year? Maybe. Why not, right? Can’t wait to find out.

Let’s go Cubbies!

You Can’t Beat Fun at the Old Ballpark – Peoria Chiefs Style

Took the kids to our first Peoria Chiefs game of the year the other night. Safe to say it did not disappoint.

As you can see it was a beautiful night outside. That never hurts. 80 degrees with a breeze…not only does that rhyme but it also feels fantastic.

Enough about the weather, though. The game was great. It was a back-and-forth affair with several lead changes. Ultimately the Chiefs pulled it out and they scored nine runs in the process. That makes for a lot of cheering and clapping at O’Brien Field, not to mention a lot of appearances by the ear of corn dancers (who come onto the field, cued by the ‘Vengabus‘ tune every time the Chiefs score.)

You can’t beat fun at the old ballpark. It’s cliché but it’s so true. After a couple of innings the kids made their way to the playground located behind the center field wall, as they do every time we go to a game there. Offer a playground for kids and kids will be happy to be at your establishment. It’s just that simple.

As we were heading out following the 8th inning (I normally stay but it was a weekday and past their bedtime already anyway, so it was time) my oldest son found his way to the wall near the dugout and managed to snag one of the t-shirts that they shoot out into the crowd. To say he was elated would be quite an understatement 🙂

Little brother’s (mild and very brief) disappointment at not catching one of the shirts didn’t last more than two minutes, as he and his older brother were treated to an even better surprise just a few moments later.

Not bad for a Monday evening.

All of this is just part of what makes minor league baseball great. It’s an atmosphere that may lack some of the aura and the memorable names that come along with the big league teams and stadiums, but what it lacks there it more than makes up for with personality, charm, and a sense of authenticity.

Whatever it is, I enjoy it. My kids enjoy it. I know countless others out there enjoy it as well. So go check out the Chiefs, or whatever minor league baseball team is near you. I’ll bet you’ll have a good time while you’re there.