On my list of things to do before I die is the item, "Catch a baseball at a major-league game." It's been on there (unofficially) since going to Mariners games as a little kid. Once, at a game with my Grandpa Hanks, a groundskeeper surprised me by tossing me a ball in the Kingdome. It rolled out of my glove and back down - I was heartbroken. Friday, all was made right with the world.
We arrived at the stadium around 4:30 for a game with a scheduled start time of 7:10pm. We were pleasantly surprised to find it was "fleece night". In August, this only makes sense in Seattle.
Craig paid appropriate homage to past Mariners greats like Randy Johnson.
For the first 30 minutes, the only section of the stadium open was a small deck in Center Field near where they serve alcohol. It was crowded.
We switched strategies and waited for them to open the left field seats. Craig and I scoped out our competition during the wait, judging on overall athleticism and likelihood they would outrun us to the seats, and attempted to box them out.
The kid in the blue was 14 so I felt bad elbowing him out of the way, and let him get a head start. However, he used the "run up every stair" method, while I skipped stairs and quickly passed him. Rookie.
During batting practice before the seats are open, the ushers clean the seats and any balls that land are put into the cup holders for the early birds. Craig snagged a quick 2 balls, and waved me over when he spotted a third. I could now die happy.
A second was quickly found.
The third was a batting practice home run hit by someone on the White Sox that I was the quickest to grab. Natalie provided paparazzi services.
And just like that, Craig and I had 5 balls between the two of us. Natalie cheered us on and reminded us a few times that she already had a baseball from several years ago and was happy we could finally ascend to her level.
We brought White Sox gear to change into to improve the likelihood that the Chicago players would feel inclined to toss one our way. Hat tip to Natalie for having the t-shirt paint and knowledge to make them.
No extra balls were thrown our way. We went down to the White Sox dugout to see if anyone down there would toss us a ball. While we were waiting we watched all the Seattle fans get excited about a White Sox coach with grey hair who started signing autographs. Craig and I shrugged and decided it would be worth wrestling the crowd for an autograph. The guy looked familiar though...
...turns out it was Joey Cora. Wow! The 2nd baseman for Seattle during the 1995 season! D'oh! We were kicking ourselves for not capitalizing on the opportunity.
Our view with our tickets started here. Natalie claimed that her nose hurt and was bleeding. Seagulls actually were flying at elevations underneath us.
We wandered for a bit and found a speed pitching booth. $2 for 3 throws. Craig and I tried our hand. Sara thoughtfully declined and decided not to embarrass us.
Craig had better form, but my throws were faster. 59 mph. I'm sure I would have been in the 90's if I could have warmed up...
It was a perfect Seattle summer day - 75, clear and sunny.
The natives were all happy.
We eventually moved down for a better view and to get further away from the 'high alcohol consumption' section, which we were apparently in. The ushers were surprisingly strict.
One last momento of our booty from the evening.
Next on the bucket list: swim in open water and see a shark.
