The Astros are having a forgettable year in so many ways; all the same I’m a fan win or lose. My daughter Jennifer bought tickets to Friday’s game, that’s tonight, as my Father’s Day gift so my Son in law, Justin, and my grandson, JJ, could all enjoy a game together.
Craig Biggio’s quest for his 3000th major league hit has been in the spot light recently. The last three games against the Brewers up in Milwaukee were tough to watch as the wheels fell off, the Astros figured out new ways to lose while Biggio crept ever closer to that magic number shared by only a handful of ball players.
I figured I had a chance to witness history since my daughter Jennifer bought tickets to Friday’s game, that’s tonight, as my Father’s Day gift. I was in the right place at the right time yesterday when I got a call from my neighbor asking if I’d like to use a spare ticket to the Astros game at Minute Maid Park, his wife was out of town. After twisting my arm over the telephone, something which lasted all of a nanosecond, I accepted his offer and we sat in some awesome seats in the field box section on the third base side.
We had fun talking baseball during the the game; trying to second guess Phil Garner’s moves and standing with the sell out crowd of 42,537 each time Biggio came to bat. The Astros were getting men on base but stranding them, a nasty habit.
Biggio didn’t let the record book sit idle as he went to the plate. We cheered as he stroked hits number 2998, 2999 and then broke loose in wild pandemonium when he tried stretching a single into a double on number 3000 with an RBI that tied the game at that point to score Ausmus from second.
The game went bonkers after Oswalt left the game tied and our relief staff took over; they don’t give much relief; maybe they should call them something else until they do. It only took a couple of batters to give the Rockies a three spot; business as usual. The nice part came in our half of the inning as we matched even with our own three. That’s when we began making jokes about which team had the worst pitching staff, whether the game would go into extra innings and give Biggio a chance to tack on some extra hits now that he’d reached the 3000 mark; put a big Blue Star on them all.
We did go into extra innings, our pitching staff gave up a monster homer that landed on the railroad tracks above the Crawford Boxes in left field to give the Rockies the lead in the top of the 11th, Biggio went 5 for 6 by getting another hit in the bottom of the 11th putting him at 3002 and Carlos Lee sent everyone home happy by hitting a “walk off” grand slam as the Astros managed to slip a win in the books.
The team printed a neat looking poster of Biggio to hand out to all the fans as we exited the stadium, an added bonus to go with what we’d witnessed. There’s a place on the poster, “I was there”, the same size as my ticket stub; gosh, you don’t think that’s a coincidence? The frame shop will just have to figure out a way to make it stick, that’s a neat piece of history to hang on the wall.
I’ll have to force myself to attend the game tonight as I celebrate Father’s Day with my Son in Law and try to explain baseball to my grandson. JJ might not understand why grown men get to play a kid’s game, keep statistics on everything; ERA’s, balks, hit by pitch and yes, 3000 hit club members. JJ will get to have some fun at the ball park and take in some of the excitement; when you’re 5 years old maybe that’s all you need, same goes for when your 56.
I borrowed the picture from the Houston Chronicle which has a good article (linked via the title bar) on Craig Biggio’s historic accomplishment.
Craig Biggio’s quest for his 3000th major league hit has been in the spot light recently. The last three games against the Brewers up in Milwaukee were tough to watch as the wheels fell off, the Astros figured out new ways to lose while Biggio crept ever closer to that magic number shared by only a handful of ball players.
I figured I had a chance to witness history since my daughter Jennifer bought tickets to Friday’s game, that’s tonight, as my Father’s Day gift. I was in the right place at the right time yesterday when I got a call from my neighbor asking if I’d like to use a spare ticket to the Astros game at Minute Maid Park, his wife was out of town. After twisting my arm over the telephone, something which lasted all of a nanosecond, I accepted his offer and we sat in some awesome seats in the field box section on the third base side.
We had fun talking baseball during the the game; trying to second guess Phil Garner’s moves and standing with the sell out crowd of 42,537 each time Biggio came to bat. The Astros were getting men on base but stranding them, a nasty habit.
Biggio didn’t let the record book sit idle as he went to the plate. We cheered as he stroked hits number 2998, 2999 and then broke loose in wild pandemonium when he tried stretching a single into a double on number 3000 with an RBI that tied the game at that point to score Ausmus from second.
The game went bonkers after Oswalt left the game tied and our relief staff took over; they don’t give much relief; maybe they should call them something else until they do. It only took a couple of batters to give the Rockies a three spot; business as usual. The nice part came in our half of the inning as we matched even with our own three. That’s when we began making jokes about which team had the worst pitching staff, whether the game would go into extra innings and give Biggio a chance to tack on some extra hits now that he’d reached the 3000 mark; put a big Blue Star on them all.
We did go into extra innings, our pitching staff gave up a monster homer that landed on the railroad tracks above the Crawford Boxes in left field to give the Rockies the lead in the top of the 11th, Biggio went 5 for 6 by getting another hit in the bottom of the 11th putting him at 3002 and Carlos Lee sent everyone home happy by hitting a “walk off” grand slam as the Astros managed to slip a win in the books.
The team printed a neat looking poster of Biggio to hand out to all the fans as we exited the stadium, an added bonus to go with what we’d witnessed. There’s a place on the poster, “I was there”, the same size as my ticket stub; gosh, you don’t think that’s a coincidence? The frame shop will just have to figure out a way to make it stick, that’s a neat piece of history to hang on the wall.
I’ll have to force myself to attend the game tonight as I celebrate Father’s Day with my Son in Law and try to explain baseball to my grandson. JJ might not understand why grown men get to play a kid’s game, keep statistics on everything; ERA’s, balks, hit by pitch and yes, 3000 hit club members. JJ will get to have some fun at the ball park and take in some of the excitement; when you’re 5 years old maybe that’s all you need, same goes for when your 56.
I borrowed the picture from the Houston Chronicle which has a good article (linked via the title bar) on Craig Biggio’s historic accomplishment.
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