Best Game Ever

Thanks to the help of my brother-in-law, Jamey, I had the privilege of going to the Red Sox - Mariners game on Sunday at Safeco Field. It was awesome, maybe the best I've ever been to!

This game had everything . . . 90 degree temperatures but our seats were in the shade on the 3rd base side in the Terrace Club with a breeze off the water . . . scoring from the very first inning . . . some sort of odd "kick save" attempt by Manny Ramirez in the outfield . . . enough Red Sox fans chanting "Let's Go Red Sox" to give the game an air of importance and rivalry . . . the M's rookie centerfielder losing a ball in the sun . . . $3.75 bottles of water . . . Adrian Beltre hitting Safeco's first-ever inside-the-park HR (in part due to more fine defense by Manny), even though he didn't hustle to first base when he hit the ball . . . a 7-6 game going into the top of the 9th . . . JJ Putz coming on to throw 98 MPH fastballs to get the first two outs . . . people heading for the exits . . . me saying "it's not over with this guy up" . . . Jason Varitek promptly hitting one out to right to tie things up . . . Richie Sexson leading off the bottom of the 9th . . . me saying "Walk off, Richie" . . . a game winning HR to left field . . . it was just a perfect day of baseball.

Several of my PNACAC colleagues got to go to the game with me--Teri Calcagno, Ralph Burrelle, Todd Abbott and, after sneaking into our section around the 7th inning, Alicia and Kris. A good time was had by all.

From the Seattle Times: M's Manager Mike Hargrove said, "One of the most exciting things in baseball is the home run. The only two things more exciting than that are the inside-the-park home run and the walk-off home run. And we happened today to get both of them."

Technical Note: The "Major League" hot dog at Safeco comes with a "Minor League" bun. Not good.