America’s pastime
My favorite baseball player not an Oriole, Ichiro Suzuki, has retired.
I am gonna miss that guy.
The only jersey I still wear if I wasn’t fat. I would’ve done it today. And I almost did because I knew the Mariners were playing in Japan. But fat.
So glad that I have seen him play.
ありがと、鈴木さん。
Did I re-up for the 2019 season? Yes. Yes, I did.
Why? No idea. What other thing is there to do?
Will I use those tickets? Eh. Maybe. Last year I went to 3 games. I let most of them lie fallow. Even when I was committed to going to a game did I not go. I couldn’t bear to watch. Plus it rained a lot last year.
Will I enjoy them? Eh. Maybe. I am a sucker for the under dog, and this organization is the under doggiest of all under dogs.
I’ve got 2. Who wants to join me?
Go, Carp, Go!
The Baltimore Orioles may be in a dismal situation, but checking in on my team in the Nippon Baseball League, Hiroshima Toya Carp, I find they made it back to the Japan Series. It’s like their World Series. This is the second time in three years. They haven’t won it, yet, and it’s been since 1984 that they have won it.
I wonder if Carp fans in Japan were ever thinking if they would ever win the championship again since that time.
As an Orioles fan who hasn’t seen them win since 1983, I know how it goes.
One day. Maybe. One day.
Was at the game this afternoon. A perfect afternoon spoiled. Orioles could not punch their way out of a wet paper bag. It is despair time in Birdland. It reminds me of the 2011 Orioles team. Nothing they do is correct. Still a long season.
When you look at their lineup today, they had 3 starters batting less than .200. Given that one of those guys was just called up, but still what professional hitters are on this team? Or are they pros at the strike out which is luck because they only struck out 3 times. This team is terrible.
For my baseball partner in crime, Orioles get a W against the hated Yanks and Adam Jones hits an Earl Weaver special. He did it just as we were doing FaceTime.
It’s been a long time since we’ve talked. There is the 12 hour time difference, and I could barely hear a word she said. Yet, we had some fun.
A W for @margeemateo bday! #orioles #camdenyards pic.twitter.com/eSbPVmxhRU— Broderic Gonzales (@browsermetrics) June 1, 2017
Yeah for a W!
Even better as nice present to my good pal, Marge! Happy birthday!
Carp. So close. They almost could’ve done it. But they play National League style ball. And the Fighters have that Kaibutsu, Otani.
I would’ve loved to have seen a win for Hiroshima. I wanted to see Himetan in Carp red. I wanted to see Maaya cheering, too. I’ll have to settle for fresh Lemon, Miorin, and her dejected cheers.
Hopefully, they’ll be there again next year.
Baseball, Brooks, and Broderic
Here’s where baseball, Orioles, and I start.
Thirty-nine years ago on a blazing, bright Sunday, my family and I caught the ‘Brooks Robinson Thanks Brooks Day‘ at Memorial Stadium. I woke up that Sunday and instead of going to church, we jumped up the station wagon and headed to 33rd Street for a baseball game. It was packed. We ended up in the right field bleachers. I could not understand a thing happening during the ceremony. I thought it was a special day because it was my birthday but it was special because of Brooks Robinson. Thinking back, I’m sure this is why he turned out to be my favorite Oriole.
It is the first time I can associate things with baseball. I’m sure we went to a few games before that day, but this one I clearly remember as baseball. The others were just a game.
I haven’t talked about the Baltimore Orioles in a while.
I went to last Friday’s game against the hated Yankees. We won. But it felt like too little too late.
I have no confidence in the team making it into the post season. I didn’t reserve post season tickets. They were available to season ticket holders a week ago and will still be there until mid-week. I’m not wanting to buy because it will mean believing in the team. I haven’t believed since the all star break. I would love to but…
So they kept winning through this weekend and won again today. They are making a play for the division as the season wanes. I’m still questioning my decision.
Let’s go Orioles!
I could post tons of YouTube videos of cute Asian girls throwing out the first pitches in baseball and most all of them would be failures. This one is as well.
Why then post it at all? Shiraishi Mai.
She’s the most beautiful idol in Japan. And while she’s not my oshimen in Nogizaka46, I can’t get enough of this crazy beauty.
So, keep practicing Maiyan, you’ll eventually get a strike!
I didn’t write too many posts on this past baseball season. The ones I did write came towards the end of a pretty great season.
I should’ve written more from the start, but my laziness took over. It even took over at the bitter end with the dreams of postseason glory snuffed out in 4 meek games to the KC Royals.
After the ALCS, I wanted to write something to sum up the feeling of this magical season, but never got around to. I would need more than the terse sentences that this blog has been providing lately. I would need to put the elation and joy at going 14-2 in attendance of Orioles games. It was a lot of winning I saw this year. So much winning 96-66. The Orioles fans were the real winners. Thank you, Orioles!
Anyway, I wanted to post this video of Adam Jones’s only highlight from the ALCS, the 2 run bomb to momentarily tie the game. I saw lots of baseball, and this was my favorite moment of the entire season. Yes, being there when Delmon Young won the ALDS game 2 with that double was amazing and unfathomable, but Jones first pitch swinging and clocking this pitch was just surprise summarized. And yet, I knew at that moment when he stepped to the plate, that it was going, going, gone. As soon as he hit the ball, I was up out of my seat and cheering a homerun as others waited for it the clear the left field fence. I knew, but I was still surprised.
And it was over after that. The game, the chance, the season.
I can’t wait until next year.
GO ORIOLES!
