Your first game? [merged threads]

[timconnelly]

It was Aug.29, 1964 and I was 8 years old. My father, my 13 year old brother, and I had made our way up from New Haven, where my grandmother lived, to Yankee Stadium for a doubleheader between the Bombers and The BoSox. At the time, I already knew who Babe Ruth was. We bought a scorecard and it had a number of records held by one H. Louis Gehrig. I asked my father and he said "That's Lou Gehrig, son."

I don't remember our seats at all. I knew that Mickey Mantle was my hero and he hit a home run that day (I really should look up the box scores for that date). Roger Maris went 6 for 8 during the doubleheader and Yaz hit a long home run for the Red Sox. Whitey Ford picked up a victory during the Yankee sweep (10-2, 6-1).

If Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig had been joined by Joe DiMaggio and there had been a special appearance by Ted Williams, it couldn't have been a bigger day for me.

I threw up all the way home on the train and my dad and brother remember that a lot more than they remember the games! I would have no memory of my vomiting episode without their constant reminders.

We went back up in 1965 and 1966. The Yankee dynasty ended in '64 but they were actually 5-0 in the games we saw.

Tell us about your first game: what you remember about it, or anything that sticks out or comes to mind.

[LeGrandOrange]

I actually do not remember my first game that well. My first game was a minor league game, it was some time in either 1986 or 1987 with the Indianapolis Indians. What I got from that was that Razor Shines is a cool name to announce through a PA system, and that Casey Candaele and Al Newman are good AAA players. Other details are vague due to my relative youthfulness at the time.
The first major league game I went to was 1990, Mariners vs. Orioles, at the Kingdome. I couldn't tell you a damn thing about it, I'm not even sure when it was. The one thing I can remember, in the weird detail department, was that the Orioles were starting Brad Komminsk and that they had just recently got him in a trade or waivers or something. It's May something, that's all.
I actually didn't do much major leaguing until 1995. A lot of the games I went to were Tacoma Tigers games, and later Tacoma Rainiers when they swapped minor league cities with Oakland.
When 1995 came around, I stopped going to minor league games, almost, with the lone exception being Ken Griffey, Jr. rehabbing in Tacoma. Ironically, the Mariners won the divison that year. Best part? I got out of school to watch the one-game playoff.

As expected, it was at YS and we'd played some team called the Sox. I figured it was the Red Sox since the Yankees haven't had any rivalry with the White Sox I can speak of.

Anyway, it was a field trip w/Boys Club and we got in cheap (public funds paid for it, not us). We were in the upper deck somewhere and I can't remember a thing about the game except it took us awhile to get to YS and my chant: Sox suck.

30 years later, Yanker fans still say the same thing at YS. Hmmmmmmmm..........

[CubFan7125]

Great story Tim, mine is not nearly as good but here I go:

I have no specific memory of my 1st game, but I grew up in Saint Paul and the "Old Met" was only about 3 miles from our house. My brother & a few friends probably made it to 40 or 50 games a summer, either buying the 50cent bleacher seats & moving down, or sometimes if there it was not a big crowd(this happened quite often) the ushers would let us in for free if the game had already started. The summer I turned 14(1981) was the Twins last year in Bloomington, & I've probably attended as many games in the past 20 years at the dome than I did in any 1 season at the Met. I miss those days, basically I miss having enough free-time to attend that many games.

[CubFan7125]

Originally posted by timconnelly
I really should look up the box scores for that date

How do you do that, is there a book, web site, etc... that has old boxscores, I have often wondered if such an animal exists.

[timconnelly]

Originally posted by CubFan7125
How do you do that, is there a book, web site, etc... that has old boxscores, I have often wondered if such an animal exists.

You can always go to the library and look up games on microfilm. But there is a wonderrful site that has box scores from 1978 to 2000.

Here is the URL:
http://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/index.html

[Xanadu Dragon]

I have the newspaper write-up from my 1st - - got it from the library, two years ago - - - got the date from TSN, someone there helped me out - - - all I had remembered was that it was 1973, Peterson came out after one batter, and CS played 3B for NY. On that, the folks at TSN were able to tell me the date. Way cool of them.

August 9, 1973
Yank old pros win one with two out in 9th
By Jim Ogle

Gene Michael has a bad foot, a sore bunion and a bandaged big toe … but, he’s a professional; Felipe Alou packs 38 years and pulled a calf muscle in yesterday’s pre-game drill … but he’s a real pro, too.

Thurman Munson has an inbred spirit of competition ("He even wants to beat me at ping pong." says his wife, Diane) and the instincts of a riverboat gambler … and he used both; Bobby Murcer is emerging from team frustration as a leader, a guy who is "bustin’ his butt" everyday.

Put them together and they spell a 3-2, ninth-inning victory over the Texas Rangers yesterday. It was a rerun of what had been happening for two weeks—until the quartet of pros changed the script, chasing frustration and finding opportunities.

Chagrined at what he thought was a bad call on a 3-0 pitch, Murcer ripped a double to open the ninth. With one out, Munson lined a single to center that scored Murcer despite Bobby holding up a bit.

"The way things have been going with us I thought he’d make a sensational diving catch," Murcer said. "When the ball hopped up on him, I was going to make the try." Harris didn’t even make a throw.

Celerino Sanchez took a called third strike and it was up to Felipe, who had driven home the first run with a long fly, but had an 0 for 23 streak going. In the streak were a lot of caught line drives, but now Felipe topped a slow roller to Toby Harrah – and beat it out.

Gene Michael had played a doubleheader Tuesday night and was given yesterday off -- until the eighth inning. He came up for the first time and looped a 3-1 pitch into right field, just in front of Bill Sudakis, who had made two fine catches earlier.

The ball was in short right field, Sudakis can throw but there was never a chance to cut off the winning run -- because Munson likes to take chances.

"I had a super jump because Harrah and Nelson left the middle open," Munson said. "As soon as I saw Gene start to move the bat on the 3-1 pitch I was rolling. I was already at third while Dick (Howser) was still watching the ball. I was going man, no matter what.

"No, I didn’t know where the ball was. All I knew Gene had hit it and there were two out, so what could happen if I kept going. We just had to pull one out like that."

"I’m surprised we won the SOB," a weary Murcer said. "The way things have been happening to us, you have to be surprised when something good happens."

"I think I’m a better hitter with men on base," Michael said. "I concentrate more and try harder to do something. I know I’m not a good hitter, so, I try to compensate by delivering hits when they count. I’ve been doing pretty well this year."

The RBI enabled Gene to reach 40 for the first time in his career, while it was also his fifth game-winning hit, which gave the Yanks a two-game streak. It’s little, but welcome.

Fritz Peterson stood to lose the game despite making only one pitch -- which Nelson beat out for a single. Covering first, Peterson had aggravated the muscle in his thigh that he pulled last Saturday. Fritz left and Fred Beene went the rest of the way for his sixth victory without a defeat.

"In my book I pitched a complete game," Beene said. "I know it won’t be in the records, but in my mind I have pitched a complete game.

"Maybe a complete game was once one of my goals, but now I’m only concerned with ‘the team’ and I’m just glad to be here and lucky enough to contribute."

[LeGrandOrange]

Originally posted by timconnelly


You can always go to the library and look up games on microfilm. But there is a wonderrful site that has box scores from 1978 to 2000.

Here is the URL:
http://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/index.html

Ouch. Found the game, I'm sure it was May 6th, Komminsk started and I remember Brian Giles came in during the game for Seattle. Bad first memories of Edgar, I must say. Luckily, I didn't remember that he did that. At least I saw Junior Griffey go 4-4.

[sweaver]

For me, it was Riverfront Stadium, in 1975, in the summer, June or July. I was 11. My parents took me to Cincinnati, we stayed in a Covington, KY motel overnight, and walked over a big bridge to the ballpark. I don't remember much of the game, but I was thrilled.

[Xanadu Dragon]

I have something related that I'd like to run by ya'll contributing to this thread - - - it ties into "your first game."

I see a lot of people with kids at Yankee Stadium - - - and the kids can be as young as 6 months - - - and I wonder, what is the right age?

Part of me says "get them there - why wait?" and the other part says "don't bring them to a big league game until they are old enough to know what's going on, and old enough that they will remember and cherish game 1."

Is the latter the right approach? Perhaps you take them to minor league games before they are old enough for the big leagues?

Years ago, my friend had a daughter - - and, he was home playing Mr. Mom for a while - -- one day, he says to me "I caught the day game at the Stadium - - it was great." I asked him - - what did you do with the baby? (Since she was just a few months old.) He said "No problem, I took her with me. She was great - -she slept most of the time."

What kind of 1st game memory is that?

[timconnelly]

I see your point but I think your friend was right on. Just because we want things to be important to our children in no way means that they will be. If your friend had spent years waiting until just the right time to bring her to her first game, imagine his disappointment if it was not important to her.

Sharing the things that matter is often better done as a part of our every day experiencing than if it done in a dramatic fashion that calls attention to how important it is. If my child prefers Beanie babies to baseball, shouldn't I respect that what is important to her may bear no resemblance to what is important to me, at least in terms of hobbies.

[Xanadu Dragon]

Good point - - never thought of that. When I was around 10, it was a big deal for my family that we went to Disney in FLA. It did nothing for me. The plan probably was that it was going to be memorable - - - just didn't have an impact for me, Disney never has and never will be my thing. Could see baseball being the same, perhaps, for another kid.

Originally posted by Xanadu Dragon
I have something related that I'd like to run by ya'll contributing to this thread - - - it ties into "your first game."

I see a lot of people with kids at Yankee Stadium - - - and the kids can be as young as 6 months - - - and I wonder, what is the right age?

If you want your kid to be a baseball scholar type of person, I guess you'd need to first ask him/her if that's where their interest lies. Nothing written in stone that even Mickey Mantle's kids have any baseball interest.

If the tykes want to watch baseball, I think it would be best to tape a few games and go over the basics with them. Once they know how the game works, the objective, how runs are scored, they may get a better understanding of what the crowd is cheering about when a big lumber guy whiffs or when Giambi hits his first dinger over the wall.

The exact age may depend on the kid but if you want it to be memorable, I think it should be supplemented w/teaching them good baseball essentials, not just sticking them in a seat at YS and telling them "Well, you're here".
About your Mr. Mom friend whose kid slept through the game, if he's a single parent or doing this f/his wife working, he might not've had a babysitter at the time.

[sweaver]

Originally posted by Xanadu Dragon
I have something related that I'd like to run by ya'll contributing to this thread - - - it ties into "your first game."

I see a lot of people with kids at Yankee Stadium - - - and the kids can be as young as 6 months - - - and I wonder, what is the right age?

Part of me says "get them there - why wait?" and the other part says "don't bring them to a big league game until they are old enough to know what's going on, and old enough that they will remember and cherish game 1."

I've taken my kids to games, even when some were young enough that they mostly slept. But nothing beats a good memory. One time, we had Red Cross comp seats right next to the visitor's bullpen at Three Rivers. My oldest daughter was about six, her little cousin three. She, being young and fearless, asked one of the Colorado pitchers in the bullpen for a ball, around the sixth inning. He told her to wait, then between innings tossed her a ball. She asked for another for her cousin, and got it. My wife said, "Ask him to sign it!" So today, at 14, she has a Bruce Ruffin autographed ball. To her, that was really cool.

Mostly, the kids watch the mascot and want to play the games on the concourse anyway. I took my son, then 5, to a game last year at Three Rivers. After 2-3 innings he'd get bored, and we'd take a stroll to the concession stands or to the concourse games. He won a prize at a golf game thing, and that completely thrilled him. The game was not the big deal, the experience was.

[BravesWin!]

Wondering how many people remember the first game they ever attended as a child. Who played, where it was, who pitched, what happened, etc.,etc. Would love to hear some stories...

Andrew