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MLB ROAD TRIP 2001
2001.7.12 <VOL.23> Days 84-87
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*We are in Seattle (again)
Index
1. Home Run Derby
2. All-Star Game
3. Everett
4. The second half begins
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Home Run Derby
Monday was the date of the Home Run Derby, a contest between 8 of the strongest power hitters in the game today. As we walked along Occidental Avenue on the way to Safeco, the crowds were very intense. FanFest, a collection of baseball memorabilia, games, and exhibits was taking place next door in the Stadium Exhibition Center. Even at $15, it was hugely popular, with large lineups for both tickets and entering.
We bypassed FanFest as the wait appeared rather long, and continued on to the ballpark. When we got there, the highlight of the trip happened, at least for me. There was Youppi, the Expos' mascot, in all his orange glory!! I ran up to Youppi and shook his hand and told him that I was from Ottawa, which seemed to impress him (unfortunately, Youppi can't talk). Wow, meeting Youppi! It can't get much better. As it turned out, many of the mascots were in town for the All-Star Week, and a number of them were out front signing autographs and having their pictures taken. Check out the home page for pictures of me with Youppi and Aya with the Green Monster, Boston's mascot.
After calming down from our mascot meetings, we entered the ballpark. Batting practice was first and I think Ichiro's display was the most impressive. Four of the first 5 pitches he hit were home runs. I think he should have been in the Derby himself, he would have done very well, I am sure.
Before the Derby began, the mascots had their own show - a tug-of-war between the AL and NL mascots. After a minute of tugging with no progress on either side, a little boy came out to help the Mariner Moose and the AL side. Although the other AL mascots became tired and fell down, the little boy and Mariner Moose were able to defeat the NL mascots in a major upset.
At 5:00, it was time to begin the Derby. 4 American Leaguers and 4 National Leaguers competed - each batter tries to hit as many home runs before getting 10 outs. An out is any ball that is hit that is not a home run. After the first round, the top 4 hitters advance to the semi-final pairings, and the winners of those meet in the final. Pretty simple rules.
The first round highlight was Jason Giambi setting a new Derby record with 14 homers, including one amazing string of 7 in a row. He was clearly in a groove, and joined Barry Bonds (7), Luis Gonzalez (5), and Sammy Sosa (3) in the second round. Bret Boone also hit 3 home runs in the first round, but lost out to Sammy because Sosa has more regular season homers. This tie-breaking format didn't sit well with the Safeco field, who wanted to see Boone, a Mariner, continue on.
The second round saw Gonzalez beat Bonds 5-3 and Sosa knock off Giambi, who had lost his groove, 8-6. In the finals, Gonzalez went first and hit 6 dingers. Sammy came up and simply couldn't get it going, launching only two blasts. Gonzalez was the winner, which should not be surprising as he is second in the majors with 35 homers this year.
My thoughts on the Derby - it is not that interesting - it took 2.5 hours, most of which was probably commercial breaks. For those fans in the park, a lot of time is spent waiting. I think a format change might make it more interesting, but overall, this is better on TV, where you can head to the kitchen for a snack during the commercial breaks.
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All-Star Game
Tuesday was the 72nd Midsummer Classic. I expect most of you saw the game, so I will spare you the details of Cal Ripken's classic home run and MVP award, Ichiro's infield single, and Tommy's tumble. Instead, I will try to describe the atmosphere around the stadium. Out front, it was very crowded as vendors were trying to sell as much memorabilia before it became useless. Scalpers were present, but so were the police, and a few scalpers were arrested. According to a newspaper report, one season-ticket holder, having seen the $1,000 bids on E-Bay, tried to sell his tickets on the street, only to be arrested and have his tickets confiscated.
When we entered the park, we each received a souvenir bobblehead doll. An American League and National League doll were given out and we both received NL dolls. But other people received two AL dolls and there was already a market in progress as people tried to complete the set. We managed to engineer a trade and now have a cool All-Star bobblehead set.
Inside the park, the crush of fans along the rails was incredible. The media on the field was also amazing, and good pictures were tough to get because of all of the mikes and lighting equipment set up. Fans would scream for players to sign, but we didn't see anyone come over to give autographs. Everyone in the stadium knew that this was a special day and you could sense that a collective good mood was in the air.
The pre-game ceremony celebrated baseball as an international game and was very well done. 30 flags were on the field, each flag representing a country which had a player in pro ball. Japanese taiko drummers and Brazilian percussionists kept the beat while each country was announced and the flag unfurled. The anthems were sung and as the American anthem was finishing, 4 fighter jets flew over the stadium.
The introductions were next, and the Seattle fans were great, applauding each and every player, even A-Rod. Of course, the loudest cheers were reserved for the 8 Mariners on the squad, and you could see that the players themselves were excited.
The All-Star game is not really a game of strategy - each player is supposed to make an appearance, and thus pinch-hitting moves are based on who is left on your bench rather than who can get a hit. But although all of these changes can make a mess of your scoresheet, it is still an interesting game because of all the pitcher-batter matchups that occur. Johnson-Ichiro and Clemens-Piazza were a couple of the highlights.
After Ripken hit his 3rd inning home run, everyone in the stadium knew that they had witnessed an unforgettable moment and the rest of the game was secondary. When Ripken was replaced in the 5th, a small ceremony honouring him and Tony Gwynn stopped the game for a few minutes. Later, Tommy Lasorda had the crowd in stitches with his bat-evasion dance, but for most fans, the actual balls and strikes were not being followed with much intensity. Pitching dominated this game as the AL won 4-1, but I think everyone will go home happy having enjoyed what was, for most at least, a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
The one player that impressed me was Magglio Ordonez of the White Sox. We have seen him play 4 games and he has hit a homer in each game, including the final run in the All-Star Game. One broadcaster called him a borderline player, but I think he may be one of the most underrated players in the game.
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Everett
For MLB players, the All-Star break is a 3-day rest, but for MLB roadtrippers, there is no break at all. We spent Wednesday watching a game in Everett (about 25 miles north of Seattle) with our friends Brian and Richard. Everett is part of the Northwest League, a short-season Class A league. The best tickets are expensive at $9 but we were fortunate to get some free vouchers from another fan. There is one thing about Everett that I can tell you - it is very cold in the evening. The park is very nice, with great mountain views and a grassy area where you can play catch, but once the sun goes down, you need a sweater or two. Of course, I had left my sweaters back in Seattle, and by the end of the extra-inning game, my fingers were so numb I couldn't keep score! The hot dogs were pretty good though, and they were on sale (2-for-1) after the 7th inning, so all-in-all a good experience.
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2nd Half
Well, our trip is half over. Which means we still have about 90 days and 16 major league ballparks to go. After watching Barry Bonds tonight in Seattle, we are looking forward to heading south again - we have two weeks in California before we return to Texas to see the Astros and then on to Florida. By the end of August we will be in New York and then back home to Canada for 10 days in September. The regular season portion of the trip finishes in Detroit and then we begin our playoff game search. Lots of travel and lots of games to keep us busy and we will try to keep you informed of all the fun things we do. Hope that you are enjoying our updates as much as we enjoy sending them!
Talk to you later,
Sean and Aya
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