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MLB ROAD TRIP 2001
2001.11.15 <VOL.38> Days 204-214
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Aya is on her way to Japan, Sean is in Vancouver
Index
1. Final Games
2. Championship Parade
3. Long Drive Home
4. Thanks
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Final Games
After the World Series, there was still more baseball to see as the Arizona Fall League continued. And for us, it was one of the most interesting stories on the whole trip. Back in August, we were in Tampa Bay and saw a game featuring the Yankees and Devil Rays. The starting pitchers were Roger Clemens for New York, and a rookie named Jason Standridge, making his first-ever major league start. It was a great and memorable game, as Standridge outpitched Clemens, only to have his bullpen blow a 2-run lead in the 9th inning, saving Clemens from his second loss.
Fast forward to Phoenix in November. Game 7 featured the Yankees and of course, the starter was Roger Clemens. You all know what happened that night, but the next day was just as amazing, at least for us. We drove out to Maryvale, a Phoenix subdivision, to watch an AFL game. And who was the starting pitcher for the home team? None other than Jason Standridge. But the story doesn't end with that coincidence. Standridge pitched 4 innings, giving up one walk, before being relieved. The next pitcher went 2 innings, again yielding one walk, and the closer pitched the final 3 outs, yet again allowing just one walk. When the game ended, Maryvale had a 7-inning, 3-pitcher no-hitter, only the second no-hitter in AFL history. For us, it was an incredible culmination to a fantastic weekend of baseball. And for me it underlined the fascination of baseball - in August these two pitchers are on the same stage in Tampa Bay; in November both were in Phoenix but one was watched by millions around the world, the other was watched by 66 fans in a small ballpark. Amazing!
All-in-all, we saw 108 baseball games (72 major, 36 minor) during the season. Some were incredible, some were boring, but overall, it was an experience we will never forget. The final game featured the Grand Canyon Rafters beating the Maryvale Saguaros 8-4, and the final pitch on the trip was delivered by Grant Balfour to Tim Raines Jr. and was a swinging strike. How's that for pointless trivia?
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Championship Parade
The Diamondbacks held a parade for their fans on Wednesday, 3 days after their big win. Aya wanted to go, so we drove downtown, and were amazed at the traffic. It was far greater than that during the actual games. It turned out that 300,000 people showed up to cheer their heroes, and the streets were filled with happy fans, including a lot of kids whose parents had allowed them to take off school. I wasn't in the mood to hang out in the sun with so many people, so I dropped Aya off and went out to see the last game on the trip. Aya reported that the fans were loud, there was a lot of confetti, and the players were all very excited. It took about an hour for the entire parade to wind it's way through the streets before a celebration was held inside Bank One Ballpark. All-in-all, it was very well done and a great ending to a storybook season for the Diamondbacks.
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Long Drive Home
The worst part of the trip was still to come - the last drive back to Seattle. It was hard to believe that we were done. The trip had been our life for the last 7 months, and now it was over so suddenly. We stopped in Anaheim and saw one hockey game, but it wasn't the same. Baseball in the sunshine is the best spectator sport; and we were going to be saying bye to both baseball and sunshine as we returned to the rainforest in the Northwest.
Fortunately, we did manage to improve our moods somewhat by stopping at In & Out Burger a couple of times - very good burgers, but as it is located in only California, Arizona, and Nevada, this would be a temporary lift. Overall, it was a quiet trip home, as we both reflected on what we had done, and what we would do now. Frankly, we are not sure what will happen. Aya is now on her way to Japan, while I will return to Ottawa for Christmas and start looking for a new job.
But we do hope to be making more drives in the future; the Pioneer League in Montana and Idaho and the Northwest League in Washington and Oregon seem to be interesting destinations for next summer. And of course, new MLB stadiums are on the way, so those will have to be visited as well. So although the 2001 trip is over, planning has already begun on future trips! The website will stay active for a while, so check back occasionally to see what we are up to.
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Thanks
This is the final update, and as such, it is time to thanks a number of people for helping us out on our trip.
First, to all the people who provided us a place to stay: Wai and May in San Francisco (thanks also for the wedding invitation!); Dan and Asako and their family in New Jersey; Mike and Michiyo in Detroit; Brian in Vancouver; Mom and Dad in Ottawa; and special thanks to Kerry and Eric, who put up with us on five separate occasions in Seattle.
Thanks to Pat and Sue in Cleveland for their valuable assistance, to Kevin and Maria in LA for their generous hospitality, to Akira for his help in Oakland, to Sharpy for joining us for a week, to Andrew and Peter in Buffalo, for providing hockey tickets; and to Dr. Nick, whose own baseball trip is even more impressive and provided plenty of inspiration.
A number of baseball teams were very helpful during our trip - the Dodgers, Astros, White Sox, Phillies, Diamondbacks, Angels, and Indians all deserve our gratitude, and a special thanks to Debbie Gallas of the Oakland A's for her help on the press box passes.
Finally, thanks to all of you for reading these. It has been a lot of fun doing the trip and it has been a lot of fun keep you up-to-date. Hope that all of you have enjoyed reading them as much as we have enjoyed sending them. But now the trip is done! Thanks to everyone for following our trip and we hope to keep in touch with all of you.
Take care,
Sean and Aya
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