Come on, Dear Readers. It’s time to step up to the plate.
Play Ball!
The terrific baseball movie Bull Durham has been on my mind lately because the night of August 18, I went to the Kane County Stadium to watch the local A team, the Cougars, take on the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
And last Tuesday night, I went to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs play the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Both games were terrific fun.
Let’s start with the Cougars game, ok?
Batter up.
In case you didn’t know it, the Cougars are the minor league team in the Midwest League and the Class A affiliate for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rattlers are the A Team for the Milwaukee Brewers. And some of these kids we saw that night will go on to play in the Show.
They were good.
They weren’t the only thing that was good.
We had really great seats. (Note price.)
But more importantly, Thursday night at the Kane County stadium is this.
Yep. Thirsty Thursday.
Beer and hot dogs were $1.00.
Here was THE vital accessory for the fans that night.
The cup holder.
I loved the mascots- Mr. and Mrs. Cougar- who ran the bases and generally clowned around.
And the peanuts.
And the Gatling t-shirt gun. That thing was awesome.
There were fireworks at every home run, a salute to the troops, the National Anthem enthusiastically sung by what appeared to be a local girl, and Mother Nature fully cooperated by providing a beautiful summer’s night.
The Rattlers won it 7-6. But the field was alive with the hopes and dreams of all these would-be major leaguers.
(I managed to make a few wishes on the moonlight myself. It was that magical kind of evening.)
And now on the second game of this double header.
Tuesday night’s contest between the first place Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
We had great seats that night, too.
And although it had rained on and off the entire day, Mother Nature once again did me a solid and provided us with a perfect, perfect summer night at the ballpark.
It was a swell game, too.
In the bottom of the first, my guy, Anthony Rizzo, drove home Javy Baez and himself in on a two-run homer to right field.
In the bottom of the second, Addison Russell walked and then stole second base and Miguel Montero hit a single to plate the run.
The result?
3-0 Cubs.
Harry Carey Sidebar: Here’s Anthony Rizzo in action against the Rattler’s Big League Mother Ship, the Milwaukee Brewers. True, not the game I saw,but I love this clip and think it’s worth watching again.
Neat, huh?
That’s the feeling I always get at a baseball game.
I feel young, hopeful and proud to be an American.
So as summer ends, let me close by waving the flag a little.
Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy Labor Day.
And a whole field of dreams.
Ellen, I see your father-son catch, and raise you a James Earl Jones monologue. Do you think this could be the Cubs’ year, finally?
Thanks, GB. I don’t want to answer your question. Better ask Theo Epstein. (Did you know that his uncles wrote Casablanca?)
Ellen, you’re going to have to get up earlier to come up with a question about baseball that I don’t know the answer to. Yes, the Epsteins wrote Casablanca, and the Germans wore gray. Before moving to Chicago, Theo masterminded the end of the Curse of the Bambino for the Boston Red Sox, so just maybe …?
I can’t get up as early as you, Doc. A rooster couldn’t. That factoid was for my other readers. Love, Ilsa
You highlighted two of the three Costner baseball movies (he’s also done golf and football). The third, however, though a cute “chick flick” with a great looking Mrs. John Travolta (For Love of the Game) fails on the baseball reality count. Can The Prof explain why?
In any event, no others could leap from Costner’s baseball oeuvre to my second favorite movie of all time, so all I can say is here’s looking at you, kid. (You knew that was coming.)
PS: The CAPTCHA should be reprogrammed to allow Roman numerals.
As it happens, I was at the Aspen premiere for “For The Love Of The Game” with Mr. Tin Cup himself. He had debuted there as a fundraiser for the Aspen Camp for the Deaf and the turnout was understandably big. The movie was a fail but the man was a smash. Handsome, funny, generous with his time and talents. So I have found memories of this movie even though it can’t hold a candle to “Tin Cup.” Wishing your clan a wonderful holiday. Thanks, Nuke.
Before I moved to Wilmette, we lived in St. Louis….so as a kid from 3rd grade to high school kids lived , eat and breathed Cardinal baseball. Just to make it more exciting, we had 4 Cardinals living in our neighborhood,,,,one right across the street from our house.Then it was on to Chicago and yes you can be a Cub fan even if you came from St. Louis….although some will say never! Over the years I have been to all 3 Busch stadiums and of course many times to Wrigley. I now live in Tucson and drive up to Phoenix a couple of times a year to see the Diamondbacks and of course the Cubs do there spring training up there. With all that said, the most fun at a ball park is when I go back to Tennessee to see my daughters and we drive down to Jackson to Pringles Park and watch the Generals. (Yes that’s where they make Pringles chips.) And we do go on Thursdays for $1.00 beers and dogs. Going to a minor league park is smaller and so much more enjoyable….it is kind of like a community thing.
You hit this one out of the park, Steve. It’s like Mom and apple pie. Old fashioned fun. Thanks and have a wonderful end of summer.
I loved watching the clip of Rizzo’s great catch in foul territory. I hadn’t seen it before. Thanks for including it.
You’re welcome, Susan. It’s a great moment. Thanks and have a great Labor Day.