Having been to the Cactus League for Spring Training a couple times, I was looking forward to the dry Arizona sun. Shanon and Stephanie were "anxiously" awaiting our arrival in Tucson. My only hope was that we didn't run into Vincent Price at any of those ghost town jails from The Brady Bunch.
One of our regular fast food stops was Wendys. ("I thought it said Honolulu") While eating their combo meal #1 (no cheese, no tomoato), I recognized that we were getting further away from our comfort zone. The West Coast was familiar turf. I grew up in the Northwest, went to college in Santa Barbara, visited relatives in Oregon...etc. But now we were Eastward bound. A chance to see the country - live like a local....stuff like that. It brings about a little personal reflection. As I mentioned before, had Al Gore been a little quicker with his invention, we would have been totally plugged into our happennings at home, NBA playoffs, important stuff like that. But in reality, we weren't. Ten days on the road and I was feeling a little out of sorts.
Jase, while digesting his chili, always had a knack for keeping things light, keeping it real. He needed us to pull over for a little bathroom break. (Chili goes through the system real quick by the way) He yells from the backseat, "We're really breakin' out aren't we Nine?" And in a lot of ways, we were. It's not too often you can find somebody that quits their well-paying job to take a four-month hiatus across the country in a rented Bravada to see a game at every Major League Baseball stadium. To say the least, it was very liberating. A great feeling. No responsibilities, no wife, no kids, no job....when's the next time we're gonna to have an opportunity like this?
But on the other hand, it made me a little nervous. What am I going to do, get a job with one of these teams rakin' the field during the 5th inning? Settle down in Key West Florida with hopes that they get a baseball team nearby someday? You see, I'm a very practical person and practical people don't do trips like this. They don't just pack up and leave and say "I'll leave for tomorrow what I could have gotten done today". They just don't. But what I didn't realize is that I needed a little bit, or maybe a lot, of Jase's mentality in me. We NEEDED to do this. It forced a new way of thinking. It made me recognize that I'm the one (ME) responsible for my own happiness in life. Nobody else is required to bring it to me, just me. Let's tour this country and find out what it, and more importantly, what WE are all about. This can be cool. We can rock this anthem, y'all.
So after about 20 minutes, Jase came back from the honey bucket and we continued on our way to Tucson. Somehow, he found the Garth Brooks CD that Sem had been requesting since Santa Barbara and we listened to it for a while (maybe two songs), before reverting to our favorite band of the day, Jellyfish. At that point, all was well with the world. We were getting along great and excited for the weeks ahead.
Rolling into Shanon's place around dinner time, we quickly threw our suits on and headed to the hot tub. Sem had a lot more dead skin he hoped would float away. There was a pool, and a pond, in the middle of their complex just waiting for us to dive into. All of us agreed, the pond would be good for us. Later, after I shot the moon (again) in hearts, we retired for the evening, knowing full well that tomorrow would be a new adventure. Let me know if you're interested in getting on the mailing list for Click's Billiards. Jase has their number.
The Singing Cowboy
With traffic ruining our trip to Venice Beach this morning, we took a detour directly to Anaheim Stadium a little early - like 3 1/2 hours early! At least we found a great parking spot. We spent the next 90 minutes playing frisbee and football in the empty parking lot, while evaluating the latest Black Crowes CD. We liked "Remedy", but in our minds, nothing could beat "Hard to Handle"....
June 12, 1992 Anaheim was the first stop outside of Seattle where our tix were provided by the organization. And what seats they were! We sat right next to Gene Autrey and his wife, the owners of the club. They guessed that we were from out of town and once we told them where we were from, they asked us if we were familiar with couple radio stations they owned in our neck of the woods. We enjoyed watching his expression throughout the night. I'm sure he was proud of his last-place club, losing 23 of their last 26....AND, the food here was terrible. Like Gene's wife, this place needs a facelift.
Mark Langston took the hill against Kansas City's Pichardo. Wally Joyner made his first appearance back at the "Big A" after signing with the Royals in the off-season. ESPN thought highly enough about this game that they were broadcasting it (as they did with our first game at the Kingdome).
Joyner went 0-4 with one K and Langston only needed 2 1/2 hours to record a complete game shutout 5-0. Alvin Davis did not play.
What is it about these LA teams? Two complete game shutouts within the span of a week? Go figure. It's been said that "Chicks dig the longball", but I might add that the three representatives of the "No Worries Tour 1992" also enjoy the longball. I guess we'll have to wait until Texas.
June 12, 1992 Anaheim was the first stop outside of Seattle where our tix were provided by the organization. And what seats they were! We sat right next to Gene Autrey and his wife, the owners of the club. They guessed that we were from out of town and once we told them where we were from, they asked us if we were familiar with couple radio stations they owned in our neck of the woods. We enjoyed watching his expression throughout the night. I'm sure he was proud of his last-place club, losing 23 of their last 26....AND, the food here was terrible. Like Gene's wife, this place needs a facelift.
Mark Langston took the hill against Kansas City's Pichardo. Wally Joyner made his first appearance back at the "Big A" after signing with the Royals in the off-season. ESPN thought highly enough about this game that they were broadcasting it (as they did with our first game at the Kingdome).
Joyner went 0-4 with one K and Langston only needed 2 1/2 hours to record a complete game shutout 5-0. Alvin Davis did not play.
What is it about these LA teams? Two complete game shutouts within the span of a week? Go figure. It's been said that "Chicks dig the longball", but I might add that the three representatives of the "No Worries Tour 1992" also enjoy the longball. I guess we'll have to wait until Texas.
The Four Tops
You really can't beat body surfing at Pacific Beach, San Diego. Which is good, because that's what we spent our next day doing. Jay and Lisa allowed us to crash on their floor and watch a little "Backdraft" that night. Jay's words of wisdom for the day, "The three things people will inevitably stare at are raging water, fire and a zamboni...."
June 9, 1992 Houston's Jimmy Jones followed us from Candlestick down to Jack Murphy Stadium to face our old buddy Gene Harris. Amongst the other 17,494 fans, we sat in the 15th row behind the 3rd base dugout. Tony Gwynn mingled with the fans during BP. Along with the hot dog and pretzel, I took advantage of the churros for sale. One of my favorites....
Jase was busy getting a handshake from Gary Sheffield while I listed to Fred "Crimedog" McGriff remind us all to "take a bite out of crime"...the only bite I wanted was another churro.
Gene Harris got a hit in his first Major League at bat. Crime Dog entertained us with a 417 foot homer in the 4th to put the Pads on the board. Thanks to "the Four Tops (the aforementioned Tony Gwynn, Sheffield, McGriff and Tony Fernandez), the Pads came from behind to secure a 5-4 victory in the bottom of the 9th. Such a relief in light of the busy schedule I had the next day.
We enjoyed a little more body surfing at the beach and a $3 burger from Benders. With a budget of $30/day, we were definitely under-budget. While it takes a lot of work to enjoy a "No Worries Tour", we were doing our best to be responsible for our own happiness....
June 9, 1992 Houston's Jimmy Jones followed us from Candlestick down to Jack Murphy Stadium to face our old buddy Gene Harris. Amongst the other 17,494 fans, we sat in the 15th row behind the 3rd base dugout. Tony Gwynn mingled with the fans during BP. Along with the hot dog and pretzel, I took advantage of the churros for sale. One of my favorites....
Jase was busy getting a handshake from Gary Sheffield while I listed to Fred "Crimedog" McGriff remind us all to "take a bite out of crime"...the only bite I wanted was another churro.
Gene Harris got a hit in his first Major League at bat. Crime Dog entertained us with a 417 foot homer in the 4th to put the Pads on the board. Thanks to "the Four Tops (the aforementioned Tony Gwynn, Sheffield, McGriff and Tony Fernandez), the Pads came from behind to secure a 5-4 victory in the bottom of the 9th. Such a relief in light of the busy schedule I had the next day.
We enjoyed a little more body surfing at the beach and a $3 burger from Benders. With a budget of $30/day, we were definitely under-budget. While it takes a lot of work to enjoy a "No Worries Tour", we were doing our best to be responsible for our own happiness....
Where's Fernando?
June 7, 1992 After a little detour through Carmel and Santa Cruz, we headed South on 101 to L.A. "Hey Jase, Sem wants to listen to Garth Brooks, can you pass it up?" "Uh, sorry Nine, it must be buried underneath my gym bag, how about Ozzy instead?"
We did spend a night in Santa Barbara with our good buddy Curl. Because he had a sub-woofer in his "hoopdee", we opted to give him the Sir-MixAlot CD rather than our usual grunge offering. He made sure we got to listen to our favorite local band, 'Pat, Fin and Greg' at Alex's Cantina on State Street.
After a little smash-ball and frisbee on East Beach, we reluctantly left one of my favorite towns for Dodger Stadium. We chowed down the obligatory Dodger Dog and pretzel, and settled into our seats in the 9th row behind the 3rd base dugout.
L.A.'s Tom Candiotti (6-3) was facing Cincinnati's Tim Belcher. (Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis were on the D.L.)
When the fans finally showed up in the 3rd inning we noticed how impersonal Dodger Stadium feels. It's as if the stadium is full of tourists or people from all over Southern Cal.
An RBI single by Brett Butler was all Candiotti needed for his complete game shutout.
Fortunaly, after that snoozer, we took a little cruise through Malibu and checked out where Tommy Lee lived. Our buddy Brad hooked us up for the night at his place in Sherman Oaks....next up, San Diego.
We did spend a night in Santa Barbara with our good buddy Curl. Because he had a sub-woofer in his "hoopdee", we opted to give him the Sir-MixAlot CD rather than our usual grunge offering. He made sure we got to listen to our favorite local band, 'Pat, Fin and Greg' at Alex's Cantina on State Street.
After a little smash-ball and frisbee on East Beach, we reluctantly left one of my favorite towns for Dodger Stadium. We chowed down the obligatory Dodger Dog and pretzel, and settled into our seats in the 9th row behind the 3rd base dugout.
L.A.'s Tom Candiotti (6-3) was facing Cincinnati's Tim Belcher. (Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis were on the D.L.)
When the fans finally showed up in the 3rd inning we noticed how impersonal Dodger Stadium feels. It's as if the stadium is full of tourists or people from all over Southern Cal.
An RBI single by Brett Butler was all Candiotti needed for his complete game shutout.
Fortunaly, after that snoozer, we took a little cruise through Malibu and checked out where Tommy Lee lived. Our buddy Brad hooked us up for the night at his place in Sherman Oaks....next up, San Diego.
Giant Masher
June 4, 1992: After sitting through a pitcher's duel yesterday, we anticipated that we might be on a hot streak. Today's matchup called for Houston Astro's ace Jones (2-0) against the the San Francisco Giants Heredia (also 2-0).
"YOU'RE A MASHER AREN'T YOU WILL?", was heard by the 9,863 fans over and over from the three of us sitting in row 13 behind first base at Candlestick. Huge fans of Will Clark. Jase was a first baseman throughout his playing days and so we paid attention to those guys and the attitude with which they carried themselves. The fact that Willy was left-handed also factored into the equation. So we didn't hesitate to make sure the "Orange and Black Attack" heard our screams. Finally, Sem received a ball (probably to shut him since he definitely had the loudest voice) and got future Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell to sign it for him. Note about Sem: he's a big dude, with a big voice and you can't ignore him when's he's yelling...."PLAY BALL"
Heredia only gave up 5 runs in the first before retiring for the night (he should have joined us in the 13th row - at least we had a blanket to keep warm).
With the score 10-2 Astros, Cory Snyder of the Giants in Right Field made a great throw to nail the runner at home, and the stadium erupted in applause. In the bottom of the 8th, Willy came up and proved that he truly was a "masher" by blasting a 2 run homerun 419 feet into the upper deck. This didn't prevent the Giants from losing however, 12-5...well, at least we had Curly Thiele in Santa Barbara to look forward to tomorrow.
"YOU'RE A MASHER AREN'T YOU WILL?", was heard by the 9,863 fans over and over from the three of us sitting in row 13 behind first base at Candlestick. Huge fans of Will Clark. Jase was a first baseman throughout his playing days and so we paid attention to those guys and the attitude with which they carried themselves. The fact that Willy was left-handed also factored into the equation. So we didn't hesitate to make sure the "Orange and Black Attack" heard our screams. Finally, Sem received a ball (probably to shut him since he definitely had the loudest voice) and got future Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell to sign it for him. Note about Sem: he's a big dude, with a big voice and you can't ignore him when's he's yelling...."PLAY BALL"
Heredia only gave up 5 runs in the first before retiring for the night (he should have joined us in the 13th row - at least we had a blanket to keep warm).
With the score 10-2 Astros, Cory Snyder of the Giants in Right Field made a great throw to nail the runner at home, and the stadium erupted in applause. In the bottom of the 8th, Willy came up and proved that he truly was a "masher" by blasting a 2 run homerun 419 feet into the upper deck. This didn't prevent the Giants from losing however, 12-5...well, at least we had Curly Thiele in Santa Barbara to look forward to tomorrow.
Bay Area
6.2.92 While it may be "easy to grin when your ship comes in and you've got the stock market beat...", it's not so easy to sit for 12 hours straight on your way to San Francisco. While I'm sure we listened to "Nevermind" and "Ten", I'm even more sure we didn't listen to "Ropin' the Wind"....
As we crossed the Bay bridge into Frisco, we were looking forward to a little R&R when we settled in for the night at Stucker's house. While enjoying our pizza and Freska's, we honored our gracious host with the new Pearl Jam CD - doing our best to spread the grunge theme throughout America on our No Worries tour. Our agenda tomorrow consisted of a little 2 on 2 at the Stanford University basketball court with our good buddy Smooth Al.
After shredding the $15 parking ticket that was placed on our Bravada overnight (something to do with blocking the street cleaners), we proceeded to our scheduled game. Jase and Smooth beat Sem and I two games to one. That didn't stop us from checking out the Cardinal Baseball "Sunken Diamond" however. Amazing what money can buy....
The "No Worries" tour allowed us to follow the Red Sox from Seattle down to Oakland where we had the privilege of watching Slusarski dual it out with John Dopson. (I'm pretty sure most remember those two Hall of Famers). While 31,000 strong attended this day game, we were more enamored with the sunshine than anything else. (You understand that the rumors of it raining all the time in Seattle are totally true). We sat in the second to last row behind home plate (thanks Athletics Organization!). While Troy Neel made his Major League debut (after being called up from our hometown AAA Tacoma), the hero of the game was Mr. Jose Canseco. He hit his 11th homer of the season in his first at bat, and his 12th of the year on the next. But his teammate did his best to one-up the party by delivering his 20th of the season later that inning. If you assumed Walt Weiss, I'm sorry. This time it was Mark McGwire - aka Big Mac.
On the next pitch, Dopson beaned Jamie Quirk, allowing us to witness a bench-clearing rumble.
One note about the stadium, there is a LOT of foul territory - therefore, it was a long walk back to the dugout for a dejected John Dopson (may he rest in peace). Oakland won this duel 7-6. (Note: for the few of you who still attend games at what is now called "McAfee Stadium", the guys in referee uniforms are trying to sell you beer, hotdogs and peanuts)
We spent a little time in Walnut Creek after the game to chill at the El Cantina with our good buddy Greg. You need to understand that he was getting married six weeks down the road and needed a little time with the guys to let it all hang out, so to speak. By the way, the Bulls beat the Blazers for those of you keeping score......next up, bring on "the Masher"!
As we crossed the Bay bridge into Frisco, we were looking forward to a little R&R when we settled in for the night at Stucker's house. While enjoying our pizza and Freska's, we honored our gracious host with the new Pearl Jam CD - doing our best to spread the grunge theme throughout America on our No Worries tour. Our agenda tomorrow consisted of a little 2 on 2 at the Stanford University basketball court with our good buddy Smooth Al.
After shredding the $15 parking ticket that was placed on our Bravada overnight (something to do with blocking the street cleaners), we proceeded to our scheduled game. Jase and Smooth beat Sem and I two games to one. That didn't stop us from checking out the Cardinal Baseball "Sunken Diamond" however. Amazing what money can buy....
The "No Worries" tour allowed us to follow the Red Sox from Seattle down to Oakland where we had the privilege of watching Slusarski dual it out with John Dopson. (I'm pretty sure most remember those two Hall of Famers). While 31,000 strong attended this day game, we were more enamored with the sunshine than anything else. (You understand that the rumors of it raining all the time in Seattle are totally true). We sat in the second to last row behind home plate (thanks Athletics Organization!). While Troy Neel made his Major League debut (after being called up from our hometown AAA Tacoma), the hero of the game was Mr. Jose Canseco. He hit his 11th homer of the season in his first at bat, and his 12th of the year on the next. But his teammate did his best to one-up the party by delivering his 20th of the season later that inning. If you assumed Walt Weiss, I'm sorry. This time it was Mark McGwire - aka Big Mac.
On the next pitch, Dopson beaned Jamie Quirk, allowing us to witness a bench-clearing rumble.
One note about the stadium, there is a LOT of foul territory - therefore, it was a long walk back to the dugout for a dejected John Dopson (may he rest in peace). Oakland won this duel 7-6. (Note: for the few of you who still attend games at what is now called "McAfee Stadium", the guys in referee uniforms are trying to sell you beer, hotdogs and peanuts)
We spent a little time in Walnut Creek after the game to chill at the El Cantina with our good buddy Greg. You need to understand that he was getting married six weeks down the road and needed a little time with the guys to let it all hang out, so to speak. By the way, the Bulls beat the Blazers for those of you keeping score......next up, bring on "the Masher"!
No Worries Tour 1992
Preparing for a trip around the country circa 1992 took a little legwork. Al Gore's invention would have come in handy. It's not like you can just jump in the car and show up in Oakland because you were just in San Francisco and hope there's a game that day. We found a database of every Major League Team and actually mailed them a letter about our quest. We thought it was a fairly novel concept at the time and so we requested VIP service (or at least 3 free tickets into the game). Surprisingly, about half the teams wrote back to say they had set aside three tix for the game we wanted. That was good enough for us.
We contacted just about everyone we knew that lived near any of the stadiums (within 100 miles). We anticipated camping in the cities where we had no contacts. Keep in mind, this was a low-budget four month trip - no hotels. We did rent an Oldsmobile Bravada (who wouldn't?) so as to not put any additional wear and tear on our 10 year old Honda Accord. Plus we needed the extra room for all the CD's we brought with us (an iPod would have come in handy).
So it was my brother Jase, my cousin Sem and I. Sem and I were almost 25 and Jase was 22. The assigned seating was that I had shotgun and one of the other two could drive. I mean someone had to be able to change the CD's every few minutes, and plus, I was good at it. Somehow Sem's country CD's always got buried under stuff in the way back and Jase could never reach them...
Our agenda for each game required that we get to the stadium when it opened, which was usually two hours before game time. We watched BP, sampled a Hot Dog and a pretzel.
Our trial run was the May 31st game at the Kingdome featuring Randy Johnson vs. Roger Clemens. We didn't expect anything better than the last seats in the outfield from the M's - so when they gave us seats in Row 9 behind home plate, in front of former Sonic's great Jack Sikma, we were truly amazed!
A Griffey homer (his 9th of the season) accounted for the only run of the game for the M's. Kevin Mitchell - who was great for the Giants but terrible for us - faced Rocket for the first time and grounded out to second base. We call that a "Bradley", in honor of former backup catcher Scott Bradley (a disgrace to the #9) who had a knack for hitting every ball to second base. M's lost 7-1. Anxious to get one final good nights rest, we headed home in anticipation of our long drive to San Francisco in the morning.
We contacted just about everyone we knew that lived near any of the stadiums (within 100 miles). We anticipated camping in the cities where we had no contacts. Keep in mind, this was a low-budget four month trip - no hotels. We did rent an Oldsmobile Bravada (who wouldn't?) so as to not put any additional wear and tear on our 10 year old Honda Accord. Plus we needed the extra room for all the CD's we brought with us (an iPod would have come in handy).
So it was my brother Jase, my cousin Sem and I. Sem and I were almost 25 and Jase was 22. The assigned seating was that I had shotgun and one of the other two could drive. I mean someone had to be able to change the CD's every few minutes, and plus, I was good at it. Somehow Sem's country CD's always got buried under stuff in the way back and Jase could never reach them...
Our agenda for each game required that we get to the stadium when it opened, which was usually two hours before game time. We watched BP, sampled a Hot Dog and a pretzel.
Our trial run was the May 31st game at the Kingdome featuring Randy Johnson vs. Roger Clemens. We didn't expect anything better than the last seats in the outfield from the M's - so when they gave us seats in Row 9 behind home plate, in front of former Sonic's great Jack Sikma, we were truly amazed!
A Griffey homer (his 9th of the season) accounted for the only run of the game for the M's. Kevin Mitchell - who was great for the Giants but terrible for us - faced Rocket for the first time and grounded out to second base. We call that a "Bradley", in honor of former backup catcher Scott Bradley (a disgrace to the #9) who had a knack for hitting every ball to second base. M's lost 7-1. Anxious to get one final good nights rest, we headed home in anticipation of our long drive to San Francisco in the morning.
Why Baseball?
For me it started in the late '80's when some college buddies and I drafted players for the World Series (Earthquake series between SF and OAK). I was thrilled to pick Henderson with my first selection, assuming I was drafting the gap-toothed outfielder formerly of my hometown Mariners. I was thrilled again when I found out it was instead Ricky Henderson that I inadvertantly chose that day.
In 1992 my brother had this crazy idea of driving around the country (and Canada) to visit every Major League Baseball Stadium. So on May 31, 1992, my cousin, brother and I christened our trek by attending a Memorial Day game at the Kingdome, featuring Randy Johnson vs. Roger Clemens. You've probably heard of them.
That four-month trip featured some experiences that have fostered my love for the game ever since. Why is it that everytime I hear John Fogerty's song "Centerfield" it helps me remember why I like the game so much? Could it be that when April 1st rolls around we truly do get "born again, there's new grass on the field"? Sounds so corny.
My first 5 years playing fantasy baseball required that I fill out a lineup using my $200 salary cap. We mailed our rosters in to the commissioner and didn't know where we stood until the end of each month. Somehow, my buddy Jeff and I always independently ended up with the same closers - Jeff Montgomery, Duane Ward and Norm Charlton. Now, thanks to Al Gore, we can interface at a moments notice and change our lineup daily.
My highlights over the years have been being the first in our league to own many rising stars - Ichiro, Miguel Cabrera, David Wright, King Felix, Hunter Pence and Ryan Braun. I enjoy finding the player that could have an immediate impact upon his opportunity.
So my hope is to blog about some of my favorite memories from that summer of '92, just to get it down in writing. Even though my Mariners have yet to go to the World Series, I still hold out hope. For my son's sake, I hope they get there before I'm dead and gone - I don't want him to think I've been rooting for a loser franchise my whole life!
In 1992 my brother had this crazy idea of driving around the country (and Canada) to visit every Major League Baseball Stadium. So on May 31, 1992, my cousin, brother and I christened our trek by attending a Memorial Day game at the Kingdome, featuring Randy Johnson vs. Roger Clemens. You've probably heard of them.
That four-month trip featured some experiences that have fostered my love for the game ever since. Why is it that everytime I hear John Fogerty's song "Centerfield" it helps me remember why I like the game so much? Could it be that when April 1st rolls around we truly do get "born again, there's new grass on the field"? Sounds so corny.
My first 5 years playing fantasy baseball required that I fill out a lineup using my $200 salary cap. We mailed our rosters in to the commissioner and didn't know where we stood until the end of each month. Somehow, my buddy Jeff and I always independently ended up with the same closers - Jeff Montgomery, Duane Ward and Norm Charlton. Now, thanks to Al Gore, we can interface at a moments notice and change our lineup daily.
My highlights over the years have been being the first in our league to own many rising stars - Ichiro, Miguel Cabrera, David Wright, King Felix, Hunter Pence and Ryan Braun. I enjoy finding the player that could have an immediate impact upon his opportunity.
So my hope is to blog about some of my favorite memories from that summer of '92, just to get it down in writing. Even though my Mariners have yet to go to the World Series, I still hold out hope. For my son's sake, I hope they get there before I'm dead and gone - I don't want him to think I've been rooting for a loser franchise my whole life!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)