I received a gift set of tickets and as a treat I have upgraded to a set of 318 section seats, once again right behind home plate, but a section closer. What a difference one level can make, not just in how much we can see, but in who are our 'neighbors'. To our left are a lovely couple who regularly buy 17 games in that section, and to our right another man who has been coming even longer. Seems that our seats had belonged to season ticket holders who exchanged their tickets for another night. Lucky me.
And the weather is picture perfect ,defying the predictions once again of rain rain rain. So we settle in for a night of marvelous baseball.
I chose this date specifically to see the Nationals play. They are currently the team with the most amount of wins in either league,so I want to get familiar with them as they march towards the playoff season. I am quite prepared for the Phillies to lose even though last night they won 4-2. You just never know these days with the Phillies.
To our total delight we leap ahead in the first inning, a great start that excites the crowd. The sign flashing on the jumbotron reads MAKE NOISE, which tonight the 44,000 of us willingly obey, unlike other games where the crowd could not be roused from dispondancy. There are plenty of hits, nice plays and the magnificent Halladay has shown up to the mound tonight. He is pitching well, but then lets in two runs.
The astonishing play of the game: Utley gets hit at bat and takes first base. Then he steals second, not so unusual, but still quite startling. THEN he steals third base. Third base!!! Then Mayberry hits a sac fly (oh my, I'm starting to get the lingo) that Utley needs to run on home. Unbelievable.All from being hit and walking to first. All this after Mayberry's home run, which in the end could have been the winning run.
The players are not the same as when I first started this adventure,. Shane Victorino. Gone. Raul Ibanez. Gone. Hunter Pence. Gone. Carlos Ruiz. Injured. Instead are names like Kratz and Wiggington, Pierre, Krasden, Brown. As they become more known to me, their personalities and strengths will become clearer.
For now, they have given us plenty of reason to scream, give high fives and smiles all around, and a chance to cheer the team that beat the best team in baseball 4-2. Again.
