Better Seats
Back in April, my father and I attended a game at Tropicana Field that didn’t turn out as we’d hoped. The hated New York Yankees beat our beloved Rays. Worse, the already large contingent of Yankees fans in attendance became a majority by the late innings, so that it felt as though we were strangers at our own home park. We resolved not to attend any more home games against New York or Boston. So, last week’s Cleveland series seemed to be the perfect opportunity to see the Rays again, and we attended Sunday afternoon’s game against the Indians.
We arrived early, and parked in a distant, but cheap, parking lot. We had to walk five blocks or so, but we saved at least ten dollars, and avoided all the post-game traffic. We bought tickets at the park this time, and for two extra dollars each, the tickets included lunch. The folks in the box office must have really been pushing the right field bleachers, because our seats–in Row GG, Section 142–were cramped. When the end of the second inning rolled around, we opted not to try and squeeze our way back through the crowd, and instead moved to an emptier part of the park, above the Rays’ bullpen. Those were much better seats.
The game itself got off to a troubling start. Cleveland scored three runs in the top of the first. But the Rays came back, and were ahead by the time Wheeler took over for Niemann. Regrettably, Wheeler blew the lead, and the game stayed tied into extra innings. The Rays had ample opportunities to go ahead, but they left more than a dozen guys on base through the course of the game. Finally, in the bottom of the tenth, Bartlett hit a ball into deep right-center field, sending the winning run home. The Cleveland outfielders didn’t even bother to pick up the ball; they just turned around and walked off the field. My Dad and I left happy.
Later, I saw that we were on TV: once when we were in our outfield seats, and several times when the cameras focused across the infield.
All in all, a wonderful day halfway through the Summer of Baseball.
Filed under: Family, Sports on July 15th, 2010 | No Comments »