SURPRISE CHICK, I messaged my sister on Facebook Messenger. What was the surprise, you may ask? Excellent question! It was a pair of impromptu tickets to a baseball game between the Colorado Rockies and the Oakland Athletics. In Section 304 on the rooftop, to be exact! I can’t begin to describe how excited I was! I even planned out my entire outfit.
It was a real treat to get to do this. I bought tickets to about half a dozen games in 2020. I knew I wanted to see the Cleveland Baseball Team, Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately, due to the extremely severe threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, those plans were off the table for me. I did recall wishing I had seen the Oakland Athletics in July of 2018, so I decided to treat my sister to a game this year.
Then came the big day. June 6, 2021. I put on my 2016 Star Wars Night t-shirt, 2020 Spring Training Oakland A’s hat, blue aviator sunglasses, cream-colored floral print shorts, and black Costco sandals. Before driving to the ballpark, my sister and I got some breakfast at Starbucks. I remember getting a chocolate cream Frappuccino, a breakfast sandwich, and a croissant. My sister got egg bites and passion fruit tea.
With a clear bag filled with Sun Bum sunscreen, hand sanitizer, spare masks, and concessions money, we made the trek to the ballpark. After parking in the Music Garage, we walked to the ballpark. It was boiling hot outside, over ninety degrees. It was a giveaway day, so my sister and I ended up getting picnic blankets. Additionally, we went to the Diamond Dry Goods Store. Always a fun time.
The game was a blast to watch. It was so awesome getting to see some of my favorite players from both teams, including Matt Olson and Joshua Fuentes. For those of you who are curious, Joshua goes by his real name now instead of just Josh. The starting pitcher for that game for the home team? My absolute favorite, German Marquez! Spoiler alert, I got his t-shirt after the game.
My sister and I also ended up on the jumbotron. I was watching and I noticed myself on the screen. I waved as hard as I could. I felt like a celebrity. Raimel Tapia was extremely talented, as per usual. I also loved getting to sing Charlie Blackmon’s walk-up song, “Your Love” by the Outfield, at the top of my lungs. That is the absolute best part of home games.
I also developed a superstition, too. I got myself some Dippin’ Dots (a necessary tradition for home games, in my opinion). For whatever reason, I put it on my lap and spilled half of it on my clothes. Not proud of myself for that, but it preceded a gorgeous sequence of events later on.
In addition, I got to have my very first bite of ballpark chicken tenders! I was worried about what I could have for lunch/dinner at the park because I had started a diet known as the pollotarian diet, where I eat poultry instead of red meat. Because of that, I knew that I could not eat a Rockie Dog. Big bummer, I know. But the chicken strips were very delicious!
The game caused me to develop huge crushes on Joshua Fuentes, Dom Nunez, and Sean Murphy. Joshua has such an adorable personality and he is extremely good looking! I plan to write a Joshua Fuentes appreciation post later on. When it comes to Dom Nunez, he has an absolutely adorable face, and I get the impression that he is extremely friendly. Honestly, Dom seems like the kind of person I would invite over to watch Disney+ and eat Italian food. I intend to write a Dom Nunez appreciation post later, too.
Sean Murphy, who played catcher for Oakland, seems like a really nice person with a great smile. That smile of his can improve half a million moods, and I get the vibe that he is the kind of person you will want to be friends with. I would totally introduce someone like him to my high school friends. Also, I would love to have a chat with him about superhero films. I do hope he has a great 2021.
Do you want to know what the whipped cream on the pumpkin pie was? Getting to see Daniel Bard, the 2020 Major League Baseball Comeback Player of the Year, in real live time! I was blown away with how well he played. I remember filming the last out on my phone. I was chanting, “Let’s go, Bardo!” at the top of my lungs, whilst also yelling about how proud of him I was. As the game was wrapping up, I began chanting along to the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers theme song. As soon as Daniel got the last out, and the Rockies got the win, of course I screamed bloody murder to the point I lost my voice.
Dearest Rockies, thank you for the beautiful day out. I had a lot of fun. Look forward to seeing more games.
SOURCE:
https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-salvador-perez-daniel-bard-win-2020-mlb-comeback-player-of-the-yea#:~:text=Press%20release%3A%20Salvador%20Perez%2C%20Daniel,Player%20of%20the%20Year%20Awards
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