Y’all may think that with everything going on with Joyce (like waking up in her bed) I’ve forgotten about baseball. Remember my priorities: baseball comes first…chicks (banging) comes fifth.
So I’m gonna get back to what really matters.
The good news is that the Dodgers don’t suck anymore. I’ve gone back to wearing a Dodgers cap when I go out. I’m getting a lot of wear out of that Gap Dodgers T-shirt at work too.
So I reckoned it was safe to go to a game Wednesday. My first of the season. And the Texas Rangers were in town.
Reasons to go to a Rangers game:
- the Dodgers hardly ever play them
- Keaton grew up and still is a Rangers fan
- I played in the Rangers system for two seasons
- I wanted to see whether anyone I knew made it to the big leagues
(Nobody did, but I do have a couple buddies who made it up to the Down East Wood Ducks in Kinston, and one who’s with the Frisco Rough Riders in Texas.)
Keaton couldn’t wait to get on his Rangers jersey again. (It’s got Nolan Ryan’s name and number on the back. Hard to argue with that.) He got some shit at Dodger Stadium for it…but he likes getting shit. Even when he doesn’t get to punch the person giving him shit in the face.
Which is good, cause I gave him plenty of shit when the Rangers lost both games. (I was in my Seager jersey and cheering on the Dodgers. You don’t root for the company you used to work for lol.)
I had three Dodger Dogs (mustard and relish) before the game, a couple beers while the game was going on, and some super frozen ice cream from a vendor in the stands at the start of the 7th inning. I still do it the way Dad taught me (except for the beer part) and I still keep score, too. I’m so used to it I’d feel weird not doing it.
The game was exciting at the beginning and at the end, with a pretty boringass middle part. (Y’all can click here for Baseball Reference’s box score with plenty of stats.)
Ok, for the record:
- any catcher who blocks a runner coming at him at top speed deserves to get his ass knocked over
- Beltre was out. O-U-T. We weren’t exactly sitting right behind the plate on field level, but it was clearer than a window you just washed on a sunny day that he was out on the replay. Even Keaton agreed.
- (yeah, I just learned how to do bullet points on WordPress lol)
While it was fun to see some rough stuff around the plate after Kemp totaled Chirinos, I’ve seen better baseball fights. Hell, I’ve been in better baseball fights. If you’re gonna get tossed out, you may just as well have gotten to throw a punch.
The best part of the game came at the end, when Kiké Hernandez did another one of his amazingass things by dancing around the catcher (instead of knocking him over lol) and getting to the plate before Perez got to him. Hernandez is good wherever you play him. He can also be a big time gamechanger. Like winning the game for the Dodgers on Wednesday.
And, like the greatest ball players, he plays short. (Maybe not often enough. CT3 can take a vacation in center every once in a while.)
It was a long night (it was 11 when the game was over) – but I got the satisfaction of seeing Keaton’s team lose.
And we saw at least one great play that we’re all gonna remember.
I haven’t been to a Rangers game since I left the Crawdads. I was wondering whether I’d sit there thinking how it could have been me up there. Sure, it could have been – if I were a lot better than I was. Still, I’m grateful as hell that the Rangers drafted me and put me to work playing ball and getting paid for it. Hickory was awesome. It’d have been awesome even if I’d only gotten laid half the times I did lol.
Oh yeah – I got six bottles of Stone IPA out of the game. Keaton bet me the Rangers would win. He just dropped the beer off: I’ve never seen him not pay up on a bet within 24 hours.
Only thing is, I’m not sure he’s gonna keep betting me about shit. I keep winning.
Hunter Block's Blog 