Take Me Out To The Ball Game...

We teamed up with John and Mary who had good tickets to go see the Astros play the Bluejays. It was a good game. I consider any game the Astros win a good game. I had thought on retirement I might catch more games but Covid came along and there were no spectators last year but with things slowly getting back to normal maybe my retirement will get back to what I imagined. 

I do not think I have seen a game with the roof open in Minute Maid Park. The weather was nice and our seats along the second deck, third baseline were shady with an uncrowded concourse area. 

Here's a photo of some friends with better seats behind home plate, more toward first base. Note to self, if the roof is open first base side is sunny. Technically these are better seats than what we had but they brought to mind the only Rangers game I have even seen. It was on a hot summer day, no enclosing roof and space age planet killing air conditioning and I recall my joy at the barest cloud passing over the sun for a brief instant of shade that I used to not sweat from the effort of raising a quick, cool drink to my mouth.   

Yuri Gurriel is Cathy's favorite Astro. If he's at bat I'm just cold booger on a stick. Nicknamed La Pina he has some fine looking hair that I just cannot compete with. He showed out in this game with at least 3 hits and a RBI sacrifice. 

Gurriel's younger brother was on the Bluejay team as was former Baseball Hall of Fame Astro Craig Biggio's son. 

This was my first international baseball game as the Bluejays are based in Toronto, Canada. I think in the history of baseball there have been about 28 Canadian players but they flew the Canadian flag and sang the Star Spangled Banner as well as the Canadian national anthem in French. Take that you English only nationalists and sports boycotters who confuse common decency with politics.   

I guess I had actually seen another game with the roof open because I watched it from the roof of that building peaking over he outfield stands. No, I did not sneak up there. It was during those days I was in with the in crowd. I probably won't be up there again unless I sneak in and a retirement budget won't support many games in the fancy seats I had for his game but I did note that a Poor man's Guide to Minute Maid Park I found on the internet reports nose bleed seats priced $5-$15 depending on how good the opponents are.   

Another good ticket deal is one offered by the Triple A Hosuton team, the Sugarland Skeeters. $180 gets you 10 tickets to be used in any combination. One person could go ten times, 10 people one time and so on. That's a good deal and I think I'll spring for it. 

Take me out to the ballpark!