Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Can of Corn Challenge: An early baseball memory (April)

P.J. has convinced me, or probably like tricked me into another writing challenge.  He's done a good job, noting several times in the past that I seem to write more frequently when I have these challenges in front of me, so here goes.  This is a monthly challenge, to write about baseball.  Today's topic is an early baseball memory.

I grew up in Orange County, a suburb of Los Angeles.  Disneyland was only 6 years old when we moved to California.  The Lakers hadn't hit their stride yet and baseball was all about the Dodgers.  I listened to Vin Scully on the radio for Dodger baseball, but whenever we went to a game, it was always to Anaheim, to see the Angels play.  The stadium was close to home and we'd always see either Cleveland Indians or the Chicago White Sox.  

Anyway, we'd go to the game, pay a buck fifty to sit up in the upper deck by the left field foul pole and watch an Angel game.  Always the Chicago White Sox or the Cleveland Indians.  I hadn't really thought why, but I was fairly young, so as far as I knew, the only teams in the American League were the Angels, the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox.  I didn't know any different.

My first game that I can remember seeing, I saw catcher Tom Egan hit a two run homer for the Angels, then saw Andy Messersmith hit a solo shot.  Both homers cleared the left field fence and two lucky baseball fans went home with souvenirs that day.  I was shocked really.  In the past, listening to the games on the radio, I always assumed that the ball had to be thrown back on to the field so the players could keep playing.  Who knew?

From then on, I always brought a glove to the game.  We were always in the upper deck, so they never came up there, but I could still be an optimist.