Apr. 5: Office Blog - JG's Top 10 Live MLB Experiences

For my money, nothing (and I mean nothing) beats live baseball. Turn your brain off and forget about life for three hours. How sweet is that?

Here they are in chronological order:

1. Milwaukee @ Toronto (Exhibition Stadium, July, 1979)
My first game. I don't recall (being 10 may have had something to do with it) the date or final score but I do remember Brewers centre fielder Gorman Thomas crashing into the wall.

2. Minnesota 7 Texas 5 (HHH Metrodome, August 10, 1992)
My first game indoors. As a Twins fan at the time, it was fun watching the defending World Series champs win before almost 36,000 people. And, it's true, beer really does taste better at a baseball game.

3. San Francisco 10 Cincinnati 7 (Candlestick Park, August 9, 1993)
Weekday matinee, 80-some degrees, not a cloud in the sky, cheapest seats in the outfield bleachers with fans just giving it to Reds outfielder/former Giants outfielder Kevin Mitchell, cold beer. Need I say any more?

4. San Francisco 6 Cincinnati 0 (Candlestick Park, August 11, 1993)
Weekday matinee. That's where any comparisons end to the game two days previous. With the wind blowing off the bay, I wish I had my winter jacket. John Burkett was brilliant, blanking the Reds on four hits.

5. Texas 6 Minnesota 4 (HHH Metrodome, April 22, 1999)
What a pleasure it was to see former Fish Jeff Zimmerman pitching for the visitors. It was an even greater pleasure to have lunch with him the following day and see he was the same guy just two years removed from playing here.

6. Milwaukee 13 Minnesota 1 (HHH Metrodome, June 27, 2003)
This one was over very early. But it was worth sticking around, if only to see a local boy named Koskie double and score the only run the hosts would get, not to mention a rookie named Morneau.

7. Milwaukee 8 Cincinnati 3 (Miller Park, August 14, 2005)
Sunday matinee, 80-some degrees, great seats (props to Fish starter David Manning) down the left field line, cold beer, free Ned Yost mini bobblehead giveaway. Life is good.

8. Kansas City 5 Cleveland 4 (Kauffman Stadium, September 25, 2005)
A ballpark I had wanted to visit ever since I knew what a ballpark was, even though my hopeless Royals were just that. Zack Greinke serves up a three-run shot to Victor Martinez in the first. Oh oh. Mid-game move (big props to Fish starter Shawn Sedlacek's lovely wife Joy) to a skysuite. Nice. Access to Bret Saberhagen figurine giveaway. Very nice. Paul Phillips doubles off Bob Howry to score Angel Berroa with one out in the ninth for the walk-off win. Very very nice.

9. Houston 3 St. Louis 1 (Busch Stadium, September 27, 2005)
In-and-out day trip from Kansas City to see Roy Oswalt and Matt Morris in an absolute dandy. Downtown St. Louis is cool. The Gateway Arch is even cooler. The trip back includes a stop at Waffle House. This is indeed America.

10. Seattle 10 Oakland 9 (Safeco Field, September 25, 2006)
Introduced my lovely future wife to former Fish George Sherrill over lunch. So nice (yet not at all surprising) to see he hadn't changed since leaving Winnipeg, despite how he was now making 20 times more money a month. Ballpark sushi was amazing. Played some Mario Superstar Baseball on the concourse before saying good-bye to Georgie in the bullpen. We were long gone by the time the hosts tied it in the ninth and won it in the tenth.