"See. You. Tater!"

There are certain moments that really resonate in a baseball fan’s life – those “Someday I’m going to tell my grandchildren about this” type of moments.  We don’t just remember being there or seeing it on TV; we remember these moments so vividly that they felt like they were a part of our own lives.

One of the things that makes these moments so vivid in our minds is the call that was made by the broadcaster at the time.  The play-by-play, the color commentary, and the analysis of broadcasters and former players alike.  Ask any die-hard baseball fan who won the 1951 World Series, and we won’t just say it was the Giants – we will yell “The Giants win the pennant!  The Giants win the pennant!”  We are quoting Russ Hodges, who called Bobby Thomson’s “shot heard ‘round the world.”  More than seventy years later, Hodges' call is still one of the most memorable moments in baseball history and certainly one of the most recognizable moments in sports broadcast history.

Whether it was Bobby Thomson’s home run, Roberto Clemente’s 3000^th hit, or Cal Ripken’s 2131^st consecutive game record in 1995, baseball fans have the video and audio of the event ingrained in our minds forever.  So many historic moments – Hank Aaron passing Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list in 1974; Kirk Gibson’s improbable “limp-off” home run; Kirby Puckett’s World Series homer – these are all moments made unforgettable by the people who called the games and gave us our own front-row seat to the action.  Phil Rizzuto (“Holy cow!”), Vin Scully (“Losing feels worse than winning feels good”), Harry Caray (“It could be, it might be… it is!  A home run!”), and Al Michaels (“I tell you what – we’re having an earthquake!”) – their voices are as familiar to us as those of close friends and relatives.

Locally, I couldn’t ask for better radio and TV commentators.  Dave Jageler and Charlie Slowes, who do the Nationals’ games on the radio, are very entertaining.  They love giving us the spelling of uncommon last names, and every time they spell one, someone in the broadcast booth dings a bell.  Corny, but entertaining (plus how else will you know how to spell Adeiny Hechavarría?).  On TV, Bob Carpernter and his man-child sidekick, F.P. Santangelo, love to comment not only on the game, but on which fan at the ballpark is eating what, which fan is having trouble putting on a rain poncho, and who made a major-league catch for a foul ball in the stands.  Bob’s “See…you…LATER!” home run call and F.P.’s “There goes the no-hitter!” calls are daily occurrences that Nationals fans are used to and expect.  In fact, the most recent concession stand to open at Nationals Park, a tater tot and chicken wing bar, is called “See. You. Tater!” inspired by Carpenter’s home run call and Santangelo always referring to home runs as “taters.”   

Then there are the times when you don’t realize how good your local broadcast crew is until you’re watching or listening to another game and that team’s crew is terrible.  My least favorite broadcast crew has to be the Gary Thorne/Jim Palmer combination (sorry, Orioles fans!).  Thorne’s voice makes me want to vomit – it always sounds like he has something stuck in his throat and it just won’t come out or go down.  And Palmer, despite being an excellent pitcher (so good that he’s in the Hall of Fame), is just boring and way too anecdotal.  Jim, we know you pitched in the 1966 World Series; you don’t have to bring it up during every game.  He’s one of those classic “Back when I was pitching…” kind of guys.  Super-nice, but should not be behind a microphone.  Just because you looked good in underwear back in the day doesn’t mean you can do good color commentary. 

So whether it’s Jack Buck (not his son Joe – I don’t like him), Chris Berman (“Backbackbackbackback!”) or “Mister Baseball” himself, Bob Uecker (wait – I don’t like him either!), it is the men and women behind the microphones (ESPN’s Jessica Mendoza is pretty cool and really knows her baseball, though I secretly hate her because she has a job I would love) who bring us memorable moments that become indelible and unforgettable in our baseball-loving minds.

It's Almost Time! It's Almost Time!!!

Oh my goodness - are you all as tired of the cold weather as I am?  Well Spring Training for Major League Baseball is just around the corner (pitchers and catchers report to camp starting February 17!), so warmer temperatures should soon follow (I hope!).  What do we have to look forward to in the 2016 baseball season?  Plenty!

• For starters, David Wright only needs 18 more home runs to pass Darryl Strawberry as the New York Mets' all-time home run leader.  I followed the Mets back in Strawberry's day, but I'm OK with Wright passing him - Wright is a quiet yet consistent player - let's just hope none of those home runs come against the Nationals.
• Also worthy of note this season is Ichiro Suzuki, who is only 65 hits away from reaching 3000 MLB hits (he already reached that milestone if you count the hits he got while playing professionally in Japan).  Everyone loves Ichiro (including me), so hey - go for it.
• Speaking of old guys, Albert Pujols and David Ortiz are very close to reaching the 500 home run/600 doubles club (joining Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron).  Pujols needs 17 more doubles (doable), and poor "Papi" needs 16 (not so doable).  But it's Ortiz's last season, so he'll enjoy all the attention and gifts he'll receive when he visits each city one last time even if he's too slow to steal any bases.
• And as much as I don't like Alex Rodriguez, I have to mention that he only needs 13 more home runs to reach 700.  Whatever.  On a brighter note, my man Miguel Cabrera only needs 8 doubles to reach 500.  There's that.
• And what about the switch hitters?  Well Carlos Beltrán (392) and Mike Teixeira (394) are looking to become only the fourth and fifth switch hitters to reach 400 home runs.  Any idea who the other 3 are?  Some guy named Mickey Mantle, a former Oriole by the name of Eddie Murray, and cutie-patootie Chipper Jones - not too shabby of a list, huh?
• What is WRONG with me - I still haven't mentioned any catchers!  Well Yadier Molina (if he can stay healthy) will break the record for most games caught by a Cardinal.  But "Yadi" is still recovering from thumb surgery, so we'll have to see how many times he can get behind the plate.  Getting old, Yadi!
• And of course there's this year's Hall of Fame inductees - Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey, Jr - who will have their jersey numbers retired by the Mets and Mariners respectively.  I was never a big Piazza fan, but you just couldn't help but love Griffey - his smile, his dedication, his commitment to the fans and the game.  Cooperstown will be lucky to have him.
• As far as the young guys, last year's AL Rookie of the Year, Carlos Correa, needs 36 more home runs to pass A-Rod as the hitter with the most home runs at short stop at the age of 21 or younger.  Yes, it's an obscure statistic, but since Correa is Puerto Rican, I had to mention it.
• Finally, it's important to note that the Dodgers' veteran broadcaster Vin Scully will be retiring for real at the end of this season.  Scully has significantly cut back on the games that he does (home games only), but he is truly a broadcasting legend who will be deeply missed by Dodger fans (I'm not going to miss him, because I don't get Dodger home games in my neck of the woods).

Then there are the questions surrounding the upcoming season:

• Will the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton have his first 40-home run season ever?  (I hope not!)
• Will the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw have his third career sub-2.00 ERA season?  The last pitcher to do that was Sandy Koufax, and that was a LONG time ago!
• Will Nolan Arenado win his fourth Gold Glove award?  If so, he would be the first player since Ichiro to do so in his first 4 years in the Majors.
• Will the Chicago Cubs have their first 100-win season since 1935?  I hope so!
• Will the National's Bryce Harper (last season's NL MVP) win the Triple Crown?  I highly doubt it, because RBIs have been hard to come by for the Nationals, but it will be fun to watch him try.  Let's hope he stays healthy and continues to grow up (he matured nicely this past season, so hopefully the tantrum days are long past).
• Will my husband and I visit more ballparks this season?  Well we're at least going to Philadelphia, so there's that.  My quest to visit all 30 ballparks is taking way longer than expected!

So there you have it - plenty to look forward to this baseball season, which means I'll have a lot to blog about throughout the upcoming months.  Stay tuned, and for the love of Pete, get rid of all this snow!

What Makes a Ballpark Great?

In my continuing efforts to visit every Major League ballpark in my lifetime, my husband and I traveled north to Boston to catch a game at the legendary and iconic Fenway Park.  We brought along my 11-year-old son, who was rooting for the visiting Orioles but was excited to see Pablo Sandoval and David "Big Papi" Ortiz in person.  It was a beautiful day for baseball, and the ballpark was packed.

So what did I think of Fenway Park?  Well, I had actually been there before, but I was a college student, there was alcohol on the bus, and I honestly don't remember much other than being the only fan rooting for the Minnesota Twins (seeing Kirby Puckett in person was a pretty cool thing for me back then).  So I decided to look at Fenway as if I was visiting it for the first time, and I made some comparisons between this park and my most-visited ballpark:  Nationals Park in Washington, DC.

First of all, Nationals fans expect to get something every time they visit the ball park - either a score card, a rally towel, or any freebie featuring the team's curly "W" logo.  Never mind the fact that most of the fans are federal employees who drive Lexuses or Priuses and can afford to buy Nationals jerseys in both home and away colors - they want something free!  I'm one who tries to plan her visits according to the promotions schedule (remember last year, how I wasn't able to attend "Jayson Werth Garden Gnome Night?"  Those things are going for crazy amounts of money on eBay!)  At Fenway Park, programs with score cards cost money, no one is handing you anything free, and fans are OK with that.  The only promotion on the day we visited was "Nun Day," where many area nuns were given a free ticket to attend the game.  It was nice seeing so many nuns enjoying themselves so much, even though they had crappy seats.

Another difference between the two ballparks is the PA announcers.  Apparently the Red Sox have more than one, and on the day we were there, the dude sounded ancient. Not Vin Scully or Harry Caray ancient, but just old, like a man who has had his prostate removed  But again, the fans are OK with that.  They don't need the Nationals' PA announcer, who sounds like a car commercial and stretches a two-syllable name like "Ramos" into a ten-second line that makes him sound like a Univisión soccer commentator announcing a goal.  Red Sox fans don't need fanciness or flashiness - they don't need the Mount Rushmore presidents racing each other during the fourth inning; they are perfectly happy singing "Sweet Caroline" during the eighth, no need for t-shirt cannons or dancing hottie girls.  Plus Fenway Park has a real live organist who plays a real live organ!  How cool is that?  He even cranked out "Sister Christian" and Mister Mister's "Kyrie" in honor of the nuns!

Red Sox fans also don't need cup holders at their seats.  While there are some plastic seats with cup holders in the rows of seats that are shown on TV, the farther-up rows have wooden seats (mine even had some areas of rot) without cup holders, an occasional obstructed view due to support columns, and no valet service that allows you to text your order and have it brought directly to your seat (yes, Nationals Park offers this service).  Fenway fans are happy to get up, walk around, and buy an overpriced beer ($9, just like at Nats Park), a Fenway Frank, or an Italian sausage.  They don't need the offerings from Ben's Chili Bowl, Nationals Taquería, or the carving station in the luxury boxes.  These fans are die-hard, and they've been happily rooting for their last-place Red Sox all season long despite their park not having leather couches for relaxing (found at Nats Park near one of the ramps that take you to the upper levels).

So who has the better ballpark?  Well, it depends on what you want out a visit.  Do you just want to watch a game with thousands of fans who have followed your team for decades, or do you want to be pampered and doted on?  Do you plan on celebrating every base hit and every run scored during every inning, even if your team is losing (the Orioles beat the Red Sox 8-6 at our game), or do you plan on arriving late, staying for a few innings, and leaving after they stop selling alcohol in the seventh inning?  Going to a baseball game should be an experience - something you can cherish and remember and tell your grandchildren about someday.  So is it better to tell them that an underpaid valet parked your car for you, or would you rather tell your grandkids that your ball park had a lively atmosphere both inside and along the streets surrounding it; that your park has a "green monster" (which I did not like seeing covered in advertisements), and that both Ted Williams and Pedro Martinez played in your park? And the fact that you no longer have to pee in a trough was a bonus for my husband, who grew up using the bathrooms in Cleveland's old Municipal Stadium.  I will always be a Nationals fan, but despite the terrible-quality toilet paper in the bathrooms and lack of natural lighting in their concessions area, Fenway Park is pretty great.  Ask any baseball purist out there, and he/she will agree.