Thursday, April 10, 2008

Does it get any better?

The other day I played a game in one of the most amazing baseball settings I’ve experienced. The weather was around 60-65 degrees, and it was about a 45 minute drive to get to the field. The drive was nice, despite the length, especially the last third of it, as it was on a rather remote road with high speed limits. This combination of good roads to cruise on, good weather to cruise with the windows down in, and good music to cruise to (Zeppelin) set a good stage for arrival at the game.
It got better as I approached the town that the game was in. It was a very small town--I think the only non-residential buildings I saw were a school and a library. There were a few houses, not run down, but definitely eligible for an HGTV renovation show; the buildings gave it the perfect small town feel (fitting, since that’s what it was).
When I arrived at the field, the skies were cloudy and the wind was blowing. The game was already underway (a different start time and location than previously stated were to thank for that). I stretched, ran, tossed, and sat on the bench, chewing seeds and thinking about this perfect setting for a game.
After a couple innings the sun started shining, and I was sent in to play third. I played four innings there, having two fielding chances, one which I made the 5-3 play, and the other which I rushed my throw and threw the ball away. Oh well, nothing hurt. I walked in my first at-bat and struck out in my second.
In the end we won easily, our whole offense producing, our pitching being solid, and our defense playing very well yet again.
On the way back, I of course had the pleasure of driving those same fun roads, listening to the same great music, and enjoying the same fantastic weather (the only difference between the trips was that on the return trip I stopped at Arby’s for some delicious food).
All in all, I was feeling on top of the world: playing baseball in the perfect setting, driving around, not having a care in the world. Does it get any better than that?

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