Royalty meets up with Rick Morris of the FDH Lounge at Progressive Field in Cleveland!

Friday July 12th I took off from work so I could getaway earlier for the weekend. I went out to Long Island via public transportation & I rented a 2014 Chevy Cruze from Avis which had only 604 miles on it and it was equipped with XM radio.

I went back home & I picked up my bags & I headed towards Cleveland, Ohio. I got off to a later start than I hoped to. I left Astoria at 10:36AM.

Thankfully I was able to get out the NYC area in a timely fashion. As a result, I crossed the Delaware Water Gap shortly after midday. By doing so, I was able to position myself for a gas & late lunch break at Sheetz in Brookville, PA just before 3:30PM. I bought myself a made to order meal of chicken strips and mozzarella sticks which I ate as I was driving once I got back in the car.

I finally pulled into downtown Cleveland around 6:10PM which gave me enough time for the 7:05PM start. I was able to park the car on the street for free by Cleveland State University which is a short walk to Progressive Field formerly known as Jacobs Field which is the home of the Cleveland Indians. I contacted my pal Rick Morris of the FDH Lounge who was meeting me for the game as I was approaching the Cleveland area. He told me he'll be arriving around the same time. We decided to meet up at the Bob Feller statue in right field. We did so around 6:30PM. It worked out well. We proceeded to get our tickets and we went inside the ballpark.

Upon entry, I went to the souvenir stand located just inside the right field gate so I could get my new baseball passport book stamped which proves I was really at the game. These days anybody can buy a ticket online and say they were there without even leaving their home.

Official Stamp

After I did that, Rick & I went upstairs to section 553 which is right behind home plate. We sat down, relaxed and enjoyed the game together as the Indians were hosting the Kansas City Royals in the first game of the three game series over the weekend.

Prince at Progressive Field

As for the game we saw, it was scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning when the Tribe finally broke through against the Royals' bullpen after starter Bruce Chen threw six shutout innings against them. The Indians got five straight hits to start the inning which netted them three runs. As it turned out, that was all they needed as they went on to beat the Royals, 3-0. The Indians got a great start from pitcher Corey Kluber who allowed just three hits over seven & two thirds of shutout ball. He did survive a scare from the Royals in the fifth inning as he allowed a lead off triple to David Lough. He then walked the bases loaded with one out but he was able to pitch himself out of the jam.

After the game, we were treated to a ten minute fireworks show that had a disco theme to it. It was nice to hear some music from back in the day. With that being said, I'm glad we stayed.

When it was all said and done, Rick & I walked back towards our cars. Once he got by the parking garage where he parked his car, we said our goodbyes. I want to personally thank Rick for making the time to join me for the game. His company as always was a pleasure. I hope to catch up with him again down the road.
Stay tuned for a special post that will go into detail about my post game meal with another special guest.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman