Here's
a recap of the highlights:
It all started at Yankee Stadium on the
first of the month. The Yankees wound up losing to the Rays, 2-1 that
night. Hiroki Kuroda pitched eight great innings but he was the tough
luck loser. After a rain out in Brooklyn the next night followed by a
night off, I went to Citi Field for ten straight days starting on the
Fourth of July as the Mets opened a ten game home stand against the
Rangers, Braves & Marlins. The Mets wound up winning eight of those
games to finish strong at the All-Star break.
It
should noted that on Saturday, July 5th I got to see ballpark chaser
Paul Nieuwland who came down from Toronto. He was at Citi Field that
night. I met for the first time at Wrigley Field the week before. In
fact, I got him a ticket for that game along with ones for Yankee
Stadium that Thursday afternoon. Since I was working, I couldn't go.
Paul came to visit NYC with his wife who had never been here before
along with their son. They joined him for the Yankee game but they
decided to pass on the Met game since they don't really like baseball.
Paul wasn't really alone since he got to join the King & I up in the
Royal Court in section 515. He came prepared with his MLB Pass-Port book which he got stamped. It was nice to talk with him throughout the
game. Hopefully our paths will cross again soon.
 |
| Huey Lewis & the News at Citi Field |
 |
| Huey Lewis and the News Live |
On
July 12th after the Mets beat the Marlins, the King & I stayed
after the game for the post game concert which was Huey Lewis and the News. They were popular back in the 80's. They played a number of
familiar songs that I recognized. They included Heart of Rock N Roll
which started the show & they finished with Workin for a Livin'. In
between, they played Heart & Soul, l Want A New Drug, Jacob's
Ladder, Back in Time & Power of Love. In addition, they also
included a new song that was released in 2012 called While We're Young.
All in all, I was glad we stayed.
On
Friday, July 19th, Major League Baseball returned from its break. I
went to the Bronx to see the Yankees host the Cincinnati Reds for the
three game series. Unfortunately none of the good people I know from
Cincinnati were able to make it. The way that weekend turned for the
Reds, I'm glad they didn't come. I tried my best to get them a win but
my luck ran out. The Yankees swept the series.
 | |
| View from section 226 at Red Bull Arena |
However
that Saturday night I went out to Harrison, NJ where I met my pal
David Sack who joined me for a soccer match at Red Bull Arena, home of the
Red Bulls of the MLS. They played the San Jose Earthquakes that night.
We stopped off at Five Guys for dinner. While we were there, we met up
with our buddy Steve Tepperman aka Princeton Steve who was going to the
game too. When we got inside, David & I sit at midfield in section
226. At halftime, my friend Blair Long who was there with his Paula got
my attention. They were sitting lower down in the section. They had a
few empty seats next to them so we were able to join them for the second
half. It was Blair's first ever soccer game. He was inspired by the
World Cup.
As
for the match we saw, the Red Bulls scored first in the 33rd minute.
They continued to control the play but they couldn't score again. In
the 85th minute, the Earthquakes got even. After having a few extra
minutes of extra time, the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Regardless of the
outcome, we all had a nice time & the game lasted only two hours
which was nice for a change.
On
Monday, July 21st, the Yankees opened a four game series with the
Rangers. That night I got a visit from fellow ballpark chaser Roy
Spierer who stopped by to say hello before the game started. It was nice
to see him again. As for the game that night, the Yankees lost to the
Rangers, 4-2. The next night they played a marathon in the Bronx as the
Yankees outlasted the Rangers, 2-1 in 14 innings. That game took 4 hours
& 51 minutes.
 |
| Yankees' Grounds Crew attempting to fix the field |
Wednesday night luckily they got an official game
with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning as the Yankees were up
2-1 at the time. Then the rain came. Somehow the Yankees' grounds crew
did an awful job covering the field. The King & I thought they
purposely made the field unplayable because they ran out of pitchers
from the long game the night before. They rolled the tarp back to left
field not once but twice instead of making sure the infield was covered
properly. They were ahead so they didn't care. The Rangers should have
protested the game but they didn't. After waiting a few hours they
called the game & awarded the Yankees the victory. They were
supposed to resume at 10:05PM but they just stood around talking for 20
more minutes before they sent everybody home. That Thursday afternoon was the finale of the series but since I was working, I had to miss it.
Friday
July 25th after work I returned to the Bronx as the Yankees opened a
three game series with the Toronto Blue Jays. When I got up to my seat
in section 420B row 7 I was greeted by the Narry family who came to
visit from the Bay area. This game was included in a package deal they
bought for the weekend because they wanted to see the Hall of Fame
Induction ceremony in Cooperstown. As a result, the King & I got to
see these special people again. It got too crowded by us when the game
started so Tike's wife Dawn & their son Patrick decided to go down
to their seats on the 200 level with the rest of their group. Tike
stayed with us for 5 innings. It was great to see them all again.
 |
| Kim Ellis & I in section 420B at Yankee Stadium |
Shortly
after Tike left us I got a visit from a lady named Kim Ellis who was on
a similar tour with a different travel company. She's a St. Louis
Cardinal fan. She used to live in St. Louis but she now lives in Los
Angeles. She was going to Fenway Park after Cooperstown. She was in the
process of finishing up seeing all the current MLB parks. She said she
was going to Baltimore & Miami in August then she would be up to
date. I thanked her for coming up to say hello. I wished her well.
Hopefully our paths will cross again.
As
for the game we saw, the Yankees beat the Blue Jays 6-4 to extend their
winning streak over the Blue Jays to 17 at the new Stadium.
That
Saturday morning I went to Avis to rent a car for the day. I drove back
home & I picked up the King. We went to Yankee Stadium together.
When I got upstairs I met up with my pal Greg Venuto who drove down from
Norwalk, Connecticut for the game. He came with his son, Jason. He was
also accompanied by his brother Paul who came up from Sarasota, Florida
to visit along with his son, Parker. It was a full family gathering as
they brought their father with them.
 |
| Venuto Family - Jason, Parker, Greg, Paul & their father |
As for the game we saw, it didn't
turn out to their liking. The Yankees wound up losing to the Blue Jays,
6-4 which ended their home dominance.
After
the game, the King & I went down to Philadelphia to see the
Phillies play the Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park that night. We took
our pals Frank Anichiarico aka Duck & Rich Wolber aka Staten Island
Rich with us. As for the game we saw, it was another marathon. The
Diamondbacks beat the Phillies, 7-6 in ten innings. The game took four
hours & 20 minutes.
Sunday
morning I woke up early so I could return the car I rented to Avis.
After that, I took public transportation back to Yankee Stadium. I
barely got their on time due to a delay on the subway. As for the game
we saw, the Blue Jays made it two in a row as they beat the Yankees,
5-4.
Monday
night July 28th, the Mets returned home to play the Phillies at Citi
Field. That night the Mets won, 7-1. Tuesday night I got to see the
Narry family again as they returned to the area. They joined us in the
Royal Court in section 515. They told us what a wonderful time they had
over the weekend in Cooperstown. We were happy to hear the stories. As
for the game we saw that night, the Mets laid an egg as they lost, 6-0.
Wednesday
afternoon I arranged to get the Narry family tickets on the field
level. Since I was working, I couldn't attend. In my absence, Patrick in
particular had a ball. After Ryan Howard had flew out to Juan Lagares
in center field to end an inning, Lagares threw the ball into the stands
& Patrick caught it. He was so happy. I was thrilled when I heard
the news.
 |
| Patrick Narry |
After
work that day I wound up going to MCU Park to see the Brooklyn Cyclones
play the Auburn Doubledays. Just before the game started, I saw my pal
Charlie O'Reilly who was there too. We wound up watching the game
together. The Cyclones won, 9-4.
That
Thursday night I ended the month of July in Staten Island. After work I
took a Ferry ride to Richmond County Bank Ballpark where the Baby
Bombers hosted the Lowell Spinners. The Spinners tossed the Yankees a
beating by a score of 11-4.
Stay tuned for some special posts that will highlight my adventures in the month of August.
Thank you for reading & following along.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
No comments:
Post a Comment