Royalty sees another ballpark chaser & a baseball doubleheader in the desert!

After the King, Duck & I left Dodger Stadium Tuesday night August 13th I drove 375 miles overnight to Phoenix, Arizona. We checked in to a Knights Inn at 4:30AM a few miles from Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They were playing the Baltimore Orioles in an afternoon affair at 12:40PM. We got some sleep then we headed over to the ballpark. We parked the car for $6 in a parking lot after we circled the area trying to find a spot on the street for free. Since it was during the day, meters were in effect. We did get some exercise in the 107 degree dry heat which was good for us. We barely broke a sweat which was nice. Once we got to the ballpark we got some cheap tickets and we went inside. Since we didn't have time to have breakfast, so I decided to take advantage of the value menu at Chase Field. I got a hot dog, pretzel and a bottle of water to hold me over.

Josh Robbins & I at Chase Field

Once we got situated upstairs in section 317 which is just to the right of home plate, I met up with fellow ballpark chaser, Josh Robbins who was there. Josh is the Guinness Book of Records holder for seeing all 30 Major League Ballparks in 26 days by land. He accomplished that feat in 2008 when he decided to drive to all the ballparks. It should be noted that since then another ballpark chaser, Chuck Booth has set the record for doing all the ballparks in 23 days via other means of transportation in 2012. In other words, he took a car, a train, a bus and/or a plane to achieve his goal. Regardless I've now had the pleasure of meeting both of these guys in my travels. Life is full of different challenges. These guys decided that this was their way of getting to all the ballparks. I've seen them all in piece meal. Due to financial and time restrictions, I haven't been given an opportunity to attempt this kind of journey. Who knows maybe some day I will. Time will tell.
As for Josh, we got to talk during the game. It was great to meet him. He's originally from Upstate New York. He grew up in the Albany area. He now lives in Gilbert, Arizona which is 24 miles from Phoenix with his wife and their baby daughter. His wife stayed home and she watched the baby while Josh went to the game. I want to personally thank them both for allowing us to meet up. Josh said he was going back home in September for a wedding. He said he plans to see a Yankee game too. I told him where I sit so when he does we can meet up again.

As for the game we saw, it was a marquee pitching match up on paper as Patrick Corbin of the Diamondbacks and Chris Tillman of the Orioles started the game. They both got off to a rocky start before they settled down and pitched relatively well. As the game went on the Orioles were ahead, 4-3 in the ninth inning. Aaron Hill of the Diamondbacks got a single to tie it at four which sent the game into extra innings. The rattlesnakes are notorious this season for playing really long games. I saw them play three other ones this year including a 15 inning one at Citi Field on Fourth of July when I was getting ready to drive all the way to Milwaukee for the next night. This game wound up going 14 innings and it finally ended when Aaron Hill got another hit to win it, 5-4. It took 4 hours and 26 minutes to complete. As a result, we got to our next game in Tucson which is 116 miles away late.

We planned to go to Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium to see the Tucson Padres, the San Diego Padres Triple A affiliate who are moving to El Paso, Texas next year. They were hosting the Oklahoma City Redhawks, the Houston Astros' farm club at 7:05PM.

Prince has a ball in Tucson

We finally pulled into the parking lot around 7:30PM. We went to the box office and bought tickets for the game. We walked inside just in time to see Ben Francisco bat for the Padres who were trailing 4-0 at the time in the bottom of the second inning. It should be noted that the King & I met Ben Francisco back in July 2001 when we went to Alaska. We took a one day cruise and he and a few other players who were playing in the Alaskan League we're on the same ship as us. Ben played baseball at UCLA. In fact, in February 2002 we saw him play for UCLA in Hawaii. Since then, we've seen him play in Lexington, Kentucky in the minor leagues in July 2003 and a number of games in the major leagues when he played for the Indians, Phillies, Blue Jays, Astros, Rays & Yankees. Now he's back in the minor leagues trying to get back to the big show. For his sake, I hope someday he does. Unfortunately, he hasn't done too well with the Padres.
After Ben struck out, the next batter was Jonathan Galvez who hit a foul ball that caromed off the roof and it came down where I was standing. As a result, I lucked out into a souvenir.

As for the rest of the game we saw, the Padres fell further behind as they trailed 6-1. The King said the game was over. As the game played itself out, the Padres proved the King wrong. They wound up coming all the way back as they beat the Redhawks, 8-6 in the bottom of the ninth inning when Cody Decker hit a three run game winning home run to win it. We hated to miss the beginning of the game but we did get to see the end. As they say, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. With that being said, we made the best of the circumstances we were given.

After the game, we went to downtown Tucson and we checked in to Days Inn where we spent the night. Shortly thereafter, I took a ride up the road to get myself something to eat since I was starving. The King & Duck ate at the ballpark so they decided to stay in their room. I wound up going to a place called the Kettle Restaurant. I remember going to one of those near the Intercontinental airport in Houston in the past. The hotel had a brochure advertising it. It said they had a buffet for $8.99 so I decided to pass on Carl's Jr. which was a short walk from the hotel.

I wound up enjoying a good meal before I returned to the room to get a good night sleep.

Stay tuned for the next installment of this memorable journey.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 4/29 in review

Monday night after work I went up to the Bronx. I stopped off at Burger King for a pre game meal before I went into Yankee Stadium to see the Houston Astros make their first appearance at the New Stadium. This was their first ever American League game against the Yankees since they just changed leagues this year.
Back on June 11, 2003, we saw them play at the Old Stadium in an interleague match up. They wound up using six pitchers to no hit the Yankees. An injury to starter Roy Oswalt forced him to leave after pitching just one inning. Technically it was a historical night. This was another one.

The King and I were joined by a few regulars, Bryan Gilligan & Vincent Ascanio aka the Kid. We also had our pal Steve Tepperman aka Princeton Steve who made an appearance. He comes to a game every so often. It was nice to see him again.

As for the game we saw, the Astros had their hitting shoes on this night like they did when we saw them play in Houston on Opening Night when they beat the Rangers, 8-2. This time they beat up Yankee starter and former Astro Andy Pettitte who got lit up for eight runs in four and a third innings of work. Catcher Carlos Corporan was 4 for 5 with two singles, a double and a home run. He also reached on an error and he drove in four runs to carry the Astros to a 9-1 victory. With that being said, the Astros look like world beaters in our presence. We should see them more often.

Tuesday night after work we did just that. After work, I went back for more. Like any addict, you can't get enough of a good thing. I went to the Court Deli Restaurant and I picked up sandwiches for the King & I for dinner. I walked over to Yankee Stadium and I went inside. I met up with the King in our seats in section 420B row 7 where we enjoyed our meals. This time we were joined by our buddies Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich & Larry Peim who were present & accounted for.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees scored early & often as they gave starter Hiroki Kuroda the run support he needed as he threw seven shutout innings as the Yankees held off the Astros, 7-4. Our Astro luck finally ran out. We knew it was a matter of time.

Wednesday night after work I went back to see the rubber match of this three game series. Before I did so, I went to a nearby Chinese restaurant for dinner. I wound up having fried scallops and fries. It was really good. When I was done I went to the Stadium. I did my usual routine. When I got upstairs to our seats, I saw our pals Frank Anichiarico and Manny Morales who both made rare appearances in the Bronx.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees jumped on the Astros early again. They scored four runs in the first three innings. In the third inning, Robinson Cano & Ben Francisco who the King & I met on a one day cruise while we were in Alaska on a real vacation if you will back in July 2001 and again in Hawaii in February 2002 when he played his college baseball at UCLA. The Bruins of UCLA were playing the University of Hawaii while we were there so we got to see him play this time. On this night, Ben delivered a solo homer to make it a 4-0 Yankees. The Astros fought back as they tied the game at four after four innings as they roughed up Yankee starter David Phelps after the Yankees did the same to Astros' starter Erik Bedard. The Yankees scored the go ahead and eventual winning run in the sixth inning as Ichiro Suzuki hit into an inning ending double play but the run scored before the third out was recorded. That was the difference as the Yankees won the game, 5-4. By doing so, they also won the series taking two out of the three games.

Thursday night after work I went home since it was a night off for the local teams. As a result, I was able to come home and make dinner. After I ate, I went around the block and I did my laundry.

Friday night after work I returned to the Bronx as the Yankees were opening a three game series with the Oakland Athletics. I stopped off at Burger King so I could have a light meal to hold me over.
The King and I met up with Bryan Gilligan inside the Stadium.

As for the game we saw, CC Sabathia started for the Yankees. His very first pitch was hit over the fence by Adam Rosales, the Athletics lead off hitter. It gave the Athletics a 1-0 lead. They added another run in the sixth inning to make it 2-0. Starting pitcher A.J. Griffin threw seven shutout innings. He left after giving up a bunt single to Brett Gardner in the bottom of the eighth inning. Reliever Sean Doolittle got the next five outs and closer Grant Balfour recorded the last one as the Athletics blanked the Yankees, 2-0.

After the game, Bryan drove the King and I to Donovan's Pub in Woodside, Queens for our post game meal. Our friend Frank Anichiarico met us there for the festivities.

Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to do that will recap how we spent our weekend.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman