Royalty is going to Chicago, Minneapolis & Milwaukee over Labor Day weekend!

2016 World Series Champions - Chicago Cubs

Here's the game plan:

The King, David Rothenberg aka Swag Man & I are flying to Chicago O'Hare Airport on American Airlines. We leave New York LaGuardia Airport on Friday, September 1st at 7:30AM Eastern Time, we arrive in Chicagoland at 9:09AM Central Time if we're not delayed for any reason. Upon arrival, I'm renting a car from Budget Rent A Car for the weekend. We'll be staying in Chicago for the day. After the doubleheader of baseball we have, we'll be driving towards the Twin Cities so we can be closer. I prefer to avoid any construction delays if possible. After the game in Minneapolis, we're driving to Madison, Wisconsin to spend the night before we continue on to Milwaukee Sunday. After the game there, we'll return to the Second City. We fly back home Sunday night. Our flight departs Chicago O'Hare Airport at 8:30PM Central Time. We're scheduled to land at 11:36PM Eastern Time at LaGuardia Airport if all goes well.    

Friday September 1st Braves at Cubs 1:20PM Central Time

                                     Rays at White Sox 7:10PM Central Time
                              
Saturday September 2nd Royals at Twins 6:10PM Central Time
                                                
Sunday September 3rd Nationals at Brewers 1:10PM Central Time

If you're interested in going or meeting up with us on this exclusive getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join us. We will be meeting some very special guests along the way which will only enhance the experience.  

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty is hitting the road again to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Buffalo, Cleveland, & Pittsburgh over Memorial Day Weekend!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car from Enterprise Rent A Car on Friday morning to start Memorial Day weekend off right.

I'll be driving up North of the Border to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Buffalo, Cleveland & Pittsburgh to see some Major League Baseball games before returning to NYC early Monday morning. My pal Mike Carroll aka Sabre Mike as we call him is joining me as is my pal John Newkirk. In addition, I plan to see our pals Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell aka USRT who live in Buffalo along the way either in Toronto and/or in Buffalo for dinner Saturday night. Furthermore, due to a change in plans, another sports traveler, Paul Nieuwland who lives in Mississauga, Ontario which is a suburb of Toronto won't be able to join us now. Moreover, Sunday we'll be joined by our pal, Scott Bultman who's driving from Indianapolis to spend the day with royalty in Cleveland & Pittsburgh. 
             
Friday May 26th Columbus Crew at Toronto FC 7PM

Saturday May 27th Rangers at Blue Jays 1:07PM                                  

Sunday May 28th Royals at Indians 1:10PM

                              Mets at Pirates 8:05PM

Monday May 29th Brewers at Mets 4:10PM
           
If you're interested in going on this exclusive getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join Mike, John & I as well as the rest of the very special guests we're meeting along the way.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty is heading to out to the Midwest to start the new baseball season!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car from Avis for the first week of April.

I'll be driving out to Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Cleveland, Cincinnati & Columbus, Ohio to see some major league & minor league baseball to start the baseball season before returning to NYC early Friday morning in time to be at Opening Day at Citi Field that afternoon.

Sunday April 3rd Cardinals at Pirates 1:05PM Opening Day

Monday April 4th Giants at Brewers 1:10PM Central Time Opening Day

Tuesday April 5th Mets at Royals 3:15PM Central Time

Wednesday April 6th Red Sox at Indians 6:10PM 

Thursday April 7th Phillies at Reds 12:35PM

                                 Indianapolis Indians at Columbus Clippers 6:35PM Opening Night

Friday April 8th Phillies at Mets 1:10PM Home Opener

                           Erie Seawolves at Trenton Thunder 7PM
                
If you're interested in going on this exclusive getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join the King & I.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees a Major League doubleheader & greets other ballpark chasers!

On Sunday August 4th, the King & I along with our pal Chris Coats aka KC Superfan returned to Citi Field for the rubber match of the three game series between the Mets & the Royals.

We sat in section 516 where we were joined by Bryan Gilligan, Phil Butleman, Alan Gimpel, Al Linderman, Frank Anichiarico & Rich Wolber.

Chris Coats, me, Stephanie & Todd Dupee at Citi Field

In addition, we got a visit from a few ballpark chasers, Stephanie aka Snarky Mamacita and her friend Todd Dupee. It was great to meet & greet them. They have a blog as well which recaps their travels from their recent baseball road trip that they took to the Southeast as well as other trips from years past. Stephanie is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. Since I've traveled there many times over the years it was easy to relate to her. She now lives here in NYC. We plan to meet up again in the near future.

As for the game we saw, the Royals broke through in the fourth inning when third baseman Mike Moustakas hit a solo home run off of Mets' starter Zack Wheeler to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. In the top of the fifth inning, the Royals added three more runs thanks to a wild pitch, an error & a timing hit by Lorenzo Cain as the Royals batted around. The Mets got one back in the bottom of the fifth inning. In the sixth inning, the Royals tacked on two more runs to take a 6-1 lead. By doing so, Chris Coats who was forced to leave early because he had to catch a flight back home didn't miss anything except for a run the Mets scored in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Royals beat the Mets, 6-2.

After the game, the King drove Frank Anichiarico & I down to Philadelphia where we saw the Phillies play the Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Our pal Bryan Gilligan also drove down and he took our friend Phil Butleman there. We all sat in section 418 where we met up with our buddy David Sack who was there on the way back from a road trip he was on that took him through the Midwest.

The Phillies were celebrating the 20th anniversary of their 1993 National League Champion team over the weekend. It was nice to see some of the players who played on that team there as part of the festivities. They included Kevin Stocker, Darren Daulton, John Kruk, Curt Schilling & Mickey Morandini among others. The King & I could relate well to that team because we got to see them play a lot that year during the regular season as well as the post season. Ironically they beat the Braves to advance to the World Series against the Blue Jays which ended when Joe Carter hit a game winning home run in game six at the Skydome as it was called back then.

As for the game we saw that night, the Phillies' starter Cliff Lee didn't pitch well. He gave up two runs in the first inning on a single by third baseman Chris Johnson. In the fourth inning, the Braves added two more runs on run scoring singles by Jason Heyward & Justin Upton after the Phillies got a run in the bottom of the third inning. The Braves went on to win, 4-1.

Stay tuned for my w/o 8/5 in review. I'm still in the midst of catching up.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 7/8 in review

Monday morning before I went to work I returned the car I rented from Dollar despite getting only a few hours sleep.

After work, tired and all I still went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees open a four game series with the Kansas City Royals. Before I went into the Stadium, I stopped off at Burger King for a pre game meal.
When I finally got up to my seat in section 420B, I was greeted by some familiar faces. I'm referring to William Frank Guthrie, Steve Tepperman and Larry Peim who were also there.

As for the game we saw, the Royals got a well pitched game from their starter Jeremy Guthrie who allowed a run over six and two thirds innings to emerge victorious as the Royals beat the Yankees, 5-1. It should be noted there was a 59 minute rain delay during the game too. That just made my night out even longer.

Tuesday night after work I returned to the Bronx for game two of the series. More importantly, I met up with my Cousin Andy when I got off the train. It was his special day so I arranged to spend the night with him. I took him to the Court Deli Restaurant for dinner then we went into the Stadium. It was great to see him again. We did the same two years ago when Derek Jeter got his 3,000th career hit. What a day that was.
When we got upstairs, we were joined by my pals Al Linderman & William Frank Guthrie who came back for more.

As for the game we saw, the Royals once again beat the Yankees. This time they won, 3-1. The Yankees scored the first run of the game in the first inning but that's all they managed to get. CC Sabathia gave up a few solo homers to David Lough & Billy Butler. He also gave up a run scoring double to Eric Hosmer which accounted for the Royals' offense. CC did go the distance in the losing effort.

Wednesday night after work I went back for more as I saw game three of the series. This time I stopped off at the New Sunflower Chinese restaurant for my pre game meal. I had fried scallops and fries. When I finished I walked over to Yankee Stadium.

This time I was joined by my pals Rich Wolber and Frank Anichiarico.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees got a solid pitching performance from Ivan Nova who went eight strong innings to back the much needed offense that they gave him as Robinson Cano hit a three run homer in the third inning & Lyle Overbay added an opposite field grand slam to left field as the Yankees beat up the Royals, 8-1.

Thursday night after work I went home and I did my laundry as I got ready for the big weekend getaway I had to Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore & Aberdeen, Maryland.

Stay tuned for a number of different special posts I'm going to do that will recap it.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty does a Major League doubleheader and sees another roadtripper in the process!

Saturday afternoon the King & I took the subway to Citi Field to see the Mets play game two of their three game set with the Miami Marlins. Upon arrival, we greeted at the Rotunda gate by our pal, Sam Citron. Since Sam told me he plans to work every game this season, I will try my best to see him every time I go to a Met home game. He's such a down to earth human being who has nothing but kind words to say to me about my blog and my writing ability. I owe it to him to always give him the courtesy of a royal hello. As a result, he recognizes other members of the royal court when they come into the ballpark. He fills me in when I see him. He tells me who's inside already. We have a great rapport that continues to grow every game we see each other. He makes seeing the game seem secondary. More importantly, he adds instant credibility to whole royalty experience if you will.

After seeing him again, we went inside and headed up to our seats in section 516. Every game we have a number of regulars who attend. In addition, we have others we know that can only make the weekend games and occasional ones during the week. For example, I'm talking about Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich and William Frank Guthrie who were there. We also had a rare weekend visit from Mike & Sharon Jaffee who showed up. They normally attend the midweek afternoon games when I'm working so I usually don't get to see them too often. Furthermore, we had our pal Manny Morales and his buddy Marc Beck there. They have a Saturday plan in our section. Moreover, we had a visit from our friend Phil Butleman who was on hand with a young man named David Sack who's been coming more often. Since Phil's a Yankee fan he doesn't come to Citi Field that much. He likes to pick his spots.

Besides the King and I, the usual fixtures were present & accounted for. I'm referring to Ralph & Vincent Ascanio as well as Bryan Gilligan who like the King and I are full season ticket holders and they rarely if ever miss a Met home game. Among other regulars, we usually have Pat Gorman and Donald Cohen aka Fuzzy who has the distinction of being called a New York institution. Fuzzy's been going to sporting events on a regular basis long before I was even born. That alone tells you all you need to know about his legacy.

As for the game we saw, the Mets got a quality start from their starter Jonathon Niese who gave up two runs in six innings of work. Unfortunately he didn't get a decision in the game because the game was tied up at three after he departed. The Mets rallied to score three runs in the seventh inning and they tacked on another one in the eighth as they went on to beat the Marlins, 7-3.

When the game ended, Bryan Gilligan drove the King and I as well as Vincent Ascanio and Phil Butleman down to Philadelphia so we could all see a second major league game at Citizens Bank Park, which is the home of the Philadelphia Phillies. They were hosting an interleague game against the visiting Kansas City Royals. Upon arrival, I entered the ballpark through the right field gate so I could see Lisa Wilson who is a supervisor that we've gotten to know from going there so often. She's always been so nice to us over the years. She always greets us with a big sincere smile. As a result, we get royal treatment at home and on the road.

In addition, we got an added bonus when we were standing behind section 319 which is where we hang out and hold the royal court if you will. Our pal Chris Coats aka KC Superfan was on hand with his lovely girlfriend, Brittani Murphy who joined him for this road trip. Brittani like Chris is a big Royal fan. In matter of fact, Chris has a streak of seeing over 700 consecutive Royal home games in person. He also sees a number of their road games when he can get the time off from work. He works for the United States Postal Service in Missouri near his hometown of Raytown which isn't far from Kauffman Stadium which is the home of the Royals.

Brittani, Chris & I at Citizens Bank Park

It was great to meet and greet Chris again as well as his better half, Brittani who I met for the first time. They appeared to be very happy together. We got to chat and we caught up since we last saw Chris in November at a Missouri Tiger football game. Chris plans to come back East a few more times this season which was music to my ears. He's going to the All-Star Game at Citi Field in the middle of July as I'll be his personal tour guide. In addition, he said he plans to come back to Citi Field again the first weekend in August with Brittani so they can see their Royals play again on the road. I will see to it that it's a great adventure for both of them. By then, Chris should be a veteran of NYC.

As for the game we saw in Philadelphia, it appeared that the Royals were going to beat the Phillies again. They whipped them on Friday afternoon which was the Phillies' home opener, 13-4. This time the Royals lead, 3-1 going to the bottom of the ninth inning. They brought in their closer Greg Holland to close it out. He was very wild when he came in. He wound up walking the bases loaded before he recorded an out. He then struck out Domonic Brown swinging for the first out of the inning. He proceeded to get John Mayberry Jr. to strike out for the second out as he looked at a third strike. It appeared he was going to get of the jam he created for himself. It wasn't meant to be as pinch hitter Kevin Frandsen batted for catcher Humberto Quintero and he delivered the big blow as he hit the ball in the gap in right center which cleared the bases to give the Phillies an improbable 4-3 come from behind victory. Chris & Brittani were disappointed but they weren't surprised being Royal fans. As for the majority of the near capacity crowd of 39,475 they walked out of the ballpark in total elation as a result.

Stay tuned as I'm going to write another special post that will recap how that Sunday afternoon turned out as another special guest joined us for the festivities.

Thank you for reading and following.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

The King sees his historic 7,000th baseball game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on 6/10/12!

The King with Mike Carroll & Peter Farrell

Sunday morning we started the day off right. After we spent the night at Super 8 near the airport, we drove to Kings Family Restaurant in Crafton to have breakfast. We met up with Steve Fekete there since he was staying a hotel which happened to be right up the road as well as our friends from Pittsburgh, Mike and Alicia Irr who said they would meet us there for breakfast since they couldn't make the game. As always it was a pleasure to see them again. The last time they were in the New York area back in the middle of March we were away in Albuquerque and Phoenix watching March Madness and Spring Training baseball so we missed them. As usual, we enjoyed each other's company. Alicia told us that she's officially retired as of February 29th and she's loving every minute of it. Mike, on the other hand, has been retired a few years now and he's loving it too. He did say we're older so in that regard it's not worth rushing it. I do hope they get to enjoy many years of retired life together.

After we enjoyed our meal, we said our goodbyes and we went to PNC Park to see the Pirates play the Royals which was indeed the King's big day as he was witnessing his 7,000th live baseball game in person. What an accomplishment it was for him.

It was reported in Artvoice which is a local paper that circulates in the Buffalo, NY area back in late May that this day was coming sometime in June. This was the special occasion that the King had been waiting for quite some time. He started counting down when he was over two hundred games away.

Upon arrival at the ballpark we were greeted by another special guest none other than Peter Farrell from the USRT by the Willie Stargell statue out behind the left field gate. Peter drove three and a half hours to take part in this historic day. It was great to see him again. He joined the King, Steve Fekete aka the Padre Punk, Mike Carroll aka Sabre Mike and I for the festivities.

It was a fun day to be at the ballpark, which I might add is one of the best around. PNC Park is a modern jewel. This venue is intimate and the scenic views are second to none. The backdrop makes this ballpark what it is. With the Roberto Clemente Bridge behind right center field, the river behind right field and the downtown skyline in the distance right behind the bridge, it's a site to behold. They did a tremendous job laying the ground work for this ballpark when it was being built.

As for the game we saw, the Pirates' A.J. Burnett, a former Yankee, pitched well. He held the Royals hitless for the first five and a third innings but then the Peter Farrell Quest for a No Hitter jinx took over as the Royals finally got a hit by Alex Gordon to ruin Peter's day.

As for the King, he was in his glory especially in the top of the fifth inning. A.J. Burnett had walked a batter and hit another with one out the King yelled out one of his famous sayings. He said and I quote "did anyone say double play." With the next pitch to Jarrod Dyson, a ball was hit right to the shortstop who stepped on second and fired to first for the inning ending double play. That was just what the King had ordered. His loud mouth got the attention of the usher who was by section 116 where we were standing to watch the game behind home plate and he came by and gave the King a nice high five for his brilliant call. With that, the game became official because the Pirates were winning. As a result, his 7,000th game is now in the books. What a way to acknowledge it.

Before departing after pitching seven and a third innings, A.J. Burnett struck out six Royals prompting the King to do his signature strikeout call which caught the attention of three young lads in particular who thoroughly enjoyed his act. It made for a perfect afternoon to cap off his milestone day.

With the Pirates clinging to a 3-2 lead in the ninth inning, we got to see Jason Grilli come in to attempt to seal the deal. He did indeed despite allowing a lead off base hit that fell softly into right field and a walk along the way after a sacrifice bunt. Grilli came back to blow away the last two hitters one swinging and the last one looking to close out the game and he picked up his first save as a Pirate. It was a perfect ending to a very memorable day for the King.

After the game, we said goodbye to Steve and Peter and we made our way back home.

Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to do about Jason Grilli who has overcome numerous obstacles to get back into the Major Leagues again.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 5/21 in review

Prince at Citi Field

Monday night after work tired and all from the great weekend getaway I had, I managed to still go up to the Bronx to see the Yankees host the Kansas City Royals who were making their only visit to Yankee Stadium this season.

I stopped off at the 7 Fish Market first to have a pre game dinner with the King. After we ate, we walked over to the Stadium. With mother nature trying her best to ruin the night, the game got started on time and it was played without incident.

As for the game we saw, the Royals set the tone early as they scored two runs in the first inning thanks to a two run homer by Mike Moustakas who I saw play in Des Moines, Iowa last September when he was with the Royals' Triple A affiliate, the Omaha Storm Chasers. The Royals add a run in the third inning. The Yankees had a golden opportunity to get back in the game as they loaded the bases with nobody out but the Royals wound up escaping the jam without giving up a run. They added to their lead in the later innings as they shutout the Yankees, 6-0.

Tuesday night after work I went back to the Bronx for game two of the three game set. I went to the Court Deli Restaurant first to pick up a corned beef sandwich for dinner. I also went to the KJY Fruit Market to get some water and goodies to go with my sandwich before I headed into the Stadium. I went to my seat and I sat down, relaxed and enjoyed my dinner before the game started. I was joined by the King who arrived just before game time.

As for the game we saw, the Royals got on the scoreboard first, they scored a run on a double by catcher Humberto Quintero in the third inning. Jeff Francoeur hit a solo homer in the fourth inning to make it 2-0. The Yankees sliced the lead in half thanks to a solo home run by Robinson Cano in the bottom of the fourth inning. In the fifth inning, the Yankees tied the game on a hit by Derek Jeter which was followed by a run scoring ground out by Curtis Granderson to give the Yankees' the lead at 3-2. That's how the game ended as the Yankees held on for the narrow victory.

Wednesday night after work I returned to the Bronx for the rubber match of the series. Before I went into the Stadium, I met up with the King who said he was going to Burger King for dinner.

After we ate, we walked over to the Stadium. We went up to our seats in section 420B row 7 where we were joined by our pal Vincent Ascanio who was there. As always, it was nice to see him again.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees' jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning as Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez hit home runs to give Andy Pettitte a comfortable cushion right off the bat. A-Rod added another homer in the third inning. In the fifth inning, the Yankees benefited from some charity from the Royals as they walked in a few more runs as the Yankees cruised to a 8-3 victory. Andy Pettitte gave up a few solo homers as he notched his 242nd lifetime major league win.

Thursday night after work I went to Citi Field to see the Mets who returned home for their longest homestand of the season. They opened a four series with the San Diego Padres who were making their only appearance in Queens.

Unfortunately our friends Steve Fekete aka the Padre Punk and his pal Corey Menotti aka the Dancing Friar were unable to come East to see their beloved Padres play. They were there in spirit though.

As for the game we saw, it started well for the Mets as they took an early 1-0 lead then the rain came which delayed the game by an hour and eight minutes. Apparently it was just what the Padres needed. After the delay, the Padres' offense woke up as they hit Mets' starter Jeremy Hefner hard. They touch him up for four doubles which lead to four runs. The Padres tack on a few more runs in the fourth inning to built a 6-1 lead. The Mets' came back with a few more runs but the Padres stormed back in the seventh inning to extend their lead as they went on to beat the Mets, 11-5 in the series opener.

Friday after getting out of work early thanks to the long holiday weekend, I was able to go home and do my laundry before I went back to Citi Field for game two of the four game set. I met up with the King and our friends Frank Anichiarico and Bryan Gilligan at Citi Field.

As for the game we saw, the Padres got on the scoreboard first as they drew first blood to take a brief 1-0 lead. The Mets tied the game in the bottom of the second inning as Lucas Duda hit a solo home run to even the score at one. In the bottom of the third inning, they tacked on a few more runs. They added three more in the fifth inning to put the game out of reach, 6-1. That's how it ended as Mets' starter Dillon Gee pitched seven strong innings to pick up the win.

After the game, we went to Donovan's Pub for a post game meal. I got to enjoy Pork Chops, a few beers and some great company.

Stay tuned as I recap the rest of the holiday weekend in a special post. I will also write about a restaurant we came across in our travels.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Farewell breakfast at Cracker Barrel with Dorothy and Company!

Dot and I 

Dorothy Straney dropped me off at my hotel after we spent an eventful day together with her Mom. I couldn't thank her enough for being so good to me. I had a blast.

She told me her boyfriend Joel who I've met on a few occasions including back in 2008 when he visited NYC for the very first time wanted to see me.

With that being said, I asked Dorothy if she wanted to meet up for breakfast. She said she would that way Joel could see me again. They had plans in the afternoon so it worked out well for all of us.

I suggested going to Cracker Barrel which is one of my favorite places to go for breakfast when I'm on the road since they don't exist here in NYC. Dorothy said we all love that place. That was music to my ears. We arranged to meet up in the morning for a hearty country style breakfast which was not too far from my hotel. Dorothy told me exactly how to get there so it worked out perfectly.

We all indulged in an amazing meal together. We got to chat some more. It was a pleasure to see Joel again. He's a really good guy. His presence made my visit to the Heartland complete.

After we got done eating, I wanted to pick up the tab for the table but Dorothy wouldn't let me. She said you can leave the tip which I did. We had a waitress named Allie who was excellent. I'm not used to getting such first class service. I'm only used to delivering it. She was really great. It was reflected in the generous tip I left her.

Stay tuned for the next installment of this journey. After bidding farewell to Dorothy, Mom and Joel, I went on my way to Kauffman Stadium to see the Royals play before catching my flight home to NYC.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 5/23 in review

View from section 336 at Camden Yards

Monday after work I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays.

Outside the ballpark, the King and I met up with our friend Manny Morales who was going to the game as well. Manny doesn't go to Yankee Stadium too often so we showed him how royalty enters the ballpark.
He was impressed with how easy it was to get in. He said he usually waits on a long line when he's on his own.

Now he knows how to do it for his next visit.

It was a pleasure to educate him on how it's done. When you live the life of royalty, you earn privileges from plenty of years of practice. It has become routine for us to learn the tricks of the trade. It's our way of beating out the competition.

As for the game we saw that night, the Blue Jays roughed up Yankee starter Bartolo Colon as they went on to beat the Yankees, 7-3.

Tuesday night I was back in the Bronx for game two of the series. The Blue Jays appeared to have a handle on this game. They lead 4-1 after seven innings thanks to great pitching from their starter Ricky Romero.
In the eighth inning, they decided to turn the game over to their bullpen. That proved to be a mistake as they gave up a pair of runs in the eighth and ninth innings to give the Yankees the 5-4 victory.

Mark Teixeira delivered the game winning hit after Curtis Granderson tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. Yankee starter CC Sabathia wound up going the distance and he earned the win as a result.

Wednesday night after work I went home to rest up since the Yankees played an afternoon game.

Thursday I wound up taking off from work and I rented a car from Avis for the day.

The King and I and our friends Phil Butleman and Al Linderman decided to take in a baseball doubleheader.
First we drove to Baltimore, Maryland to see the Orioles play the Kansas City Royals at Camden Yards in the afternoon.

Camden Yards is the Wrigley Field of the new retro ballparks that started the trend back in 1992. If you haven't had the luxury of seeing a game there I strongly suggest that someday you do.

This was my 79th game there. In addition, I've seen at least one there every year since it opened back in 1992.

Over the years, they've upgraded the scoreboards to stay up with the latest in technology. In addition, this time I noticed they fixed up many of their concession stands too. It's nice to see a great place get better over the years.

If the Orioles can get back to their winning ways from when this ballpark opened back in the 90's, Camden Yards can and will become the destination again for baseball in the Baltimore area on a regular basis. Unlike many of the newer ballparks, Camden Yards can hold up to 49,000 people.

As for the game we saw, the Orioles and Royals supplied plenty of offense early as the game was tied at 5 in the fourth inning. It remained that way as the game wound up going into extra innings. The Orioles blew a golden opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the eleventh inning. They eventually won it in the twelfth inning when Vladimir Guerrero delivered the game winning single up the middle to give the Orioles a 6-5 decision.

Since the game went so long we had to hustle to get to our next game which was in Allentown, Pennsylvania, home of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

We had to drive 170 miles through rush hour traffic to make a 7:05PM first pitch. That was asking the impossible.

I did my best to get us there as soon as I could. We wound up arriving at 7:35PM. We were fortunate that our friend Jean Ann Harrison was able to arrange to have tickets left for us by her friend, business partner and Iron Pigs pitcher Jason Grilli. I had to go to will call and pick them up. We were very grateful.

Stay tuned for the special post that I'm going to do regarding the business they just started up together.

As for the game, since we arrived late we missed the Iron Pigs three run first inning when former major leaguers Pete Orr and Brandon Moss each homered to give the Iron Pigs all the offense they needed on this night as they hung on to beat the Rochester Red Wings, 3-2.

Friday I went back to work and afterwards I went out to Citi Field to see the Mets take on their division rival, the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Mets had a 3-2 lead after 7 innings. In the eighth inning, the Phillies tied the game thanks to a double by shortstop Jimmy Rollins. In the ninth inning, with the game tied the Mets called on their closer Francisco Rodriguez aka K-Rod to keep it that way. Unfortunately, the Phillies broke through and they scored three runs to beat the Mets who added a run in the bottom of the ninth inning, 6-4.

In fairness to K-Rod, the Phillies didn't hit him hard but they found the holes and they found a way to capitalize on their opportunity.

Saturday night I went to back to Citi Field. It turned out to be a replay if you will. The Mets lead this time, 2-1 after 7 innings as Mike Pelfrey pitched well. Once again the Mets bullpen failed as the Phillies got a tying hit from second baseman Chase Utley and then their clean up hitter Ryan Howard delivered a two run single to give the Phillies the lead in the eighth inning. They added another run as they beat the Mets, 5-2.

Sunday afternoon I went back for more. Luckily this time the Mets build a 8-0 lead after two innings and they managed to hold on and they salvaged a game from the Phillies, 9-5.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Annual Visit to Fenway Park Royalty Style is Set for Memorial Day Weekend

Once again baseball season is almost upon us. That means a quick getaway trip to Boston to see the Red Sox play in their fabled ballpark, Fenway Park is on the schedule for the King and I.

Royalty has already seen an event in Fenway this year on New Year's Day when the NHL decided to play its Winter Classic there. You can get all the details from that on a previous post I put up.

As for the baseball visit, it will be as follows:

Saturday, May 29th Kansas City Royals play the Red Sox at 7:10PM that night. In addition, we'll be staying over in the area as well.

Sunday, May 30th the two teams meet again at 1:35PM. After that game, we have another baseball game on tap in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The Red Sox top minor league affiliate, the Pawtucket Red Sox are playing the Norfolk Tides, the Baltimore Orioles Triple AAA farm team at 6:05PM at McCoy Stadium.

Please note Pawtucket is only 50 miles from Boston. It will make for a nice doubleheader in New England.

In addition, that Monday is Memorial Day so most people are OFF from work.

If you're interested, please feel free to contact me so I can arrange to make it happen for YOU!

If YOU haven't been to FENWAY PARK then this is a GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY for you to take in the EXPERIENCE!

Please see photos above. Please note Jim Lowry made his first visit with us last July and he had a blast like he said. I took his picture. Just another example of a satisfied customer.

Just think you can be next? Talk to me! Don't snooze, you will only LOSE!