She

He still remembers seeing her for the first time like it was yesterday. She grabbed his attention from across a crowded college classroom.

He can still feel the emotion, the excitement, the anticipation, even the fear of the first time he asked her out, the first time he held her hand, the first time he held her close.

When he took her to the park on Puget Sound to ask her to marry him, he was shaking so badly, he could hardly get the words out. When he saw her on that wedding day the following June, he felt so unbelievably lucky, and again, his emotions made it so difficult to speak.

Now it is 20 years later, and he remembers the good times and the not so good, and he still feels so unbelievably fortunate.

He also remembers in the beginning of the marriage that there were times he would look at her and he would see someone he did not truly know and a little doubt would creep in. But he knew where that doubt came from, so he would dismiss it because he knew it would fade through time.

Those feelings and doubts are long gone now. But it took 20 years for him to realize that it wasn't through a wedding that the two become one, but through a marriage. Through a lifetime of sharing love and laughter, joy and excitement. Through enduring hardship, illness and pain together. Through children, job changes and cross-country moves and numerous other life-altering events experienced together.

He also realized that if he were ever to lose her, he knew that he would again see someone he did now know. Except this time, it would be when he looked in the mirror because he would no longer be complete.

Happy Birthday–June 17

Pete Browning (1861)
Joe Bowman (1910)
Ray Scott (1919)
Dave Concepcion (1948)
Joe Charboneau (1955)
Mike Magnante (1965)
Manny Lee (1965)
Tom Drees (1963)

Ray Scott broadcast Minnesota Twins games from 1961-1966 and 1973-1975.

Outfielder Joe Charboneau was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round of the January draft in 1976, but did not sign.

We would like to wish a very happy anniversary to Mr. and Mrs. socaltwinsfan.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 17

Game 64 Recap – Cardinals 3, Twins 2

A friend and I decided to head on down from the Twin Cities of Illinois (Bloomington Normal) and catch my favorite team visiting his favorite team.

The game started out like a lot of Twins games have this year with the Twins getting a quick run in the first inning.  Then there was a rain delay, followed by a lot of non-Twin scoring, followed by another rain delay, followed by a quick run that I didn't even realize scored (I forgot there was a runner on when the second rain delay hit).

The biggest mistake Gibson made was an 0-1 pitch to Mark Reynolds in the third, causing two runs to score.  The Twins never could really figure Wacha out.  The rain was enough to take Wacha out, but the Twins wasted opportunities in the last innings.  First there was the Buxton caught stealing.  You apparently do not run on Yadier Molina.  It wasn't even close.  Hunter got a single on the next pitch.  So instead of 2 on with 1 out, it was 1 on with 2 outs, and Mauer popped up to end it.

In the ninth, the twins had two on with Escobar batting.  I thought we possibly had a chance, and was really hoping for Buxton to have another shot at the plate.  Instead, Escobar hit a long fly ball to deep right field, but it wasn't deep enough.

Overall, I had a great time at the game.  I got to visit Ballpark Village, which is a pretty cool area to hang out before the game.  We were walking through the Fox Sports Midwest Live bar area, when a guy stopped me and asked me to play this (rigged) trivia game with a Cards fan.  It was broadcast on the big screen in the bar.  He asked me questions about the Cardinals (How many titles, when Busch opened), while he asked the other guy what state the Minnesota Twins played in.   I was a good sport and let the other guy win, and I got a free beer out of it (Me of all people).  I don't drink beer very much, but they had an apple ale and I was happy to partake.

Our seats were on the third base side, where the wall tilts toward the outfield.  We were in the second row.  (that is to say there was a row of seats in front of us, and in front of those seats was the field)  It was awesome.  We had a couple balls come relatively close, but none close enough.

It's the second game in a row that I've had to endure a rain delay.  (My previous game was my encounter with Denard Span at a Cubs/Nats game in 2013).  At least we had ponchos and stayed relatively dry.

During the second rain delay, my friend and I walked over to the Twins dugout to see if we could see any of the guys.  The only guys still there at this point were Mauer and Buxton, sitting together, talking about God only knows.  Maybe it was a passing of the torch.  Maybe they were discussing Clash of Clans, who knows.  It was a cool thing to see, and it's the closest I've ever been to those guys.

All in all, it was disappointing to see them lose, but it was fun to have great seats and to see our guys up close.  Here's hoping that they can get some revenge on the Cards and start up their year ending 98 game winning streak.  We'll just have to settle for 132-30.

Half-Baked Hall: 1934-1935

So we're going to be this a little bit different now. We have some wonderful volunteers who agreed to write a small blurb about a player or two to generate discussion and help us all learn more about baseball history.

Final Ballot

Sherry Magee
Bobby Wallace

Below is the list of new batters and who is responsible for writing about them. Remember, this is just a short blurb. Don't stress out about it. Find one thing interesting about the person. You can talk about if you like them for a vote or not but you don't have to. If it's more than two paragraphs you're probably trying too hard.

Due Date For Blurbs: June 30th

New Hitters

Max Bishop (CanofCorn)
Earl Combs (Freealonzo)
George Grantham (nibbish)
Joe Judge (AMR)
Willie Kamm (Beau)
Rabbit Maranville (bhiggum)
Marty McManus (DPWY)
Lefty O'Doul (Geoff)
Sam Rice (New Britain Bo)
Babe Ruth (philosofer)
Riggs Stephenson (yickit)
Hack Wilson (daneekasghost)

If I get any more volunteers, I'll add them to the pitcher list. Otherwise, I'll probably write something up.

New Pitchers

Burleigh Grimes
Sad Sam Jones (philosofer)
Dolf Luque (Scot)
Herb Pennock (Scot)
Dazzy Vance

Stats

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