I
am way behind on my posts this week. I went to the Gary Railcats game on Monday night to see the Railcats play the T-Bones. More than that though I went to the stadium to see Fergie Jenkins in person. Fergie is a Hall of Famer who was inducted in 1991. I never miss a chance to get a Hall of Famers autograph so I went to the stadium. I was the first person in line, and my friend Rob soon joined me. When the gates opened we went right to Fergie’s table where I gave him a ball to sign. While he was doing that I went through a batch of cards that I had to have him sign. I picked out a 1983 Fleer cards and handed it to him. I then set the rest of the cards down on the table. After he was done signing the Fleer card he grabbed th
e stack of cards that I had put down and signed the all! Even though he is a former Cub I really began to like Fergie after that. He did not have to do that, but he made my day. Fergie also through batting practice to ten lucky fans. If one of those fans had hit the ball out of the park they were to get $1,000. No one did hit it out, but Fergie called the one good athlete out of the bunch back out to get a second try. With his great attitude I assume that Fergie gained some fans on Monday night. I know three people that think of him much more differently after their experience.
While I was w
alking around the stadium I noticed that there was something new on the right field concourse. As I got closer I noticed that it was some sort of a monument. Lots of people were looking at it and taking pictures. Much more actually than seemed to be paying attention to the game. It turned out to be a memorial to Michael Jackson who was born in Gary. They held a memorial service for Michael last Friday at the ballpark, and I guess this memorial was a left over from that. It will be interesting to see what the life of this monument will be. It is very eye catching, and serves its purpose. It also gives fans a new reason to head to the ball park.
Was there a ball game on Monday? The answer is yes. I normally don’t take
this long to get to the game portion of the post. Well I use the term game loosely here. The Railcats were beaten 12-0, and looked worse than the score would show doing it. This was by far one of the worst played games by a team that I have seen in a while. The only good things to come out of the game was the fact that I was able to see two former college pitchers throw professionally. Dan Sattler was a pitcher for the Boilermakers, and Grant Johnson was a former Irish pitcher who also spent t
ime in the Cubs organization. Both players pitched good, but when they were in the game it was out of reach. The T-Bones had a great batting practice session at the expense of the Railcats. I don’t think that Gary has the kind of fanbase that will tolerate losing. They pretty much have to win to draw fans. That or have Hall of Fame pitchers sign autographs. I know the sloppy play has affected how soon I will attend my next game.
After this game I have now gone to twice as many Railcats games this season than I had in the previous six seasons the club has been around. I guess I have found the experience to be a good one, and except for this game I have seen some great baseball. I don’t know how many more Railcats games I have left in me this season though. Tomorrow night I will be at the Cell for the Sox game against the Orioles. This will be my first time seeing the Orioles play, and my third mullet night. If you want to watch some baseball, and really act like an idiot doing it, then come out to the Cell and join me tomorrow. I will be the one by third base with the mullet wig on.
Confessions of a Sports Junkie 