Opening Day

Yesterday I was lucky enough to participate in a great American tradition, MLB Opening Day. What made it even better was I got to experience it with 3 of the most amazing people: my dad, my 18 year old brother, and my lovely fiance.

I'm one of those people that wakes up bright and early and hits the ground running. At 7:00, I was already getting everything prepared for our small tailgate party. Hot dogs, sausage, buffalo grilled chicken, loaded potato dip, and Sweet Water 420 made up the menu that did not disappoint.

The crowd was buzzing from the second we parked, you could almost tell something special was going to happen. Derek Lowe was on the mound, but like 23 of his other teammates, they seemed to just be filler for the real show: Jason Heyward. Making his debut in RF, the Jay Hey Kid had a lot to do with the largest day game crowd in Atlanta.

The pregame festivities were enough to get me choked up, as the greatest part of baseball isn't always the game, its the people who share the game with. Thoughts of my late Grandfather, my dad, and other family members kept flashing in my head as Furman Bisher narrated a video linking important moments in Braves history to important moments in fans lives that happened to overlap. On top of this, we witnessed a potential passing of the torch as Hank Aaron threw out the first pitch to none other than Jason Heyward.

As the game started, I couldn't help but notice the lack of Cubs fans at Turner Field. Often with the Cubs are in town the stadium can get near 50% Cubs fans, but luckily the Braves faithful were spared from the most obnoxious fans outside of the Red Sox Nation Bandwagon. They started to come together a bit after Marlon Byrd's first inning wind aided homerun, but their excitement did not last for long.

Yes, to the Second City's dismay, the Cubs were only able to lead for half an inning. Big Carlos Zambrano gave up bloopers to first Martin Prado and then Brian McCann. Next, Troy Glaus unfortunately picked up the first strikeout for the good guys and was followed by a big hit from Yunel Escobar to tie the game. What happened next will go down as one of the most magical moments in Turner Field's short history.

Jason Heyward struts up to the plate with the crowd already going a little bit crazier than usual. A lets go Heyward chant breaks out in the middle of his at bat, something uncommon for any player, much less a rookie. After 2 straight balls by Zambrano, the crowd was getting even louder. However, that noise was NOTHING compared to the second after Heyward unloaded on a low fastball.

Before the ball had a chance to pass the infield in flight, Turner Field was rocking. Never have I witness such hysteria and it might be along time before I see something like it. The closest thing that comes to mind was Brain McCann's HR off of Clemens in the 2005 Playoffs, but even then, you didn't have Braves Ushers acting like a 3 year old on Christmas morning. With all the hype that surrounded Jason over the last year, which increased greatly this spring, I guess I have to ask the question: Where we expecting anything less?

Most of the game from after this was just a complete beat down of the "Lovable Losers." Here are some of my random thoughts from the game:

• As awesome as Heyward was, my personal player of the game was Yunel Escobar. 5 RBI, 2 Hits (1 double) and a flashy day on the diamond that amazed me.
• Nate McLouth's catch (or lack of) should be celebrated due to the fact he made a great effort to even get to that ball. Plus he made a great heads up play and got the ball to the infield quickly.
• I've been waiting all offseason to see Billy Wagner trot to the mound to Enter Sandman. I was not disappointed.
• They sold 433 Jason Heyward T Shirts yesterday, including the one I'm wearing right now. Thanks for standing in line for me Lea!!

Now, I'm going to start a gimmick for the blog. Every game I go to, I'm going to post a photo of the view from my seat or somewhere else on the field. To go along with that, I'll post the box score. Hopefully this blog will serve of a "scrap book" of my 2010 baseball experience.

(click to embiggen)

W: Derek Lowe (1-0)
L: Carlos Zambrano (0-1)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E CHC 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 2 ATL 6 2 0 0 0 0 6 2 - 16 12 0

Hello Old Friend

Everyone has there first favorite player. Typically, the one you like above all when you first start taking your sport of choice seriously. Sometimes its a very established player that has been around for a while, other times it can be a younger player breaking through. For me, it was the latter.

I seriously started following baseball on a daily basis in 2005. I had watched baseball off and on throughout childhood, as my granddad was a big Braves fan, and went to games a few times a year, but baseball wasn't a part of my nightly routine. In 2005, something about the Braves youth movement, dubbed the "Baby Braves," got me really excited about baseball. During this time, a lot of fans were drawn into two players particularly: Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur.

From 2005-2009, Jeff Francoeur was my player. I'm sure some of you have seen my Jeff Francoeur collection and I'm sure some of you also know I was obsessed. Even through the struggles in 2008 and 2009, I was still a fan. I might have defended him a bit to much, but it still annoys me to see some of the bashing from a portion of Braves fans. It seems some that still trash him even though he's gone might have been bought into the hype and got burned when he didn't live up to expectations.

All that being said, I'm still a fan, just not to the extent I was. Why? Because I have to say, favorite player or not, I'm a bigger fan of the name on the front of the jersey, opposed to the name on the back.

However, I still respect what he did for Atlanta, and most importantly, making me into the baseball fan I am. So, here it is, my TTM from Mr. Francoeur:



2010 Spring Training TTM Success 6 of 20.
Scan Courtesy of Photobucket.com/atlantabraves

Another (Mail)Day

After a homework filled weekend, I'm finally getting a chance to sit down and blog about my passion, baseball. Today and Saturday, I got envelopes post marked from Orlando, FL, which only means one thing: A Braves Spring Training TTM. Saturday's envelope contained this:



A Jeff Lyman 2005 Bowman Chrome Rookie Card. I've been holding on to this card for two years now hoping to get it signed in person, but never had the opportunity while he was with the Mississippi or Gwinnett Braves. So since he is now on the 40 man roster, the card was sent to the Braves spring training complex at Disney. I thought about sending it before, but I backed off because of two reasons:
1. I really prefer to get minor league autographs in person.
2. My confidence in minor league clubhouse attendants is not very high.

With that being said, I'm glad I finally got his autograph. Jeff is a pitcher in the Braves minor league system, and I've seen him pitch a few times, including a start, when he's came to town to face Southern League rivals the Birmingham Barons or the Montgomery Biscuits. Now that he's on the 40 man roster, I hope to see him in Atlanta someday soon.

As for Today, 3/8/10, I received this:

2009 Topps James Parr (Rookie Card) Not truly a rookie card, but whatever floats MLBP boat. Similar story behind this card as the Jeff Lyman card earlier, never got the chance to get him to sign it in person, so I sent it to the Disney complex.

James is also on the 40 man roster for the Braves, but unlike Lyman, he has had a cup of coffee in the majors. His MLB debut came in late 2008 against the Washington Nationals. In his start, he pitched 6 innings, gave up 2 hits, and allowed no runs on his way to his first win.

While neither autographs are cornerstones to a collection, they represent what I like most in baseball: watching players develop their way through the minors and eventually getting their shot in the majors.

First Surprise of The Season

I always have a hard time paying attention in the spring semester. Why? Because during the last week of February, a magical thing starts: Baseball Spring Training. Every team is in first place and has the ability to win the next 3 World Series, at minimum, in the minds of us fans. Even better is the first week of March, when they actually play exhibition games.

However, the best part to me is the the first through-the-mail autograph I get in the mailbox. Every spring, I spam fill clubhouse mailboxes with about 10-20 different autograph requests for different players. I send a note and a baseball card or two for particular players I can never seem to 1. sign at the ball park or 2. have public signings in the ATL area. For two stamps, my autograph collecting spirit is given hope and enthusiasm. Today, my hope paid off with the arrival of these two cards to my collection: Former Braves Farmhand Elvis Andrus and Former Braves Closer Mike Gonzalez. If you didn't notice, I have a fetish obsession for "throwback" style baseball cards.



Photos, as always, courtesy of Photobucket.com/atlantabraves