Baseball Talk

Baseball! What a game!  Last week on May 2, the Atlanta Braves played against their dreaded arch-rival, the Philadelphia Phillies.  With the  score at 6-0 in favor of the Phillies, I was ready to call it a day...
I phoned my Dad (as I often do, we discuss baseball and sometimes "watch" it together on the phone) and he advised me  not to give up, the game wasn't over yet.  Sure enough, in the  5th inning, catcher Brian McCann hit a GRAND SLAM which put the Braves on top at a score of 8-6.  (Note: Grand Slam equals four runs. Bases are loaded and player hits a homerun, all four runners score.)  Both teams battled on and eventually the score was tied at 13-13.  The game went on for two extra innings until Chipper Jones, the unofficial  leader of the Atlanta Braves, who has been with them longer than any other player, and who will retire after this season, stepped to the plate.   Chipper swung the bat and it looked very good for a homerun...but it was not, it went just past the foul pole by a few feet.  By this time, my son was home from work and he said, "He's going to do it, I just know he's going to do it!"...Two pitches later, it happened.  The wonderful "crack' sound of that bat hitting the baseball and everyone watching holding a collective breath.  Yes!  Chipper had done it!  The ball sailed over the outfield wall.  HOMERUN!

It was a beautiful sight to see, the beloved Chipper Jones trotting around the bases, and all the Braves waiting for him in celebration at home plate.  The old lion at 40 years of age had done it.  I thought it was a wonderful thing to witness, the excitement of coming from behind like that was great fun for a baseball fan.  One of my favorite Yogi Berra quotes is "It ain't over til it's over", and it certainly applied to this game.  Since the game on May 2nd, the Braves have had more come from behind victories which reminds me of another one of Yogi's quotes.  "It's Deja Vu all over again".

The Atlanta Braves themselves seemed to channeling Yogi Berra in a  few of their quotes after this game ...

"That's the most psychotic game I've ever been a part of"   Chipper Jones

"As far as things that you never see, tonight was something you don't see."  Brian McCann

And remember my Dad?  The one who told me not to give up on watching the game?  How many times do you think I called him?  At least four times and the last phone call was very happy indeed!

Found a fun video for you!  It is from the Colorado Rockies game from several years ago, but I love that even way up in these cheap seats, everyone is singing along and having a good time.  My sister met and married her husband in Colorado, so this is also a nod to them.  Notice how the crowd lets out a cheer when they mention "From The Mountains" in the song...that is with good reason, those Rocky Mountains are beautiful! And my Dad when he visited my sister there, was able to go to Coors Field in Denver and see them play against the Atlanta Braves.  Baseball!   What a game!