A Baseball Game
Last night the Marlins played the Reds at Marlins Park. Thursday games are free for "Los Ancianos". Show them your official ID and you can watch a Major League Baseball Game if you are chronologically challenged. This is my second venture to a baseball game this year and I had a great time.
The Marlins got jobbed big time as a double play was over ruled by the replay umpires in New York who said the catcher had blocked the plate, according to a new rule to protect catchers and runners from violent collisions. The collision was avoided but the opinion of the umpire really changed the outcome of the game. One play later a single added another two runs and instead of having a one run lead the Marlins were trailing by two. An announced crowd of about 18,000 saw the Marlin manager go batshit crazy as the Marlins dropped to 53-55.
I'm glad I don't bet on baseball games, but that doesn't mean folks don't bet on games. Moments before the first pitch the guy who drove was calling his bookie to bet $60 on the Reds to win $50. He was one miserable fan (degenerate gambler) until the blocking replay made him a profit for the evening.
The roof was closed and the AC was on. In an absolute fluke I ran into a guy I worked with who had just retired. Ricky Fuentes was an accountant for the City of Hialeah and a huge baseball fan and baseball player in high school and college. He was good enough to get a baseball scholarship to FIU where he played shortstop. In his junior year he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox. He turned down a $2,000 signing bonus because he wanted to finish his education. He said he did not feel bad about turning down the bonus, but that when he watched games in person while working for the City the fact that he might have been a professional baseball player was always in the back of his mind.
The game was otherwise nondescript but visiting with Ricky really brought me a new perspective. Listening to a guy that almost played the game professionally pick up stuff that went over my head made the evening.
The Marlins got jobbed big time as a double play was over ruled by the replay umpires in New York who said the catcher had blocked the plate, according to a new rule to protect catchers and runners from violent collisions. The collision was avoided but the opinion of the umpire really changed the outcome of the game. One play later a single added another two runs and instead of having a one run lead the Marlins were trailing by two. An announced crowd of about 18,000 saw the Marlin manager go batshit crazy as the Marlins dropped to 53-55.
I'm glad I don't bet on baseball games, but that doesn't mean folks don't bet on games. Moments before the first pitch the guy who drove was calling his bookie to bet $60 on the Reds to win $50. He was one miserable fan (degenerate gambler) until the blocking replay made him a profit for the evening.
The roof was closed and the AC was on. In an absolute fluke I ran into a guy I worked with who had just retired. Ricky Fuentes was an accountant for the City of Hialeah and a huge baseball fan and baseball player in high school and college. He was good enough to get a baseball scholarship to FIU where he played shortstop. In his junior year he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox. He turned down a $2,000 signing bonus because he wanted to finish his education. He said he did not feel bad about turning down the bonus, but that when he watched games in person while working for the City the fact that he might have been a professional baseball player was always in the back of his mind.
The game was otherwise nondescript but visiting with Ricky really brought me a new perspective. Listening to a guy that almost played the game professionally pick up stuff that went over my head made the evening.
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