I attempted to go to last Friday’s Red Sox-Yankees game (courtesy of the roommate’s season tickets) with a co-worker. Unfortunately, these plans were foiled by the weather and we sat in the rain for four hours instead. I suppose the people watching and Thriller dancing made it okay — plus I talked to some guys about my upcoming trip to Alaska and got (more!) tips on what to do there. However, I wanted to see some baseball!
Well, thanks to the nationally televised game scheduled for Saturday at 4 pm, rescheduling a second game for a make-up that day proved tricky. Four is too early to have a game before hand and too late for a nice 7:00 or 8:00 start. And so, the make up was scheduled for 9:05 pm the next day. Figuring that the T would no longer be running at the end of the game, once my co-worker told me she was out for Saturday I strategically invited a friend who can see Fenway from her apartment — on the condition that I get to crash there at the end of the game!
And it worked out well for both of us… she got to see the game and I had a place to sleep once it ended at 1:23 AM after 10 innings. The game itself was pretty exciting even though the bench was starting for both teams, a result of the fact that the first game had ended only 30 minutes before this one started. There were a few Little League-type plays — key being when the Yankees started arguing a call with the umps without calling time. Daniel Nava, standing on third base for the Sox, smartly took off for home. Robinson Cano started waving his arms and running at Lance Berkman who was holding the ball and arguing with the umpire at first base. By the time Berkman realized what was happening, all he could muster was an overthrow home. Josh Reddick, the Red Sox base runner at first, took this opportunity to take off and eventually wound up at third before it was all over. Given that the game wound up tied (and eventually won in extra innings by the Sox), this comic run proved to be a crucial play for the outcome of the game.
The other highlight of the evening was bantering with the men behind us. A Red Sox season ticket holder had lost a bet and had to bring his three Yankee fan friends/fellow Little League coaches to the game. These weren’t the New York centered baseball followers I’ve come to expect from Yankee fans — we even had a brief chat about Jack Morris and Frank Viola. (I was quizzed — who pitched game 7 when the Twins won the World Series? “Which one? Morris in ’91 or Viola in ’87” was my correct answer. I even brought up Sandy Koufax in ’65 just to show off. Unfortunately, I don’t actually know which Twins pitcher lost that game.) They had not planned around the T, however, and had to leave at midnight, just after the 7th inning.
I think I can easily say that 1:23 AM is the latest I’ve ever been at a ballpark.