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In the heat of the moment...
Fenway Park is a tough place to play; that's what makes last night's 10-6 win over the Red Sox all the sweeter for the Orioles. The win ensures this 3-city road swing is a success. The worst the Birds can finish is 5-4.
Yesterday was so hot in Boston, I must have been delirious when I wrote down Freddie Bynum's 2nd inning double twice on my score card. I like Freddie, but I can't just give him extra doubles. He was very happy when I reported on MASN that he had two of the Orioles five doubles on the night. In reality, he only had one---let the correction stand.
But back to the heat. Just as I was sitting in the MASN broadcast booth thinking how hot it was and how nice it will be to get off the road, Hall of Famer Eddie Murray comes walking into the booth. I had never met him before, but I remember how big of a deal it was for me as a kid to sit down the first-base line at Memorial Stadium and stare at him for 9 innings.
Baseball reporters like me spend a lot of time focusing on how much of a grind the season can be. It's easy to get into a funk. There are moments, however, when reality slaps you in the face, and you realize how blessed you are to have the job we have. I had one of those moments last night in Boston. I realized, Mike Flanagan was sitting to my right and Eddie Murray was in front of me. How many people get to sit at a ballgame with their childhood idols? I thought, 'This life is pretty cool.'
Being the dork that I am, I told Flanagan about my "moment". He didn't think it was dorky, and told me he had a similar experience meeting Ted Williams. He said he was so in awe of baseball's greatest hitter that he turned into a blubbering idiot when Williams asked him a question. I guess even our idols have idols.
Steve,
What I don't get is that this is one of the few stadiums that have something like this. That's what I can't get. After you explanation, hmm...I still don't.
Robert-
What can't you get about that whole Green Monster thing? It adds a whole new dimension to the game - you win in Boston by using the wall. Its not like gives the Sox an unfair advantage. I'm pretty sure they didn't win a world series for like 86 years. That wasn't because of the Monster either though... I think they were jinxed by a candy bar in the nineteen teens... something about a candy bar getting eaten by George Steinbrenner... I can't remember, my history is a little fuzzy.
;-)
I have a question for you, too, Amber: If your managing the Orioles, who is your starting shortstop on most days?
Amber, that double by Freddie would have been a home run in any other stadium. I still can't get that whole Green Monster thing. That's where most of our doubles came from. Of course, I'm not complaining about a road win in Boston, but still...
Not that this matters, but I felt that same way as an aspiring journalist the first time I met a local reporter down here in Virginia. Right now, since I'm "nowhere" on the totem pole, the local reporters are pretty much all I can look up to at the moment. I, too, was unable to speak very much to her. I asked to take a picture with her before she left the restaurant they were doing an event at, and I was able to get one. That was the first time I've ever met a professional journalist of any kind, last year at the age of 27. I've never met a sports journalist yet.
Anyway, I know that is the least of anybody's concern right now. But we have two more at Boston, and once again, we are rooting for our O's from VA. I still say this division is up for grabs.
Amber: What exactly are the working conditions at Fenway? The idyllic charm of the place loses some of its appeal to 6-foot-4 humans like me once we sit down in seats more cramped than an overstuffed suitcase.