What a Night of Baseball!

I have to share an extremely cool experience I had last night. In fact, I would have to say that this is my best first-hand baseball experience to date. Keep reading to find out why...

My wife and I were without kids last night, and decided in a crazy moment of spontaneity to drive to Round Rock and eat at Joe's Crab Shack. Well, on the way, Kim looked and me and said, "I wonder if the Express are playing tonight?" I have to give some kudos to my wife here. How many women do you know of that would suggest that we go to a baseball game on a date? I absolutely LOVE that woman!

For those of you who don't know, the Round Rock Express is the Houston Astros' Triple A affiliate in the Pacific Coast League. Since these guys are only one step away from the Big Show, it's a pretty good brand of baseball and a darn good bargain at $12/ticket for seats right behind the first base dugout. Kim called the Express office and sure enough, they had a 7:05 home game against the Nashville Sounds.

After eating dinner, we went to the game and had a great time. The Dell Diamond, where the Express play, is a great game atmosphere. I won't go into details because it would take a while, but if you ever get a chance, GO. On a side note, I was pleased to see that Mark Saccomanno, an ex-Baylor Bear, was starting first baseman for the Express. Good to see our Baylor boys doing well.

Well about the 5th inning, the score was 1-0 Nashville. Kim looked over to me and said, "That guy's pitching a no-hitter." She was referring to Manny Parra, who was making only his second Triple A start. Well, as I began to try to remember the previous four innings, I realized that not only was he pitching a no-no, he was pitching a perfect game. No walks, no hit batters, no errors, no base runners for the Express all night long.

As the game progressed and Parra continued to systematically retire Round Rock batters in order every inning, the buzz began to grow among the crowd. The tension noticeably heightened every inning as everyone began to think it might be possible.

When Parra came out of the dugout for the ninth inning, he received an ovation from the Round Rock crowd as you could feel that even the Express faithful were pulling for this kid. He retired the first two batters, and when pinch-hitter Jesse Garcia came to the plate, the entire stadium rose to their feet. At that point, the game of baseball became bigger than any team allegiance.

Garcia served up a broken-bat popup to first, inciting a mob at the mound and ending the single most dominant pitching performance I've ever personally witnessed. A perfect game at any level is an unbelievable accomplishment, and something I'll remember always.

Just for all of you fellow baseball geeks like me, here are some numbers that show just how dominant this pitching performance was. In just his second Triple A start, Parra faced the minimum 27 batters, striking out 11. The left-hander threw 107 pitches, 77 of which were strikes, the other 30 "were deemed to be balls", as Larry Little would say. Parra only fell to a 3-ball count three times in the whole game, the first of which didn't occur until the seventh inning.

Parra's achievement was only the third nine-inning perfect game in the 104-year history of the Pacific Coast League. Simply AWESOME.

What the Heck?!?!?

Okay, I have to vent a little bit about an experience I had this morning. I was walking in to the Starbucks in the Dutton garage in my usual pre-coffee haze. As I was going in, a young lady was walking out of the door, and as my father always taught me, I grabbed the door for her to hold it. I smiled and said "Good Morning", and what happened next just blew me away. Not only did she not smile back... not only did she not say "Good Morning"... SHE ROLLED HER EYES AT ME!!!!

What the heck is that all about? Ignoring me isn't rude enough, so you have to insult me too? What is this world coming to? Haven't we learned yet what a little bit of kindness can do?

So, I urge all of you to BE KIND. Geez, it's not that hard. Next time some ugly dude like me says "Hello" or "Good Morning", just say it back. It won't kill you.

It Was a Fun Ride, Bears...

I have to shoot out some props to the Baylor Baseball Team and their very impressive run at the end of the season. Although their season ended on Sunday with a very painful loss to TCU, the improvement that this young team made toward the end of the season is quite remarkable.

The week before the K-State series, everyone had given them up for dead. Their appearance in the Big 12 Tournament was in doubt (which would be the first time in the history of the conference), and the post-season future looked very dim.

Well, not only did they sweep the K-State series, but they made the Big 12 Tournament title game, and in the process raised their RPI to 23, wrapping up a NCAA regional berth at Rice's Reckling Park in Houston. Stephen and I went down to Houston to see the games, and had a blast. As I've said before, the ballpark (any ballpark) is therapeutic for me, and it was so much fun to get lost in the world of baseball with my son for 3 days.

So, congratulations to Coach Smith and the Bears on what I feel is over-achievement for this young team, and with most of the starting lineup returning next year, we've got a lot to look forward to. Sic 'Em, Bears!!!!