Thursday, July 7, 2011

Indians Game vs. Blue Jays- Grumpy until the very end.

After two sufficient games in Washington and Pittsburgh, my parents and I completed our Baseball vacation in Cleveland, for an Indians game. Out of all three of the games, this one was the one I was most looking forward to. It's a surprising team that may make the playoffs, led by a lot of young stars and big hitters.

We got there as batting practice was winding down, so we skipped that aspect. We eventually wandered over to the autograph line against the third baseline wall. A lot of people were down here, and we were told that the Indians love to sign. Of course, for about 40 minutes, nothing happened. It was just me and my father waiting for players to come for a while. Then, as the game was ready to start, the starters came by to stretch out. Matt LaPorta came by the wall, and was immediately mobbed with autographers. I had no choice but to stick my ball and sharpie in the huddled mass. Unfortunately, just as my hand was next in line, the cheesy announcer asked us to remove our caps for the National Anthem, and LaPorta leapt into the dugout. And I felt cheated. My dad and I slumped back to the first baseline seats, unlucky in getting an auto.

The game started afterwards, and our hopes were higher than the outfield wall. Soon, reality came back to us, as Jose Bautista and friends continued to beat down rookie pitcher Zach McCallister. By the 5th inning, he was pulled out, but the Blue Jays continued to beat down the pitchers. Bautista hit a huge home run late in the game. Sad to say, but the Indians weren't playing like the Indians.

I eventually went out for cards, because that's how I roll. I'll post the results later, but my guaranteed patch was a Jose Bautista patch- a sign of how the game had turned out to that point.

It all came down to that last inning. The pitcher for Toronto had given up a few walks, leaving 3 men on 3 bags. Soon, a run scored, but the bases were still loaded. The score was 4-1 Blue Jays, and Travis Hafner was up. It was at this point that my dad turned to me and said "If he hits one over, it'll be absolutely huge". We watched, and we waited.

The pitch- Perez throws down the center, Hafner takes a huge crack at it, and the ball goes pounding into the air, toward the right field fence. BOOM! Hafner runs around the bases as the Cleveland crowd goes positively Apecrap. Everyone was yelling and screaming, and hugging each other. A bunch of Toronto fans were throwing their hats down in anger. The Indians had won, and Pronk was the hero. His grand slam saved the game.

Out of all three parts, I'd say Cleveland was the best game, and had the best food. Pittsburgh had the best stadium and scoreboard graphics. Washington had the best team, and the best autographs. I say I enjoyed this trip, and am happy we went.

The Final Score- Indians 5, Blue Jays 4.

Tomorrow, after a possible trip to the Football Hall of Fame, I go home.

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