I took in some minor league baseball this afternoon. It was perfect weather and, despite seeing the Portland Beavers get crushed 8-1 by the Reno Aces, much fun was had by all. (Incidentally, the Aces always remind me of an old King of the Hill episode.)
Balls were flying all over the place, particularly in foul territory. Beavers journeyman Eric Munson, however, one-upped everyone by losing grip on his shiny black bat as it sailed in my direction. I came out of it okay - my hand is scratched and bruised and generally feels fatigued. I felt very fortunate that I was able to save my mother from a very "special" Mother's Day present of her own. After I deflected it, the bat actually ended up in the hands of the people in the row in front of us, who had it quickly exchanged for a cracked bat that was probably just used in batting practice anyway.
It turns out, it wasn't even Munson's bat that was exchanged. Chris Denorfia, who followed Munson in the batting order, is another new Beavers player this season that I recognize... well... mostly from baseball cards. The guy in front of me seemed to be rather unhappy that the bat was broken, and offered it back to me (I was the guy who took the direct blow, after all.) 
Meanwhile, Munson remains on my list of evil baseball players. You see, this includes the entire active roster of the 2006 Houston Astros at the time that I saw them play in person in late September. Those were two really lousy games for Cardinals fans, and I never want to go back to Houston. Munson backed up Brad Ausmus behind the plate at times, and made a pinch hit appearance in one of the two loses late that year that nearly cost the Cardinals a playoff berth (and their eventual World Series title.)By the way, does anyone know what those number on the end of the bat mean?
Those numbers written in are likely the measurements for how heavy the bat is and the length.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that they made bats out of birch now...
ReplyDeleteBirch is quickly becoming more popular as they try to weed out the deadly maple.
ReplyDeleteI was in Syracuse (Pre-Strasburgian) a few weeks ago and Chris Duncan (Scranton-Wilkes Barre) let a bat fly over the 1st base dugout.
Wouldn't you know it? Right into the Chiefs mascot's collar bone. No one was paying it much attention, so as everyone rubber necked in anticipation, a bit blue mascot pops up.
It was certainly a lifetime baseball highlight.