Today was an important day in Nicholas's young life, even if he will not remember it. Today he attended his very first Major League Baseball game, at Camden Yards in Baltimore, between the Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays. We all had an awesome time.
We've been looking for an opening to take Nicholas to a game all season, but since most games start at 7pm, it meant Sunday or bust, and until a few weeks ago he was napping for a decent chunk of the late afternoon, which made it difficult to make a 1:30 Sunday game. But this morning he took a two-hour nap, and seemed refreshed and beaming enough that we decided today was our day. We put him into his Orioles shirt (a
Nick Markakis "jersey"), grabbed our Orioles hats, and headed downtown.
Because the weather is beautiful this weekend, we ended up having to wait on line to buy tickets, which Nicholas tolerated (just barely), mostly because he and Sarah sat in the shade while I worked my way through the line.
There were almost 29,000 people in attendance at
today's game (most games I attend these days average about 15,000 or so, so we had a big crowd by Baltimore standards). And the game lived up to our hopes. The Orioles played terrific offense, if a slightly porous defense. The ball was flying—the Rays had four home runs, plus one for the O's—and there were several plays at the plate (all in one inning in a row as the Orioles stormed back to re-take the lead).
Now, we didn't quite see all of the action. Nicholas did very well, and sat still for about three innings. He even discovered that he could sit on his own, which entertained him for a solid inning or so:
Then he wanted to get up and walk about, so we walked out to the concourse, attached his backpack/leash (yes, they make those), and he was off and running:
He did a few circles, and then realized that the game was still going on and charged through the tunnel to get back to the field.
We ended up wandering out to the center field area and Eutaw Street, which is closed off and part of the stadium, and so has a concourse with food, shops, and wide open areas for new walkers to roam. Within about 20 minutes we figured we had exhausted him, so we ambled back to our seats along the third-base line and got Nicholas his first stadium treat. What else but a pretzel? Classic, edible, and a food he can eat anyway! He sat very carefully eating it and watching the game, as you can see:
After that the game got really exciting. In the top of the 6th the Rays hit two home runs to go ahead 5-4, but the O's scored four in the bottom of the inning to go back up 8-5, including three consecutive plays at the plate. Nicholas enjoyed all the excitement around him, and joined in the applause:
By that point he was pretty tired. We ended up leaving at the middle of the 7th inning so that we could be in the car to listen to the end of the game. And as it turns out, Nicholas is a bit of a good-luck charm. I've been to maybe 25 or 30 games in the six years I've lived in Baltimore, and I think I've seen the Orioles win maybe (
maybe) twice. Nicholas goes to his first game and they win an exciting close game. Go figure.
While wandering, one of the ushers asked us if it was his first game, to which we enthusiastically responded, "yes!" He kindly pointed us to the fan assistance center, where Nicholas got a certificate for his first game!
The only thing we didn't get to do was sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." On Sundays, apparently, the O's play "God Bless America" at the 7th inning stretch instead, and still play the John Denver song "Thank God I'm a Country Boy." This was truly disappointing, not least because I've been singing "Take Me Out" to Nicholas since back when he was Peanut (i.e., before he was born). It also violates my sense of propriety. "Take Me Out the Ballgame" has been part of baseball for nearly a century. Not to sing it at a major league stadium seems to me so blatantly un-American that it undoes any good karma that comes from singing "God Bless America." But the Orioles have made their decision.
Anyway, I don't want that to ruin a good, exciting post. We had a great time, and Nicholas spent the hours between our departure and bedtime shouting "bay-baw!" every few minutes, so I think we may try to get him to another game soon. And if not before the end of this season, we definitely are going to be making plans for next season as soon as the schedule comes out.
So glad you got him out there so young! Abby was at a hockey game really early - she loved the first period, doddled for the second and slept through the third. What fun!
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