The First Pitch

Okay, here we go! For my first post I wanted to share my motivation behind starting this blog. As my friends and family know, I am a huge sports fan. I always have been since I was a little kid. I played Backyard Baseball on the computer (Pablo Sanchez was my favorite), played Madden on the Game Cube (always had to play as the Colts for Peyton Manning) or played knee hockey in my basement trying to pretend I was Martin Brodeur in goal. There is some nostalgia for ya. As far as playing sports, soccer was my game. Mia Hamm was my idol. When I started playing soccer in 1st grade, I picked jersey #9 to be just like her and luckily was able to wear that number all throughout my high-school soccer career. But above all the sports I took interest in, baseball was my favorite.

I have my dad to thank for introducing this beautiful game to me. My dad is a life-long Red Sox fan and I am happy to say he has turned me into one as well. My grandpa was a fan of Ted Williams. He loved how he played the game. So I guess I really have my grandfather to thank here. Since I was a little girl I was always watching Red Sox games on TV with my dad. He would teach me the rules and talk about all of the players. Trot Nixon was my first favorite player (only because I loved the #7). Johnny Damon was a close second. The historic 2004 Sox play-off run hold my first memories as a young fan. I was 7 years old. As many baseball fans know, the Red Sox achieved one of the greatest comebacks in all of sports, not just baseball. They became the only team in Major League Baseball history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit. No team has done it again since. The best part about it though…. it was against the Yankees. If you are a sports fan in general and aren’t familiar with the 2004 Red Sox play-off run, (in my most unbiased opinion) I highly recommend watching a documentary or videos recapping the ALCS against the Yankees. I promise, it is worth the watch.

The Curse of the Bambino

The Red Sox went on to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series and swept them for their first championship title in 86 years since 1918. They “Reversed the Curse” as fans like to say. The “Curse of the Bambino” was a superstitious curse placed on the Red Sox in 1919 after they traded Babe Ruth, “The Great Bambino” to the New York Yankees. The Red Sox owner at the time was really into Broadway. He sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 and used the proceeds from the trade to finance a Broadway musical. The Red Sox won five World Series with Ruth and didn’t win again until 2004. Sox fans waited a whole life time for the curse to be broken. I remember I fell asleep on the couch during Game 4 of the World Series. My dad woke me up to watch the final out. He wanted me to witness history and I was so happy he did. I remember the pitch being hit right back to the pitcher, Keith Foulke as he under-handed it to first for the final out. I remember looking at my dad who was jumping up and down with pure joy. I didn’t fully understand the emotion behind this win for Sox fans until I got a little older. My dad and grandpa who bonded over this beautiful game together, waited their whole lives for that moment. My grandpa was 83 when he first witnessed his favorite team win a World Series. My dad was 49. I on the other hand was 7 years old and am lucky enough to say I have seen 3 more World Series titles won by our favorite team. That is the beauty in sports. You never know what you are going to witness or never know when you might see your favorite team win again. But most importantly, sports brings people together. The Red Sox brought my dad and I together and brought my dad and grandpa together. And I will continue to pass that bond hopefully to my family someday. Sports bring families, friends, cities, states, and countries together to share one passion: their love for the game. It creates a community and forms relationships. You can’t tell me that is not beautiful!

Pictured: The biggest Red Sox ever, circa 2002

So good, so good, so good..

In 2018, I was lucky enough to go to a World Series game at Fenway Park with my dad. It was hands down, no question, one of the best things I have ever done in my life. The atmosphere was indescribable, and the experience was unmatchable. Ahh and don’t even get me started on how amazing singing “Sweet Caroline” was that night. The Red Sox went on to win that game 4-2. But there are two things that I will always remember from that night. As many of you know, Andrew Benintendi is by far my favorite player. In the 5th inning, he made a leaping catch in front of the Green Monster robbing the Dodgers’ batter from extra bases. That catch changed the momentum of the game back in the Red Sox favor. I remember the crowd went wild and I was just in absolute awe taking in everything around me. (Talk about being in my element) A photographer from the Boston Globe captured the catch so perfectly. It is one of those pictures I can just look at and remember the exact feeling I had in that moment. (Photo shared below). But the second, yet most important moment that I will cherish for the rest of my life, is hearing my dad’s reaction after the game. He turned to me and said “I don’t know about you, but that was the best thing I have ever done in my life, and I am so glad I got to share this with you.”

Overall I hope this blog gives you an idea of what baseball means to me on a personal level. It is something I will always be able to enjoy and follow in my life. This is the main motivation for starting this blog. I wanted to make my passion a hobby and share it with others.

Thank you so much for reading! Reach out to me on any feedback you have or if you have any suggestions on future topics I can write about. My contact information is linked above on the title page along with my social media accounts!

A chilly night at Game 2 of the 2018 World Series

Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe