Friday, April 22, 2011

Opening Day 2011


Not opening day for Major League Baseball, or for the Dodgers, just for the Efting family. I took Alina and Tommy to our first game of the season Monday, April 18. It was the first day of my spring break, and the first day that I would have been able to make it to batting practice. We made it to the gates about 2 minutes after they opened them.
Here are Alina and Tommy waiting to be tossed a ball from a Dodger player.Unfortunately no Dodger tossed them a ball. But as soon as the Braves started taking BP someone tossed a ball up towards Alina. A good BP is when each of the kids get tossed their own baseball and I manage to get one of my own. I love catching them in the air, but beating someone else in a scramble for a ball is a good feeling too. I don't know if I would go to so much batting practice if it was only for "the kids" it is a blast for me as well.

Alina getting a ball first was great. In 2008, when we first started going to BP, Alina got a lot of balls tossed to her. However when the two of them stand together now, it is usually Tommy that they end up giving the ball to. So for Alina to get the first one that was pretty good. Before too long someone tossed a ball to Tommy, and then another to Tommy. Then I caught one in the air. I had to go halfway down the steps to get it, and it felt really good. I gave it to Alina so that they each had two. That is a good BP - I made a catch and they each had two baseballs. Everyone thinks it is fair and we had fun. Our record at a game was five so four is a pretty good night.

But that wasn't the end. More balls got tossed up and Alina actually caught one from a player, I'm pretty sure it was George Sherrill. Then Brandon Beachy came over and tossed one to each of the kids. I ended up winning the scramble for another ball and when BP was over we ended up with 8, that's right eight baseballs!!!The game was pretty good too. Here is a shot at the beginning of the game.
Ted Lilly got his first win. Matt Kemp got an RBI, and we saw the debut of Jerry Sands. Sands got a double in his first MLB at bat! Here he is recording his first Major league strikeout.

I know it would have been better if I had a picture of the double, but I didn't think to take the camera out then.

Near the end of the game a police officer came over to talk to Tommy. I thought he was going to tell him he couldn't stand in the isle. Instead he asked Tommy where his ball was. Tommy was waiting to catch Jerry Sands first MLB home run. The police man pulled a ball out of his pocket and gave it to Tommy. That meant Alina and Tommy each walked away from the game with four baseballs and we collected nine altogether.
What a game!