Fathers Day Baseball

This is the first trip report I have to write. The next one, which took place in New York City, will probably be more epic in scale since it encompasses an entire weekend and involves playing beer-pong in mid-town Manhattan and me almost getting kicked out of Yankee Stadium. This report is the family-friendly Fathers Day Cincinnati Reds Baseball Special.

The family and I woke up early on Father’s Day and hit the road, heading down I-71 towards The Queen City. The Red Sox were in town for the first time since 1975 and this Reds fan wasn’t about to let an opportunity like this slip by him. After a quick stop at Bob Evans for breakfast, it was non-stop to Cincy and Great American Ballpark.

Arriving at the park about 2 hours before the 1:15 first pitch I found a spot in my favorite parking place directly below the stadium. Knowing that we had lots of time to kill, the family and I decided to walk around outside the park where we found ourselves on Crosley Terrace and were greeted by a 60 foot tall banner of one Ken Griffey, Jr. commemorating his recent accomplishment of hitting his 600th home run. While I think Griffey is a huge strain on the Reds payroll, I can appreciate his recent milestone. I also weep for what might have been had he remained healthy the entire 8 or so seasons he has had with the Reds. I can say with confidence that one Barry Bonds would not be sitting at the top of a certain list. Anyway, I digress.

There was a very nice set of bronze statues consisting of Joe Nuxhall, Frank Robinson, Ted Kluszuzki, and Ernie Lombardi. The statues are very nice and set to resemble a pitcher, catcher, batter, and a man on deck. In what I took as a Fathers Day tribute to Joe Nuxhall, someone placed an arrangement of flowers in front of his statue with a black band and the number 41, which Nuxhall wore for his 15 seasons on the roster. I took a few quick photos of the boys with the statues and then we cornered Mr. Redlegs himself and got a few pictures with him as well.

After the impromptu photoshoot, we made our way into the stadium and found our seats. We were in the upper level for the sold out game, but we had a pretty good view of the field and a great view overlooking the Ohio River. In between innings we could gaze downriver and watch the various paddleboats making there way up the waterway.

The game itself was not very exciting. The Reds obviously had other things on their minds and quickly fell behind 5-0 after just a few innings. Boston ended up cruising to an easy 9-0 victory, but on this day it didn’t matter. I spent it with the most important people in my life, and we had a great time. On Fathers Day, this is the only thing that matters; on this day, the score is irrelevant.

mini-update

So, it’s been a while and I’ve been busy.

This weekend I’m going to Cincinnati to see the Reds v. Red Sox.

Next weekend to New York to see Reds v. Yankees.

Following weekend to Pittsburgh to see Pirates v. Rays.

GOGOGOME!