So, the radio station I work for is an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and we get tickets every year that we give away to listeners, or can use ourselves. So every year my boss has reminded me that I should go to a game, but we never had.
Until this year.
We chose to go on April 27th, because they were giving away a garden gnome likeness of one of the pitchers, Wade Miley, who's a big outdoorsy guy.
Plus, they were having an outdoor recreation fair (in honor of Wade Miley) at the stadium before the game. So I told my boss, and he said that also happened to be the day that the Diamondbacks were honoring their radio affiliates, so I could go and represent the station.
So Andrea bravely took all three kids to the outdoor rec fair, while I met up with all the other affiliate people in the lobby of the Diamondbacks office, where they have on display:
The World Series Championship trophy from 2001,
One of Randy Johnson's Cy Young awards
and memorabilia from Randy Johnson's perfect game in 2004.
Once everyone got there, they took us out on the field (just on the very edge) to watch the players take batting practice
Our view of batting practice
Coaches Steve Sax, Alan Trammell and Matt Williams
In a moment of complete awesomeness, I got to meet Luis Gonzalez, who got the game-winning hit when the Diamondbacks won the World Series. (edit: Here we go!)
Cody Ross, Martin Prado and Aaron Hill talking to a kid with Spinal Muscular Atrophy who was there as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and was named an honorary Diamondback the next day
After batting practice was over, they took us up to one of the party suites and had food and drinks and stuff, where everyone watched the game from
The view from the affiliates' suite
Except me. Because when we originally decided to go, the team got us seats 30 rows up from the first-base side dugout, which was a less expansive, but much more intimate view of the game. They still let me take the free food and stuff down, and they would have let the whole family come up to the suite, but I didn't want the kids going crazy and falling off the balcony.
Meanwhile, Andrea was with the kids at the Outdoor Fair, which was co-sponsored by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and some other wildlife groups.
The kids were all asleep when we first arrived and parked in the garage, so I spent some time getting organized with snacks, diaper stuff, stroller, etc. before we went to the fair. The kids all woke up before too long, but by the time I finished with getting set to go, Layna was screaming with rage, so I had to feed her first. All in all it took a good 45 minutes before we actually went down to the fair.
The fair was really neat. There were all sorts of booths sponsored by various government and non-government organizations, like the AZ Fish and Game Department, JAKES, an elk conservation group, the AZ Farm Bureau, and various other outdoorsy kind of entities. Many of the booths had games for kids to play or other activities. Some were definitely for older kids and adults (like a mini rifle shooting range and a mini archery range), but there were plenty of things that my kids loved. The Fish and Game people had a 10' x 10' tank full of small rainbow trout for people to catch and release, and Elsie caught a six-incher after about four minutes, then the kids got to look at it in the net and pet it before letting it go again. There was a water safety organization that brought in a big boat that kids could climb on and pretend to drive--they just had to put on life jackets first. Jacob was in little boy heaven doing that, and came back around for another turn. There were little magnet fishing games, wheels of prizes, and fun giveaways. The elk conservation group had cardboard antler headbands for the kids, JAKES had turkey hats, and there were even bobcat masks (the Diamondbacks have a bobcat mascot named Baxter), plus lots of different pencils, pamphlets, coloring books, and candy.
The kids were all so well-behaved almost the whole time. I went back to put the stroller away halfway through because of an emergency bathroom stop, so then we were all just walking around after that up until right before the game was starting. We only had one meltdown the whole time (which was kind of a miracle, but really a huge blessing)! (That happened right as we were going inside, because Jacob wanted a water bottle and we had dumped ours out because you can take in empty water bottles to fill up inside and he was tired and pretty thirsty. Also, he didn't want to fill up the water bottle we had brought; he wanted a new one. This was complicated by the fact that the entry guard checking our bags and letting us in had his water bottle right there, and Jacob thought that it was another free thing and wanted to take it to drink.)
The kids were all asleep when we first arrived and parked in the garage, so I spent some time getting organized with snacks, diaper stuff, stroller, etc. before we went to the fair. The kids all woke up before too long, but by the time I finished with getting set to go, Layna was screaming with rage, so I had to feed her first. All in all it took a good 45 minutes before we actually went down to the fair.
The fair was really neat. There were all sorts of booths sponsored by various government and non-government organizations, like the AZ Fish and Game Department, JAKES, an elk conservation group, the AZ Farm Bureau, and various other outdoorsy kind of entities. Many of the booths had games for kids to play or other activities. Some were definitely for older kids and adults (like a mini rifle shooting range and a mini archery range), but there were plenty of things that my kids loved. The Fish and Game people had a 10' x 10' tank full of small rainbow trout for people to catch and release, and Elsie caught a six-incher after about four minutes, then the kids got to look at it in the net and pet it before letting it go again. There was a water safety organization that brought in a big boat that kids could climb on and pretend to drive--they just had to put on life jackets first. Jacob was in little boy heaven doing that, and came back around for another turn. There were little magnet fishing games, wheels of prizes, and fun giveaways. The elk conservation group had cardboard antler headbands for the kids, JAKES had turkey hats, and there were even bobcat masks (the Diamondbacks have a bobcat mascot named Baxter), plus lots of different pencils, pamphlets, coloring books, and candy.
The kids were all so well-behaved almost the whole time. I went back to put the stroller away halfway through because of an emergency bathroom stop, so then we were all just walking around after that up until right before the game was starting. We only had one meltdown the whole time (which was kind of a miracle, but really a huge blessing)! (That happened right as we were going inside, because Jacob wanted a water bottle and we had dumped ours out because you can take in empty water bottles to fill up inside and he was tired and pretty thirsty. Also, he didn't want to fill up the water bottle we had brought; he wanted a new one. This was complicated by the fact that the entry guard checking our bags and letting us in had his water bottle right there, and Jacob thought that it was another free thing and wanted to take it to drink.)
So after all that, I met back up with Andrea and the kids just before the game started.
First pitch
Some of the fun things the kids got at the outdoor rec fair
Having fun!
The kids were afraid of the Legends guys that race after the 5th inning
The team's mascot, D. Baxter the bobcat
The kids were really good the whole time. The ballpark has a kids' playground with a batting cage and miniature field and stuff, and we were planning on taking the kids there when they got antsy, but they never did, even though the game went an extra inning. So we'll save that for next time, I guess.
Bottom of the 10th inning, just a couple of batters before...
The winning run! (Sorry for the poor shot composition; I was jumping up and down)
The ensuing celebration
Jacob fainted for joy at the win
(Editor's note: Jacob did not actually faint for joy, he was just upset at something or other)
Also, as we were leaving, we saw a cool display showing how they make a bat, ball and glove.
So all in all, it was a ton of fun, even for Andrea and the kids, which is really saying something.
That is not a joke. I really am not a sports enthusiast. I have come a long way from actively hating sports to tolerating and even somewhat enjoying being a spectator for certain things, but I am generally happier bringing a book to a basketball game than being glued to the whole thing. I can't sit through watching a game of anything on TV without having something else to do. But I really had a lot of fun at the game. I thought I would be pretty bored--baseball is, after all, a pretty slow kind of game. But it was fun. The atmosphere of BEING at a baseball game is so much different from watching it on TV. It is kind of like a holiday atmosphere, and everyone is super friendly to everyone else--no matter if they are for your team or not. I never heard or saw any angry, aggressive, super-competitive behavior from anyone. It was relaxed enough that everyone pretty much did whatever while things were slow, and then were happy and excited when good stuff happened. And it was fun.
Thanks KAZM and the Diamondbacks!
That sounds like a fun game!
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