It's my b-day today.
I was thinking back on my b-day and 3 really vivid memories involve baseball- 2 of them very cool and one of them crappy.
When I was 5 (maybe 6) we got to the yard really early and I told Atlee Hammaker (SF Giants pitcher) it was my birthday and he signed a program for me- it was the year he was an all star on the game in SF. Won like 12 games in the first half of the year and one in the second half. The Giants back then were terrible, so that was a pretty cool brightspot, having the all star game starter- even though he got shelled.
A couple of years later I went to a Giants v Pirates game and bonds hit one into the old RF in candlestick. The stadium was arranged in such a way that there was space underneath the bleachers, and the HR didn't reach the bleachers. I went to try to run down the stairs and get the ball, but security stopped me. Everyone in the section (again the Giants were more or less crappy at this time so there weren't many) booed the security guy. My dad told the guy it was my birthday, could he let me go get the ball. Dude said no, but then walked down in between innings and picked it up and gave it to me. Very cool birthday present. The paper the next day said that it was the record breaking ball (fathers and sons total HR's in the majors) so we called the Pirates clubhouse to offer it back to them (maybe trade for a bat or something) but they said it was a misprint in the paper and Bonds had hit the record breaker a week earlier (I suppose it was a record breaker as every HR he hits from now on is a record breaker, but not THE record breaker).
The crappy memory (I don't know if it was my birthday but it was the week of it anyway,and we were at church camp so... I'm calling it my b-day). Dave Dravecky broke his arm in his second game back after his miracle comeback from cancer and losing 85% of the muscle in his pitching arm. Very sad. He ended that comeback with a 2-0 record but lost his arm. Inspiring and sad all at the same time.
Been to many astros games since on my birthday, but nothing really cool or crappy happened. I hate it when my B-day falls during the all star break mini void- or when it is on a day game while I have to work and Zambrano mows the good guys down.
