Tales from the "lost" season

[Señor Stan]

As most of you know my son Jarrett has battled through numerous medical challenges... open heart surgeries, a tracheostomy, and  cancer.  By God’s grace he has beaten them all.  At several points during these times, I always had a vision of taking him to his first Astros game.   It was a milestone of sorts that I knew in my heart I would be able to do with him.  That memorable night finally came back on May 18th vs. the Rangers.   

In all the games I went to in the Dome growing up, I never once caught a foul ball. Never even came close. Ten rows was about as close as I ever came.   I was hopeful we could get one hit our way, but didn't really expect anything. Our seats were in the 1st row of section 313 right on the rail. In the bottom of the 1st, Lamb fouled one up right toward us. The ball came right to me and I had it in my hands. Then I got "Bartmaned". A forty-something guy with a glove lunged about four seats over, smacked the back of my hands and knocked the ball out down to the field boxes below. Isn't it a man law that no one over the age of 12 is allowed to bring a glove to the game? Seriously.

Then in the 8th inning, Lamb came to bat again. He sent another one up toward our section, this time a little to our left. Jarrett was sitting on my lap and the ball caromed off of the guy two seats over and landed right in my hands. Our section was cheering because they knew we had gotten jobbed by Bartman. I handed the ball to Jarrett and was overjoyed because he gotten a ball at his first game. The guy who the ball had rebounded off of asked reached out to shake my hand and I turned toward him...then I heard the gasps and groans.   The guy’s girlfriend shouted “He threw it back!”

Yes, Jarrett had thrown the ball back.

It landed back down in the field boxes, much to the confusion of the masses below. I guess he had been to too many of his sister's basketball games. He always tries to get the ball when it goes out of bounds so he can throw it back to the ref.   I felt a mixture of joy/loss that I have never felt at a ballgame before. Everyone in the section was laughing and we joined in. Jarrett was all smiles.

 Now that I have had some time to think about it, I wouldn't change a thing about that the way things happened. If we had kept the ball the story would have ended there. The ball would have ended up on a shelf, or been played with and lost. This way, the memory of the night is what I will carry forever.   I later found out from some of the guys at the guys at work that they showed us on TV a couple of times.   

This season I have been able to take two of my other sons to their first ballgames.  I now get to sit on the couch at night as the boys put on their plastic Astros helmets and race around the living room practicing their slides and using any long object within reach as bat.
I have the joy of watching them become Astro fans.  I had to put on the Oswalt/Zambrano game I had TIVOed because they would not accept the fact that the Astros were not playing last night.


But I guess none of this matters because the Astros aren't good this year.

[Taras Bulba]

Thanks for sharing that, Stan.  Good for you and your son.

[Dobro]

Nice story, Stan.  Hope you get the opportunity to take him to many more games.  Good job on rearin' 3(?) new Astros fans.

[Waldo]

It's not always about wins and losses.

Thanks, Stan.

[JimR]

outstanding

[Ty in Tampa]

Great story, Stan. Glad your boys are doing well.

Baseball matters. Winning is cake.

[EasTexAstro]

Good story, Stan.

The first time I took my oldest to the Dome, we sat in the cheap seats in right. It was the only time I got a ball, too, and the story ended much the same. Before the game, the Dome entertainment crew had come out and shot the foam balls from the cannon up into the seats and the kids would throw them back out to the crew. The guy behind and to the right of me had brought his five year old, too. I forgot who hit the HR later in the game, but it was straight to me. I snagged the ball in the air, felt the terrible sting in my hands, but held on. The guy behind me, forgetting who was standing next to him, made a play for the ball, knocking his kid over the seats in front of him where he landed on his head on the floor and started screaming. As he got his son up, I handed the ball to my son, who was getting really upset about his new friend behind us being hurt. I told him he could keep it, but it might be nice to give it to the crying boy to make him feel better. He didn't hesitate at all, giving the kid the ball and patting him on the arm. The boy sniffed, smiled at my son, stood up, and threw the ball back onto the field as we all stood there in shock.

Biggest thing: the kid was fine and my son felt pretty good. He would have never remembered much about a baseball sitting on the shelf.

[Craig]

That was a great story, Stan. Thanks for sharing it. It sounds like you've started a great tradition with your boys.

[Froback]

Baseball helps us explain things in a simple way.

Life is very complicated, but we who have families get to experience the pure joy that children bring.  To them, everything is simple and black and white.

It is a joy to be part of that with them.

Thanks for sharing.

[Fredia]

its odd when a post can bring a tear to your eye and a smile to your face at the same time. that is readers digest good stuff

[tbone421998]

Glad to hear these two stories.  Praise God your son is well enough to go to a game now.  Hopefully everything stays good.  It shows what baseball should be about, the kids not the so called adults.

[WulawHorn]

Wonderful story all the way around. So glad to hear your son overcoming all that and you being able to take him to a game

[ybbodeus]

I've been out playing golf in this insane heat today, so I'm late to the party on this one.  Truly marvelous story, Stan.  A hoot and a holler for young Jarrett.  All my best to you and yours.