The Bees' Knees

We went to a Salt Lake Bees game tonight against the Iowa Cubs. Big thanks to my brother, Spencer, and his wife, Missy, for giving us the tickets. We couldn't have asked for better seats (although we were, in fact, about three seats over from our actual seats since no one was sitting there). It was a great night; the weather was perfect, it was a great game (more on that further down), and there was even an Omar Vizquel sighting!

He's the one on the left. It took me forever to figure out who he was. I knew I recognized him, but I couldn't think of his name. I got some help from a twelve year-old girl who told me he was "Omar something." Go figure that the two grown men that I asked had no idea who he was, but the twelve year-old girl could help me out. Look for her to be a guest writer on my blog soon. Also, feel free to strip me of all credibility as a sports writer. Maybe she should just take my place completely.

Anyway, so I went to talk to Omar and got him to sign that girls' baseball. She had a sharpie. All I had were our tickets and her borrowed sharpie, but he quickly signed the ball between innings and the tickets went unsigned. I went home autographless, but at least I get the satisfaction of having helped the girl...(thinking)...yeah, still a little bummed. I like to think he was impressed that I knew who he was, though.

As for the game itself, it went into the bottom of the 9th tied 4-4. The Bees started the inning with two singles, and both runners advanced to 3rd and 2nd on a pass ball. With one out, the Cubs intentionally walked the next guy to give them the chance to send the game into extras with a double play. The next guy up got down 0-2, but fought to stay alive, fouling off three or four pitches before getting the count to 2-2. On the next pitch, he lined one just off the tip of the second baseman's glove to bring home the winning run. All 438 fans in the stadium went nuts, and the hero got a water cooler shower during his post-game interview. Here he is wringing out his shirt while talking about that last at-bat.

Although it wasn't a Major League game, it was a fun sports experience to add to my collection of memories. The Omar Vizquel sighting definitely boosted it. It also never hurts to have a pretty girl with you. All in all, it was a great night.