More Baseball

Since I was 14, my idea of a perfect day has involved avoiding all responsibilities of work or school, going to an afternoon baseball game, and eating candy. Thursday was about as close as I’ve gotten in nearly 31 years of trying.

Isaac and I left home around 10 am. Summer was running various errands, and I was off work, so we two boys were going to spend the day together. We took the bus to the corner of UNM campus and got lunch. We then walked to Isotopes Park, where the Lobos were playing UNLV in the first game of the final home stand of the season.

Afternoon college games are anything but crowded, and when we arrived there were about 100 of us in the stands, so we chose two seats behind home plate in the shade. We sat there for one inning before Isaac wanted to get something to eat. We sat back down on the third base side. Two innings later Isaac wanted to sit in the first row near the visitors dugout along the left field line. After a few innings in the hot sun, we moved back to the shade.

Now, the fun thing about Lobos baseball is the fact that these sparsely attended games, which cost all of $3 for a child and nothing for me, as I am still a UNM student, are played in what may be the finest minor league ballpark in the country. The AAA All-Star Game is being played here this July, by the way. So there’s plenty of room to move around (as evidenced in the previous paragraph), and a spectacular facility. Add to this the Sandia Mountains looming in the distance behind the outfield wall, and you’ve got a great day at the ballpark.

Toward the end of the 6th inning, Isaac was clearly tired, so I cuddled him up, and within a few pitches he was out. He slept until the bottom of the 8th, then woke up slowly just in time for the last out half an inning later. UNM wound up winning 9-4 behind a strong 8 shutout innings from their starting pitcher.