Walk Out Before Walk Off

Today I went with my roommate to the Mariners game. It was paid for by the dorm we live in. I didn't get the batting gloves they were giving out at the game because I wasn't under 14. It was little league weekend, so all the little leaguers got to 'parade' around the field before the game started. They didn't give me the batting gloves, but they weren't going to stop me from letting out my inner child and walking around the field.

The game itself was intense. The Mariners were down a run in the bottom of the ninth inning, but tied the game up with a home run sending it into extra innings. At one point, I said just about everything except for a foul ball coming near us had happened. We had done the wave, cheered, and booed.

The game continued. In the 13th inning, the A's scored three runs. A lot of the people who hadn't left when extra innings started left thinking the game was out of reach. In the bottom of the 13th, Ichiro hit a two out single to tie the game. The game kept going, we even had a second 7th inning stretch in the 14th inning. A little after this, I got my wish. A pop up was headed our way. Unfortunately, after 10 innings, I had put my glove away. The ball kept getting closer. Basically, I froze up. The ball landed within six feet of me and rolled to a little kid.

In the 15th inning, the Mariners were in position to win. About this time, I got a phone call saying the bus I needed to take was heading back to the college. As my roommate and I left the stadium, Ichiro was intentionally walked to load the bases. As we got on the bus, the Mariners won with a hit by the next batter. The game was 5 hours and 3 minutes and I was there for 5 hours and 1 minute of it.

Overall, my feelings on the game are divided. I sat in a nice seat and witnessed an intense game. That being said, I missed probably the only chance I will ever have at catching a ball during the game, missed seeing the winning hit, and didn't get back to the college until well after dinner was over. It will be hard for the next game I attend to top this one though.