Summer baseball fun

My family is big into baseball. This is the sixth season of the Round Rock Express, currently the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. My dad has always been a baseball fan, but my sisters never really followed baseball before that first season of minor league ball the summer of 2000, but they fell in love with the game. They are currently on their way back from Houston after watching the Astros lose 10-1 to the Giants. At least Barry Bond didn't hit his 714th home run tonight.....

When the Express first came to Round Rock as the Astros Double-A affiliate, I was still living in Arkansas, but I always managed to take a summer vacation. I enjoyed going to the games with my family, but it gets really hot and sticky, sitting out on the right field berm in the Texas summer heat. Berm tickets were only $4, and when my dad bought them with his military ID, he got another dollar off, so it was cheap entertainment.

My sisters learned the players and learned the game. They have enjoyed seeing the players they have watched with the Express get called up to the majors. Players like Roy Oswalt, Jason Lane, Eric Bruntlett, Mike Gallo, Wandy Rodriguez, and most recently Joe McEwing who got the call after Chris Burke (also an Express alum) went on the DL as a result of running into a wall…. My sisters befriended a lot of the ushers out at the ballpark, and now work out at the games.

My sisters are ushers, so although they have to ride herd on often unruly children out at the ballpark, they get to see most of the ballgame. Not bad, getting paid to watch baseball. In addition to ushering, they also help out in the clubhouse (after the players have cleared out, of course…). My sisters get to talk to the players, and some are sort-of friends. My sisters love being called “sweetie” by, and getting pecks on the cheek from, Luke Scott, and they have been known to bake “Home Run” cakes for the players, especially when it helps to win a game. So far this season, Luke and Brooks Conrad have both gotten cakes, and for the same game…

As a family, we haven’t had to pay for tickets much for the past several seasons. My sisters “know people”, and more often than not, we get put on the pass list. The last game of the last homestand, we got some really choice seats: first row next to the Express dugout – the seats belonging to the “Ryan family”. As in Nolan Ryan. That was pretty cool! We were only “in danger” once, when Luke Scott fouled in our direction, but it hit the wall in front of us. We won’t get seats like that too much. I usually make the rounds of the ballpark a couple of times during the game to visit with my sisters while they are working, but I wanted to make the most of our front row seats last Monday! So far this spring, the weather has been great for all the games I’ve gone to (except for one with a rain delay). Last spring, I had to go into the Railyard and buy a blanket, it was so cold. We won’t have to worry about that for the rest of this season. It’s been hot, and it will only get hotter...

I told Ben that if he can get to the point this baseball season where he can leave the hospital for a few hours, I’d take him to a game. Football might be his favorite sport, but going to baseball games is lots of fun. And right now, the Express are a half game out of first place in their division, with a record of 22-13.