Parks & Recreation #2: Wrigley Field

I realize these are a bit out of order, but I got the pictures for the other game earlier than I got the ones for this game. In the future, they'll be in order.

Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

Date: May 3rd, 2009

Cost: 2 tickets, 10 rows up from the Cubs dugout = $143

Number of beers consumed: 4 1/2??

Ballpark Rating: 10/10

Musings:
We got even luckier than just getting to go to the game. It happened to be the day that the Cubs chose to retire the numbers of Greg Maddux and Fergie Jenkins (both #31) and so we got there extra early to catch some BP and the retirement ceremony. Watching BP was kinda fun for me, I don't usually get to the park early enough to catch it, but it was cool to see the players all relaxed and joking around. There ceremony was kinda cool, I mean, you're talking about two 300-game winners and the whole ambience of history at Wrigley. I guess I will always be able to say that I was at the first game that they raised the #31 up on the foul poles at Wrigley. Anyway.

The game was a good one, Nolasco v. Zambrano. The bottom of the 5th was particularly wild, Zambrano legged out a bunt and managed to get hurt, Pinella was walking up and down the bench asking "who wants to go out and run?" This guy from behind me yelled, "Put me in Coach!!" which got a hearty laugh from all of us around him. Harden ended up leaping out of the dugout and, well, he picked a good time to run because later on, with the bases loaded, Derrick Lee stepped up to the plate and blasted a grand-slam to center and the capacity crowd went APE SHIT. It was so much fun, high-fives all around, defeaning crowd noise, you would have thought a black man had just been elected President...wait. I digress. The game was a blast, we stayed for the entire thing, did the whole "Go Cubs Go" song at the end, great day for baseball and a great game to be lucky enough to attend. Here's the pics.


Catchin' BP


Seated (L to R): Ron Santo, Mr. Cub Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins. At the mic: Len Casper


Seated Left: see above, seated left of center: Greg Maddux


Maddux Accepting and paintings unveiled.


Fergie and Maddux on the mound


Future HOFer Hanley Ramirez...again.


View from our seats.


The Scoreboard


The last At-Bat.


Cubs Win.