WP & Royals Baseball

WP and I recently ventured to KC to catch a Royals game.  It was our 2nd Royals ballgame, but this time we were solo at the game, and my memories of our time together will last the rest of my life.  I am so thankful.

WP loves the analysis and statistics of the game as much as I do.  His little brain is amazing, the way he is able to process pitch counts, batting stances, pitching styles, defensive alignments, and reading the stats on a scoreboard is a wonderland.  For both of us. 

He questions and understands now virtually ever stat that is on display, from how many 2B hits the batter has had, to what FO7 means, to how many RBI's he has for the season.  It goes on and on, and he can recite player stats without making an error.

This game had a few firsts for us.  We've been to Drillers and Royals baseball games before, but this was our 1st one alone together.  It was the first time he'd seen the dancing bear up close and personal, which was right next to us, and the stadium camera caught me in the seat for 2-3 seconds. 

WP saw the little dancing girls (something normally reserved for Don Juan de Kueny).  It was the first time that I have paid $6 for cotton candy; a well deserved treat for my little trooper.  It was the first time that I have stayed that long through a rain delay.  We were drenched, but enjoyed watching it rain, watching the grounds crew cover the infield, and watching them prep the grounds after the tarp was removed about an hour later.

Unfortunately, the Royals lost, but were still in 1st place by 1.5 games.  The fireworks show after the game was incredible, though WP could barely stay awake.  Because of the rain delay, the fireworks show did not start until 11:15, and we didn't get back to our hotel room till right at midnight; which Mom tells me he then quickly fell asleep.  Unfortunately, I did not.  I was still too pumped with adrenaline, but did doze off, close to 2:30.

What a night.  So much fun, so many great memories.

I love you Will Parker!  I look forward to doing it again next year. :-)

 

Game time!  Play ball!

 

I love WP's expression.  I couldn't get him to smile; he told me later he was studying why the infield players were shifting out of normal position for the current batter.  I then explained to him that it is a relatively new defensive strategy employed by clubs who know how frequently the batter grounds the ball to certain parts of the infield.  He was amazed at the technique.

 

The rain sent probably 10k of the crowd to the parking lot; which was barely visible as it was raining so hard.  The inning directly before the rain started, the local weather man was 'live' at the ballpark and on the big screen in center field.  He said "Hello boys and girls (with a puppet on his hand), just wanted to tell you not to worry about that lightning that you see, it's going to miss us!  Your game is going to stay warm and dry!  No rain here tonight." 

 

What an idiot.  Less than 30 minutes later, the bottom fell out of the sky.

 

One of our many snacking moments. I love his crossed legs, as the feet were double crossed again at the ankles. Something that I too used to be able to do when I was a stick-person.

 

WP added 5 lbs. of water weight as the jacket acted as a sponge during the downpour.