Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Dear Son,

Today we went to a Mariners game. They got shut out by the Detroit Tigers, which was kind of a bummer - I can't remember the last time I went to a game and they actually WON. But Matt was happy, since he's from Michigan and was the reason we went to the game in the first place.

Baseball is one of those sports that's more fun to watch live. It's just too slow for the TV. But at the ball park you can fallow the action more easily, and it becomes a kind of whole experience. Complete with the peanuts. And Safeco Field is a fantastic stadium. There's hardly a bad seat in the house, and it just feels like... baseball.

Word to the wise - right now the best booze deal in the place is the sushi stand where they serve cups of sake for $6.50. For the cost of a beer, you get twice the alcohol, and it's warm to boot - and let me tell you, on nights like tonight, that's pretty nice. It was cold when that wind came up over the Sound.

I didn't go to a major league baseball game until I moved out here to Seattle. It was a pretty exciting way to be broken in. It was the year the Mariners tied the record for the most wins in a season, and that day I watched them beat the Diamondbacks from great seats on the first base line. The Diamondbacks won it all that year, too, if I remember correctly.

I hope we can take you to a game earlier than that. It's a lot of fun, and a part of the American experience I think is important to have under your belt. The real question is who we'll go watch and root for down there in Reno...

Love, Orrin