Angels 10 Tigers 0

“Now, there’s a big league play I’m positive you will never see again,” laughs a rabid Angeles fan pointing to first base. Under a crystal clear, sun-drenched, aqua-blue sky, it's the top of the forth inning at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA. Angel fans enjoying an outstanding day of baseball. Temperatures reached the high 80s at game time. This afternoon time stood still as patrons basked in the glory of the first inning.

The bottom of the first saw 13 Angels hitters come to the plate. The hits just kept coming, Pujols smacks one to center field, Mark Trumbo drives one to right field, and Kendrick lines one up the middle. With the based loaded, Mike Trout steps to plate, his fifth pitch - a 79 mph curveball - from the hand of Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello. Trout launches one high and deep to center field, “touch-em’ all,” his first career grand slam! Nine runs would cross the plate before that first inning would mercifully end for the Detroit Tigers. Josh Hamilton files out to the center fielder Austin Jackson.

. . . Back to the forth inning - the magic of baseball, fans leap from their seats when they witness plays never seen before. Prince Fielder struts to the plate, now granted, this guy has a career .287 batting average, 264 home runs, with 880 career strike outs, the 5 foot -11 inch, 275 pounder - a power hitter, not a fast runner. Ok, Tigers fans are waiting for Fielder to get things going, something to change the momentum of the game. The fourth pitch from Richards, an 85 mph slider, with a savage swing Fielder strikes out. The ball gets away from the catcher, dribbling to the backstop. Now, there is a quirky rule in baseball, if the catcher drops the ball on strike three, the batter, provided they can run fast enough and not thrown out by the catcher, is awarded first base. Believe it or not this monster of a guy makes it to first. Maybe this twist of fate is just what the Tigers need to turn the tide of the game.

Sorry Tiger fans, next batter, Victor Martinez strikes out to end the inning.

The Angles would go on to shut-out the Tigers 10-0. Maybe this Angels fan was right after all, it's doubtful Prince Fielder will ever reach first base again on a strike-out, who knows - but that’s the joy of baseball.

Comments

Resurrecting the '90s Graphite

Let’s face it, there’s a certain danger in reading John Gierach's Trout Bum . His wit, self-deprecation, and sharp, effortless satire are entirely infectious. If you aren't careful, his words will inspire you to drop everything, wade into a freezing river, and try to outsmart a creature with a brain the size of a lentil. In my case, re-reading Gierach recently didn't send me straight to the river. It sent me digging through the dusty, spider-guarded corners of my garage. In the early 1990s, seeking a natural escape from Manhattan's concrete canyons, I decided to learn to cast a fly rod. I bought an Orvis Rocky Mountain —eight-and-a-half feet, three ounces, built for a five-weight line—and had absolutely no idea how to use it. To avoid aimlessly whipping the water like scrambling eggs, I took fly-fishing lessons from Al Cucci, co-author of Hatches , on the Delaware River. With his guidance, I fished renowned waters: the AuSable in New York and Michigan, and New Jersey...

From Mailbox to Microphone

In this episode, catching up with Sierra . What happens when you combine a little imagination, modern digital tools, and the willingness to make a glorious, muddy mess? You get our guest’s latest project. I’m Patrick Ball. Welcome back to On the Fly . Today, we are diving into the world of native plants and guerrilla gardening with twelve-year-old creator Sierra. After watching her impressive, self-produced tutorial on how to make ‘Seed Balls,’ I had to know how she did it. It’s incredibly inspiring to watch Sierra evolve from a young artist wielding crayons and stationery into a savvy digital creator. She’s writing scripts, mastering voiceovers, and editing—all to make a positive, green impact on her local community. “She shoots, she scores, and she’s here to tell us all about it.” Please welcome Sierra to On the Fly ! Let’s get into it. Audio interview . . . For more blog posts showcasing Sierra’s talents, see: The Mailbox Surprise . . . and The Summer Surprise I’m Patrick Ball. Sta...

The AI Debate Was Settled in 1954

In this episode, what a 70-year-old sci-fi mystery teaches us. Welcome back to On the Fly. I’ve been looking for a clear way to explain how we should be handling Artificial Intelligence today. I finally found the answer hidden in a book I just finished. The twist? It was written more than seventy years ago. Isaac Asimov's The Caves of Steel was published in 1954, when a computer filled an entire room, consumed enough electricity to dim the neighborhood, and had roughly the computing power of today's microwave. Yet Asimov set his story nearly 3,000 years in the future—a world where humanity lives in sprawling enclosed cities (New York) and depends on advanced technology for nearly every aspect of daily life. The remarkable part isn't how much of the technology he imagined. It's how accurately he predicted us. In Asimov's future, society struggles with the introduction of highly sophisticated humanoid robots powered by "positronic brains." Naturally, a lou...

The Birth of a Cubs Legend

In this episode, The 162-Game Exhale — and the Birth of a Cubs Legend There’s a hush in the baseball world on Game 162 — a collective breath drawn in and slowly released. Scoreboards stop flipping. Dugouts empty. For six months, the game has been our steady heartbeat, pulsing from the cherry blossoms of Tokyo in March to the crisp, playoff-charged winds of late September. And now, as the regular season exhales, baseball fans everywhere pause to absorb the story we’ve just lived. For me, that story has been deeply personal. This season unfolded in the rhythms of my daily life. It was the summer soundtrack echoing beneath the constant turmoil of politics and sensational headlines. It was a handful of carefully chosen ballpark pilgrimages stitched together with countless nights in front of MLB.TV. And at the center of it all, for a lifelong Cubs fan like me, it revolved around one name — a young center fielder who turned hope into history: Pete Crow-Armstrong. The 2025 season didn’t begin...

On The Fly

Search This Blog