1. Spend a week at spring training. – this is on my list of things to do, will do it soon.
2. Learn to keep score. – I used to earn a cool $5 bucks per game at Granada Park, plus soda and nachos by keeping score….my first real job
3. Learn about Tommy John surgery by throwing out your arm at the stadium speed pitch station. – I have done this many times, topping out at a cool 78 mph…..and icing my elbow when I got home.
4. Watch "Field of Dreams," "Bull Durham," "A League of Their Own," "The Bad News Bears" (the original) and "The Natural." – seen them all, numerous times…..sniff.
5. Use a wood bat. – I was given a wooden bat in little league, I used it a few times, eventually breaking it at the batting cages
6. Enjoy a beer in the bleachers at Wrigley Field on a sunny summer day. – on my list, although I heard it’s hard to get bleacher tickets. I also heard the fans out there are odd (jumping in the urinal troughs.)
7. Listen to Vin Scully call an entire Dodgers game. – only about 2000 times! High fly ball into right field, she isssss gone! (20 seconds of silence) In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened. (and yes I got goose bumps just typing that)
8. Read "Ball Four," "The Boys of Summer," "Nine Innings," "The Glory of Their Times" and any (preferably all) of Roger Angell's collections. – I have read some baseball books but not these. I have a Ted Williams bio and Joe DiMaggio bios on my list.
9. Go to Japan's Koshien high school tournament (i.e., where Dice K threw his famous no-hitter). –hmm I guess this would require a passport.
10. Hit a home run. – in softball I have, and once in little league, so I guess that counts right?
11. Coach a Little League team. – this is my dream! I think it will be fun, I am debating if I can do it before I have a kids on the team or not. When I do have a kid its pretty much a given.
12. Ump a Little League game. – hmm this doesn’t seem nearly as exciting, I got kicked out of a little league game once for arguing and throwing my helmet, so I’m a little biased towards little league umps….but seriously I was safe.
13. Boo the Yankees in person. – Did this on numerous occasions. Multiple trips to Anaheim stadium, their one appearance at Dodger Stadium (on my birthday!), and 2 times in New York.
14. Play Strat-O-Matic, APBA, Dynasty League or a similar computer-simulation game. – I played with the Strat-O-Matic a little bit, never got really into it. The others I will look into
15. Attend a fantasy camp and have more fun than you can imagine feeling old and young at the same time. – I won a contest this past spring where I got to go to Dodger Stadium, take BP, throw a bullpen session, meet and greet some current, former and future Dodgers. I think this qualifies.
16. Tour the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. – Went there in 1992 with my family. It was awesome, I can’t wait to go back sometime.
17. Oil your glove and stuff it under your mattress for the winter, then play catch the first day of spring with your parent/child. – I had my glove oiled, and tied together with a ball to make the perfect pocket. Kenny Landreaux told me how to do it. Worked out great. We don’t have seasons in southern California.
18. Get to a game early enough to watch batting practice. – Done this a few times, never caught a bp homer though.
19. Go to College World Series- Perhaps when UCR makes it! we were so close….wait it’s in Iowa? Oh man that’s gonna be rough.
20. Play pepper. – I think if you played little league this is a given.
21. Go to a batting cage and see what it's like to hit a 90 mph fastball. Or, more likely, fail to hit a 90 mph fastball. – I have done this many times, I can hold my own, I’m not cranking them out, but I get a few decent hits. Then they throw a change-up and I’m frozen.
22. Attend a townball game in Minnesota (the smaller the town the better). – note to self, when going to Iowa, swing by Minnesota to kill two birds with one stone
23. Visit the "Field of Dreams" in Dyersville, Iowa and the old Durham Athletic Park (where "Bull Durham" takes place). – Iowa….again!?!? oh but people will come ray, they’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t explain. I’ll swing by Durham if I ever go to a college basketball game.
24. Take your kids to see The Chicken or The Phanatic. – I have no kids, but would take them to San Diego to watch the Dodgers play. The phanatic is a bit further.
25. Run around the bases after a big league game. – done this one or two times…90 feet….much further than you think.
26. See Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols and Ichiro play in person and chant their names with a stadium packed with fans. – Been to Yankee stadium to hear “Derek Jeter clap clap clap clap clap” and have been in attendance with huge Japanese crowds for Ichiro, but nothing for Pujols yet.
27. Buy a fitted cap to replace the cheap stadium giveaway you got with the plastic adjustable strap in the back and the Piggly Wiggly logo on the side. – I have been wanting to get a fitted Dodgers hat for the longest time. I really should get one
28. Sing "Sweet Caroline" at Fenway Park. – I do love Neil Diamond! So far I have only had the chance to sing “Don’t stop believing” during the 8th inning at Dodger Stadium.
29. Recite "Casey at the Bat" and "Tinker to Evers to Chance." – I memorized Casey at Bat when I was younger for some reason.
30. Read the box scores religiously. – I still do, I’m really big into stats. When I was younger I used to get the sports section and look at all the box scores and stat leaders for each league, now I just do it online.
31. Join SABR. – I’m not sure if I want to join, but I have read up some on Bill James, moneyball, etc.
32. Get your favorite player's autograph. – My favorite player growing up was Darryl Strawberry, and I got him to autograph his new book…mission accomplished!
33. Learn to throw a curveball. – I can throw one, just not very well.
34. Take a week-long road trip through the minors, the lower the league the better, and make sure to include a team owned by Mike Veeck. – I have heard minor league games are fun, but alas I have yet to go.
35. Cheer the Rally Monkey. – Umm, can I cheer for him when he dies? Wait that’s harsh, okay I’ll say the Jurassic park rally monkey cut in at the stadium, is astonishingly stupid and makes me laugh.
36. Eat at Boog's barbecue pit at Camden Yards, enjoy a Primanti Brothers sandwich at Pittsburgh's ballpark, the fish tacos in San Diego, a Dodger Dog at Dodger Stadium and garlic fries while circling the concourse in Seattle. – On this list I have only had a Dodger Dog. I went to Camden yards, but I didn’t realize they had a specialty. I’ll have one next time I go back.
37. Attend a game in the Caribbean. – only if I get to see a player use a glove made out of a milk carton like Vin told me many Dominican players did as kids.
38. Buy a bleacher ticket and sneak into a box seat. – I have done this before, just go to a stadium where not a lot of people go (cough cough Nationals cough cough).
39. Passionately argue in a bar over who belongs in the Hall of Fame. – I’m not sure its passionately but I have said who I think is a sure thing guy to numerous people while discussing it. (Oh and everyone from this “loosey goosey era” should be let in….no one cares except pompous baseball writers who think they are helping steer the sport)
40. Collect baseball cards. Get your favorite player's rookie card and store it in a plastic sleeve. Treat all others the way God intended: by clothes-pinning them to the spokes of your bicycle in a pathetic attempt to make an engine noise. – I believe the 35,000 cards in my mom’s closet is s testament to me and my brother’s devotion. That’s our retirement…..wait they aren’t worth much!??!
41. Rub the Babe's nose in Monument Park. – Did they move monument park? If so I guess I’ll be going back to NY again sometime.
42. Camp out in front of the stadium for tickets to see your favorite team in the postseason. – They have this thing called the Internet now where you buy tickets….it’s neat, I login and get them.
43. Try to throw a knuckleball. – It goes about 50 feet, but it has no movement!
44. Try to catch a knuckleball. – people throw these in softball…..they are not fun to catch, not hit.
45. Catch a foul ball. And then hand it to the nearest kid. – I just want to catch one for myself at some point, then the next one I’ll give to a kid.
46. Disobey your parents by staying up late to listen to a game with your transistor radio/iPhone tucked under your pillow. – My yellow walkman was awesome. I listened to many games while falling asleep with it.
47. Go to the All-Star Game. – sadly the all star game, much like the superbowl is too corporate now and tickets are almost impossible to be had. Maybe I can find a nosebleed ticket next year.
48. Kayak in McCovey (yeah, Barry Bonds is gone, but San Francisco Bay is still there) – not sure about kayaking but I walked around the stadium….and I saw the dodgers win there…..numerous times………..giants suck
49. Eat a hot-fudge sundae in a mini batting helmet. – who hasn’t!?!! it’s messy, the helmet gets sticky, you end up forgetting it, but its totally worth it!
And finally …
50. See your team play in the World Series. (Sorry, this might not be applicable to Cubs, Mariners, Rangers and Nationals fans.) – I have seen the Dodgers win the world series on TV. Perhaps I’ll get to go to a game…..this year?!!?
