Sports in Seconds: Best birthday memory in history
The recent success of the Detroit Tigers in the Major League Baseball (MLB) playoffs has brought back numerous memories for myself regarding the ball club from Mo-town.
After reminiscing, I realized that I basically had it all growing up.
The winter Starter jacket, the authentic MLB ball cap, a baseball helmet, t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks, pennants, posters, mini-baseball bats, and even a baseball card binder all sporting the not-so-ferocious-looking logo of the Detroit Tigers.
So without boring you with stories of me spending hours sorting through my boxes of baseball cards for hours on end, only to find a Mike Henneman rookie card to fill a gap in my Tiger's binder, I'll tell you about my 10th birthday.
Having a birthday in the summer, August 10th to be exact, was always great because I never had to worry about going to school.
Knowing this, my parents planned well in advance and purchased some tickets for a game being held at the old Tiger Stadium right on my birthday.
Excited about attending the game with much of my family, including my Aunt and Uncle from England, whose only experience with baseball was my little league games that same summer, decided to go exploring once I got there.
With my family sitting in their seats, most likely indulging in certain kinds of ice-cold refreshments, I went to stand by the Tigers bullpen to watch the starting pitcher of the day warm-up.
The pitcher that day was none other then a younger, but not so much slimmer, David Wells.
After watching Wells for a few minutes, he threw a wild pitch past the catcher. The coach beside Wells tossed him another ball and, after retrieving the wild pitch, the catcher tossed Wells the ball he was using previously.
Stuck with a dilemma, Wells looked across into the stands to the boy standing adjacent to him. Giving him a nod, Wells tossed the ball over to the boy and preceded with his warm-up.
I was ecstatic.
To go along with my Detroit Tiger paraphernalia I now had this prize possession, the centre of my Tiger universe, the ultimate birthday present, an authentic ball from MLB.
Immediately turning to my family, who were watching me below from their seats, I received a standing ovation from them, as they knew that I could not have asked for a better birthday present.
From there I went on a new mission; to get autographs.
Accompanied by my Aunt I received signatures from two pitchers at the Tigers bullpen, Joe Boever and Mike Gardiner to be exact, but I had my sights set on some non-no-name players.
We traveled down to the Tigers dugout, but as the game was just about to begin, I figured we might as well head back to our seats as autographs are not normally given during the game.
My Aunt did not give up hope though. Being the eccentric and extroverted type, she poked her head in the dugout and came face-to-face with Sparky Anderson, the legendary former manager of the Tigers.
Seeming almost intimidated by my Aunt, Anderson reluctantly signed my ball after she explained that it was my birthday.
So as the 2006 version of the Tigers continue to prowl their way through the MLB playoffs, I will be recalling many of the memories I have regarding the Tigers, as they were always a part of my life growing up.
After reminiscing, I realized that I basically had it all growing up.
The winter Starter jacket, the authentic MLB ball cap, a baseball helmet, t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks, pennants, posters, mini-baseball bats, and even a baseball card binder all sporting the not-so-ferocious-looking logo of the Detroit Tigers.
So without boring you with stories of me spending hours sorting through my boxes of baseball cards for hours on end, only to find a Mike Henneman rookie card to fill a gap in my Tiger's binder, I'll tell you about my 10th birthday.
Having a birthday in the summer, August 10th to be exact, was always great because I never had to worry about going to school.
Knowing this, my parents planned well in advance and purchased some tickets for a game being held at the old Tiger Stadium right on my birthday.
Excited about attending the game with much of my family, including my Aunt and Uncle from England, whose only experience with baseball was my little league games that same summer, decided to go exploring once I got there.
With my family sitting in their seats, most likely indulging in certain kinds of ice-cold refreshments, I went to stand by the Tigers bullpen to watch the starting pitcher of the day warm-up.
The pitcher that day was none other then a younger, but not so much slimmer, David Wells.
After watching Wells for a few minutes, he threw a wild pitch past the catcher. The coach beside Wells tossed him another ball and, after retrieving the wild pitch, the catcher tossed Wells the ball he was using previously.
Stuck with a dilemma, Wells looked across into the stands to the boy standing adjacent to him. Giving him a nod, Wells tossed the ball over to the boy and preceded with his warm-up.
I was ecstatic.
To go along with my Detroit Tiger paraphernalia I now had this prize possession, the centre of my Tiger universe, the ultimate birthday present, an authentic ball from MLB.
Immediately turning to my family, who were watching me below from their seats, I received a standing ovation from them, as they knew that I could not have asked for a better birthday present.
From there I went on a new mission; to get autographs.
Accompanied by my Aunt I received signatures from two pitchers at the Tigers bullpen, Joe Boever and Mike Gardiner to be exact, but I had my sights set on some non-no-name players.
We traveled down to the Tigers dugout, but as the game was just about to begin, I figured we might as well head back to our seats as autographs are not normally given during the game.
My Aunt did not give up hope though. Being the eccentric and extroverted type, she poked her head in the dugout and came face-to-face with Sparky Anderson, the legendary former manager of the Tigers.
Seeming almost intimidated by my Aunt, Anderson reluctantly signed my ball after she explained that it was my birthday.
So as the 2006 version of the Tigers continue to prowl their way through the MLB playoffs, I will be recalling many of the memories I have regarding the Tigers, as they were always a part of my life growing up.
