On the way to Indy

On our way to Indianapolis last month (early April) we stopped by Cincinnati to catch a game. I'm sorry I haven't blogged this earlier, but things have been busy. We had a fantastic time. I especially enjoyed that the Reds' ball park is called the Great American Ball Park. I can't think of a better name for a baseball park. Incidentally I later learned that the Cincinnati Reds can thank Great American Insurance for that name; that burst my bubble a bit.

K&V at Great American Ball Park

Cincinnati, OH

Cincinnati Reds line-up April 5, 2008

Since my youth in beautiful Washington and my father's enthusiasm for baseball I have had a special admiration for Ken Griffey, Jr. I remember when he came to the Seattle Mariners as a rookie while his father was there as a veteran player. I remember watching them take the field together and always walk off the field together. I, with many others in the Pacific Northwest, was deeply disappointed when Griffey left Seattle for Cincinnati. I was especially chagrined because the only Mariners game I saw in person during Griffey's career was one in which he sat on the bench for a day off. As far as I knew I would never see him play in person. Many years later I met and married my baseball-crazed husband, and over the past three years we have seen many baseball games. However, most of these games (as you might notice from my 2007 review) were Braves 'away' games closer to our home in Rochester, such as Philadelphia). Since Cincinnati is a good 8 hours away from Rochester the chance that I would ever see Griffey play was slim. Also, Griffey, like many other players as they age, has had many injuries in the past few years, so I had all but ruled out the possibility of seeing him play. All this said, if you had asked me two months ago who my favorite player was or who I most wanted to see, I would have had to ponder this for quite some time. Even after seeing him I would have to ponder a bit. Just the same, when I saw him take the field during batting practice and then in the game, it felt as though some part of my life had come full circle -- like some task was completed. Well, this is all a bit too philosophical for me and probably for you too, but I have enjoyed rattling on for a minute.

Ken Griffey, Jr

This is his classic stance. It often follows a home run, but this time it followed a foul ball on the third base side of the field. Tough luck.

As a side note, don't you think my husband is amazing at catching these moments on camera? Just perfect.