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Heartwarming Small-Town Romances and Thrilling Mysteries

George Brett batting, Royals vs. Twins, July 1992.  The Twins were the World Series champs in 1991.
George Brett batting, Royals vs. Twins, July 1992. The Twins were the World Series champs in 1991.

Baseball is one of my favorite sports, but I don’t follow it like I do football, my most favorite sport. I only watch the baseball playoffs and World Series. This year, the Kansas City Royals, the family’s favorite baseball team, made it to the World Series. Hubby’s uncle and his family lived in Kansas City and of course, were huge Royals fans. Hubby’s parents were huge Royals fans. At Christmas, both of our kids got Royals jackets, hats, and shirts. We had a Royals family.

In the 1980 and 1990s, we visited our Kansas City relatives a few times and went to watch the Royals play. We already had the outfits so we fit right in. In those days, George Brett and Bret Saberhagen played. We got to see them play the Minnesota Twins when Kirby Puckett played for them. Seeing them play was thrilling. Watching a pitch on TV does not capture how fast that ball travels from the pitcher to home plate. How those men hit that tiny ball going 100 mph is beyond me.

George Brett on third base.  View from our front row seats.  Priceless!
George Brett on third base. View from our front row seats. Priceless!

We sat in the middle of the stands behind the third base line and in the front row of the upper deck. The upper deck made me slightly dizzy. It’s a long way down! One night, we were given special tickets and got front row by third base. Watching the game at ground level was exhilarating. My son wore his Royals jacket, his Royal shirt, his Royals baseball cap, and a brown mitt. Between innings (during the commercials), the players throw around balls while warming up for the inning. No foul balls came our way, but Sonny was ready for them if they did. Toward the end of the game, the third base umpire caught one of the balls and walked over to give it to our son. We still have that ball and the ticket he used to get it. A memory that we all hold dear.

The Royals didn’t win the Series this year, but they made a good showing of themselves. We enjoyed seeing them play well and shared in the excitement of possibly taking the crown. We are Royals fans and hope it’s not another 29 years before they get there again.

Umpire who gave Sonny the warm-up ball.
Umpire who gave Sonny the warm-up ball.

2 Responses

  1. Awesome post! Not sure why I’m just now seeing this, but I colmletepy agree. I made this same choice myself about a year ago and am not looking back.

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