baseball is in my blood, as mr. willie would say

I missed the first two games of the World Series.

I'm not sure why I missed them, but I did.

Then, on Monday night, during Game 3, I accidentally tuned in... and stayed right there for seven innings. 

Here's the funny part: I was on FOX for "Two And A Half Men", as it was midnight30 and they are my signal to chill out for bed.

However, the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays had stalled out in a tie, so play continued.

There are no ties in baseball.

Even Banana Ball acknowledges that there are no ties in its version, with play rocking on in three tiebreaker innings designed to force a win.

Anyway, as I was saying, the show I'd come to see was not on... but I stayed.

My thought had been: it's already the 12th inning, it should be done soon.

Silly me.

I had not known that it had been tied since the 7th inning.

It would continue to be tied until the 18th inning.

Just think about that: thousands of fans still watching the game, there in Dodger Stadium, waiting for that tie-busting win to be played.

That's why I stayed for SEVEN INNINGS, waiting right along with them.

And, as I watched, getting familiar with the players' faces and names, I started feeling like a baseball fan again.

As I watched, my mind went back to a Savannah Sand Gnats game that went on for a mind-numbing TWENTY-ONE INNINGS, on a chilly April night.

Those of us die-hard fans that stayed until the last out was played did so not because we wanted to know who won - oh, no.

We stayed because the game wasn't over yet.

When a game goes into overtime on a baseball diamond, that's called "free baseball", meaning more innings you didn't have to pay to see... and that was like a party atmosphere!

I bet that 21-inning game was more than 25 years ago.

Who won?

I have no idea.

After a while, all of us at Grayson Stadium just wanted someone, anyone, to break that tie so we could, in good conscience, go home and get warm!

Funny, right?

My guess is the folks in Los Angeles wanted the same thing Monday night.

The temperature there had dropped into the mid-60's by that 12th inning and folks were wearing light jackets to try to keep warm in that game without end...

but the stands were still full of people who, like me, were waiting for that final out or that tie-breaking run.

The latter was what we all got, at the bottom of the 18th, when Freddie Freeman, a 35-year-old Dodger, hit a homer to end the game.

That put the Dodgers at 2 wins to the Blue Jays 1 win in the World Series.

The time was 3 AM.

I didn't bother to see if the Harper boys' show was coming on or not.

(smile!)

Somehow, I missed Game 4.

All I knew was that the Blue Jays won it, tying up the series.

Then, after I was done with all else I wanted to do, I tuned in for Game 5, the last one to be played in Los Angeles.

That meant I was there to watch a rookie 22-year-old pitcher - Trey Yesavage - strike out TWELVE Dodgers, a new record!

I was there to watch as the Blue Jays scored two runs in the 7th inning, then follow that up by making a double-play against the Dodgers!

I even enthusiastically wrote about it on fb!

I knew Jim Casey, a former pro baseball player, was watching the game, too.

Nice to feel like we were watching it together!

 

I even made sure to take a photo of the last pitch.

I knew for certain when it was coming in the bottom of the 9th.

The Dodgers never scored but the one run, so Toronto took that win!

What a marvelous game!

I do hope the Blue Jays win...

nothing against the Dodgers, but I do like Canada.

(smile!)