The sun is shining. The air is clean. The mountains stand tall as I look to the west. Today will be a great day for some baseball. After a slow paced morning filled with eating breakfast in my pajamas and working on writing assignments, the class piled into the van to go to the National Ballpark Museum and a game. After driving around Lower Downtown Denver, or LoDo as the locals call it, we parked the van and walked past Coors Field to get to the museum, where our hopes were dashed when we encountered the closed sign on the door. There was nothing else to do except turn around and enter Coors Field.
Having walked past the ballpark earlier, we used the Home Plate gate to get inside, which is the front entrance of Coors. Even though I have been attending games for several years, I had never used that entrance in the past. I was immediately assaulted by the sense of Rockies pride as I encountered large pictures of all the greatest players currently on the Colorado team. With the extra time, I ran around the ballpark, snapping photos of the field from almost every angle imaginable. Running up the stairs to the third deck reminded me how much being at altitude affects physical activity, and I sympathized a little with all the out of town teams who don't regularly play almost a mile above sea level.
As I stood on the third deck directly behind home plate, I conversed with the usher, who was a former educator in the Cedar Rapids area. We discussed at length Iowa, Coe, baseball, and, of course, the Rockies. After capturing some final images, I made my way over to section 341 to watch the game. With temperatures in the high sixties and a slight breeze, I couldn't imagine a better day to play ball.
The announcer welcomed us to "baseball's finest ballpark" and the Rockies and Colorado Symphony montage played as the newly commissioned "Take the Field" echoed around the stadium. That done, it was time for the game to begin. The first inning went by with out any notable plays. Still tied at zero, Pablo Sandoval ripped a home run down the left field line. Or at least, it was called a home run until Rockies manager Walt Weiss challenged the call. Upon review, it was ruled a foul ball, and the Panda had to return to the plate, where he was then out on a fly ball to center. The Rockies were able to manufacture a run in the bottom of the second and that lead remained when the announcer asked all fans in the upper deck and Rockpile to clear out because of severe lightning in the area. The official rain delay, which lasted eighty-two minutes, began shortly there after.
There were multiple buses of children at the ballpark for field trips from school. The delay, with the bright lightning and the scary thunder booms, was made all the more unpleasant because of the screams and pushing of the children and parents around us. Fortunately, they all took cover when a tornado warning was announced, leaving us relatively alone to wait out the rest of the break. Looking out over Coors Field throughout the severe weather warning was a somber sight. People were huddled under the Rockpile and roofs around the park, which left the rest of the stadium seemingly abandoned. Seeing the desolation and rain made me think of a post-apocalyptic Coors Field in ruins, which I will admit is overly dramatic but depressing none the less.
When the game resumed, both starters were done for the day, and my classmates rejoiced at the Jorge De La Rosa's exit because they couldn't stand watching his slow pitching motion anymore. Unfortunately, the Rockies had a hard time settling in after the break, and the Giants were able to score twice in the top of the fourth. When the Rockies batted, the pitcher from last night's game, Jhoulys Chacin pinch hit and got on base, but nothing came of it. In the top of the fifth, D.J. LeMahieu made a spectacular diving stop and flip to start a double play, which was crucial for keeping the Rockies in the game. A huge roar erupted from the crowd, who was once again hiding from the renewed rainfall. The Rockies managed to tie the game in the fifth, ensuring that the Giants would not take home the win if the game were to be shortened by the threatening weather.
With two outs and the score still tied 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Michael Cuddyer hit a single and Troy Tulowitzki, with a current home average in the 500s, was coming to the plate I was hoping for some LoDo magic to bring the Rockies a win. That was not to be as the already heavy rain intensified and chased everyone off the field. With the help of a radar map, our class reasoned that the game would most likely be called there, so we made the made dash to the van. Having reached the required five innings to be counted as an official game, the MLB rule book states that today's game will be suspended until September when the Giants return to Coors Field when the last three innings will be played starting right where it left off.
After a quick trip to the hotel to dry off a little, we went out and ate some delicious pizza at Pietra's in Wheatridge. Driving back to the hotel, Dr. Bob spotted a Dairy Queen on the side of the road and quickly turned the van around to allow us all to have a sweet treat. We ended our eventful day with a class session and packing for our early departure tomorrow. We hope to make it over halfway from Colorado to San Francisco, where we will once again see the Giants play. Despite the odd weather, I have very much enjoyed the short time we have spent in my wonderful state watching my amazing team.
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