Show and Tell Saturday: First MLB Game

[A couple of years ago, Year of the Hamster passed along a fun and clever “show and tell” idea that I mindlessly and foolishly slept on. No more. Today, Chrystal O’Keefe kicks off a new weekly feature for us here: Show and Tell Saturday.—BB]

We’re a baseball family. My husband and I grew up with it in our lives and have passed it along to the kids. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad yet, but it’s fun for now.

My son started playing baseball in kindergarten and because of that, I started getting emails from Little League. I would typically ignore the emails but I saw a subject line about $20 tickets for MLB games on select weekends. I was curious, and saw that we could attend a White Sox game the weekend after my son’s seventh birthday.

We found incredible seats, close enough to chat with the outfield if we wanted. The kids had only been to Victory Field in Indianapolis, usually to catch the Indians play the Charlotte Knights.

My husband relished every moment, as his goal was to turn these young kids into Sox fans. They posed for pictures all around the ballpark in their new hats (it was a hat giveaway that day). We tried to capture every moment we could while still paying attention to the game. Explaining rules, talking about each new player who walked up to bat, and trying to keep a four-year-old interested even though she spent most of the game playing on my husband’s phone.

Billy O’Keefe

Billy O’Keefe

We stopped for snacks before finding our seats to settle in for what would be a hot evening game in July. The kids made their way down to the first row to watch players warm up in the outfield. “That’s Icky Delmonico,” my husband said to the kids. (Icky was a loving nickname my daughter gave to Nicky Delmonico the previous summer, as it was apparently hard for a three year old to say “Nicky.”).

“And that’s Adam Engel. He’s just here until the good players come back from the injured list.” I laugh at that statement now, as I anxiously await for his return and some semblance of a functioning outfield.

Chrystal O’Keefe

During the first inning, Melky Cabrera hit what I believe was his last home run in a White Sox uniform, as just about a week later he was in Kansas City. The White Sox lost, 4-3, against the Mariners, but our day was so great that it didn’t even matter.

Their first experience on the train, first MLB game, a free hat and yelling “good catch” at Icky Delmonico from our seats made what might be just an ordinary day at the ballpark for anyone else into something they’ll never forget.

Billy O’Keefe

I know they’re ready to return, wearing the new gear Santa brought this past Christmas. Once we all feel comfortable back in the ballpark, I imagine we’ll all be attending as many Sunday afternoon games as possible.

Show and Tell Saturday is meant to be an interactive feature, where you as readers can submit your own stories, to be published on South Side Sox. If you are interested in being a featured writer in a future S&T story, contact me.