- Bill Chastain
First Major League Game?
Updated: Oct 22, 2020
In honor of the World Series, here's one to jogging your memory. Do you remember the first major league game you attended? Fun to jog those memories.
A friend once asked the question on social media. That prompted me to look up the specifics of my first game.
Baltimore Orioles-New York Yankees, June 16,1965 at Yankee Stadium. Dave McNally pitched eight innings for the O’s to get the win. Mickey Mantle played left. Roger Maris played right. Al Downing started for the Yankees and gave up three homers. Clete Boyer hit one for the Yankees
My mother dressed my older brother and me in seersucker suits. The temperature was 60 degrees when the game started, and continued to drop. We had hot chocolate, bought from a vendor with a container strapped to his back.
Oh yeah, 10,911 attended the game that lasted 2 hours and 17 minutes.
Share your first game if you can remember.
Speaking of baseball. How many items on the following list are embraced by players and teams today?
Hit the cutoff man
Throw strikes
Square around to bunt
Dive or not to dive
Don't walk the lead-off man
Don't swing at the first pitch
Lay off the breaking stuff, swing at fastballs only
Go up to the plate swinging
Never make the first or third out at third.
Finally, a memorable exchange between A.J. Pierzynski (when he caught for the Red Sox in 2014), and umpire Quinn Wolcott.
Pierzynski: Excuse me, can I have a new ball?
Wolcott: For what?
Pierzynski: One you can see.
Pierzynski was ejected.
I invite you to hang out with me on my site at billchastain.com and read more of my blogs. You can also download FREE chapters from some of my fiction books: Peachtree Corvette Club, The Streak and Retrouvailles. Drop me a line at Asked and Answered. Let's talk about feel-good stories, fun facts, movies, food and, of course, two of my very favorite topics: sports and books. Whatever is on your mind.