#1/30: Busch Stadium, St. Louis

Getting on the board

Sunday, April 7, 2024

Today was new and exciting, yet warm and familiar.

I felt right at home as I was reminded how great it is to visit the ballpark in St. Louis - a place I’ve been to well over a dozen times.

It also felt like my very first game. In many ways, it was. A known experience became something completely new and was a primer for what’s to come this season.

Let's start from the beginning. I have to acknowledge the multiple elements of uncertainty that loomed right up until first pitch.

Micro… there was a chance of rain in St. Louis this afternoon. On my morning drive in from Champaign I had to use the windshield wipers here and there. And while the skies were mostly clear when the gates opened, the grounds crew unrolled the tarp about an hour before game time. For a few minutes there it was straight up pouring.

Macro… I’ve spent the better part of a year planning this 30-part journey, but up until today it was only that - a plan. It was a very well-organized plan, but if we’re thinking like baseball fans, we must acknowledge the superstition; the fact that a “sure thing” does not exist.

But “sure” enough, it all went to plan.

The gates opened 2 hours ahead of game time and I was among the hundreds of fans that poured through. The crowd size worried me a bit - I suppose I thought they were all competition. If you’ve read the “About” page here on 30 Bagger, you know that I’m hoping to get a ball at every stop. Turns out everyone was there for the promo item - a pretty cool dry-fit light blue Cards hoodie that I’ll probably give to my 11-year-old nephew. As for getting a ball, it took only a few minutes (and my creative t-shirt) to secure a toss-up from a Marlin in left field. SCORE! 1 for 1.

So I was left with about 110 minutes to roam. I picked up an official scorecard to prep for another planned ritual - keeping score at every game. In an unexpected twist, I read up on how to keep score the “Cardinal Way”. Turns out I really like it. So I’ve decided, as a nod to my home team, that I will keep score this way for the rest of the season.

Good thing I had plenty of time to learn, because… getting to the game itself…

The 0-9 Marlins nearly batted around and lit up Kyle Gibson for 6 runs in the top of the 1st. There was so much action that I totally forgot to use my 4-color pen as intended. The idea was to do outs in red and bases in green. Took me a little while to remember, though. And that certainly isn’t the only blunder on my scorecard. It was a subpar pen & paper performance for me today.

Speaking of subpar, the Cardinal bats had zero response. That side of the scorecard was easy. Max Meyer was perfect for 4 1/3 innings until Nolan Gorman busted it with his first of 2 homers on the day (the only Redbird offense to speak of).

So there I was, with a ball secured and a scorecard on its way to completion. The home team was pretty uninspiring but I had a good local beer from Urban Chestnut to keep me spirited. I remained locked in on every pitch.

Then came that uncertainty again.

After the top of the 9th with a score of 10-1, the rain came back and the game was delayed. Nearly everyone went home. I couldn’t. I still had the bottom of the 9th to follow on my scorecard. At this point the game was official, so I suppose there was no risk of #1/30 being tarnished. Nonetheless, I had to stick around. I went into the concourse, found a spot, and checked my phone to realize that basketball megastar Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes were headed to the 4th quarter of the national title game trailing the favored Gamecocks. Although the end result of that was a disappointment to almost everyone outside of South Carolina, the cloud over St. Louis did have the silver lining of being able to watch that (un?)historic finish.

The game resumed. Gorman hit his 2nd homer. Soon enough, though, the fear of defeat was confirmed, and the Marlins secured their first win of the season.

There it is - we’re on the board! Besides a home team loss, stop #1/30 proved to be fulfilling in every way. Today may end up being the most anticipated visit of the season only because it represents the long-awaited, nervously anticipated start of this ultimate tour. As I sit here recapping the day with an order of toasted ravioli and a cold beverage in a commemorative stadium cup, I feel excited for the future more than anything else. Yes - this afternoon was great. But to imagine that such an experience will come 29 more times this season, in mostly unfamiliar places, leaves me with no doubt that this journey will only get better.

Extra Innings

The following day, Monday April 8, was special in a very different way. A solar eclipse passed through the heart of America. Some folks drove hours chasing the path of totality.

I went to Grant’s Farm, cracked a Budweiser and hung out with Clydesdales.

That’s Logan from the Midwest Hitch and no, he's not trying to bite me. These horses are very well-trained, outrageously pampered, and quite friendly. They're also massive - standing about 6 feet tall at the withers (front shoulders) and weighing 2,000 pounds. These horses won't be winning me any money at the track, but they are world's experts at hauling a wagon full of beer and looking great while doing so. I'll take the latter all day.

As for the eclipse… I was at the farm during the couple minutes of 99% totality over the St. Louis area. There was a noticeable difference for sure, but nowhere near the nighttime-like darkness that dedicated observers would have seen.

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From the farm I headed west. This first small leg of the season isn't over yet. Let's play two!

Next stop: April 9, Kansas City