I've tried really hard not to write this post. I really want everything on here to be light-hearted, but sometimes things are just too powerful in my life for me not to write about and this is one of those things.
June 1, 2012 at 6:48 pm PST was a life changing moment for me and for so many other people all over the world. Less than twelve hours prior to that moment I returned to the US after three weeks in Europe AKA three weeks when I was unable to watch a complete baseball game. Around 4pm I sat on my couch, iPad on my lap with the Mets SNY feed ready to go, so excited to be able to watch nine uninterrupted innings of Cardinals vs. Mets ball.
It was Beltran's first game back at Citi Field since being traded last July and Adam Wainwright was on the mound for the Cards. I couldn't wait to see how the fans welcomed Beltran who had been such a huge part of our team for so long, and how they welcomed Wainwright, the man that crushed our dreams so many years ago.
From my previous post you know that I love baseball, so much so that I cry sometimes. The last time I cried over a Mets game that I watched live was October 19, 2006. I had been in attendance the night before to see the Mets tie the series against the Cardinals, taking them only one more win away from a World Series berth. On the night of the 19th, I sat on my parent's bed, jumping up every half inning to update my away message (the best one was "The fat lady hasn't even begun to sing!"). My brother was on the floor and my mom and dad were sitting on the bed too. We weren't saying much, but then Endy made that catch. That's when we knew we had it. And with two outs in the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded, Beltran struck out looking against Wainwright and I cried. And cried. And cried.
I wanted to witness Mets history in my lifetime and I never thought that would happen. I counted every game played without a no-hitter. 8,019. But something told me Friday was the night everything would change. In the third inning I knew we had a shot and it took all of my strength not to call my dad to make sure he was watching. In the 5th my dad called and all I said was, "Are you calling me for the same reason I want to call you?" He said, "Yes, but let's not say anything else" and we hung up.
And then Adrian Johnson ruled Beltran's hit foul. (Adrian Johnson is my favorite umpire. I went to a game when he was in Pittsburgh and cheered for him until he smiled and waved at me. Obviously he's still my favorite. Yes, it's possible to have a favorite umpire.) I needed to make sure my friends knew what was going on, but I didn't want to jinx it. I texted a friend from college and said "Don't say anything.. no words. i know you know what i'm talking about" - and he did know what I was talking about.
And then Mike Baxter made that catch. And we were getting so close and it was taking everything in my power not to call people.
I was screaming and pulling my hair and trying hard to remain as calm as possible so my roommate didn't have me committed. I screamed to him we were one out away and he ran over to watch with me.
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| R.A. Dickey waiting... (my picture)* |
And then it happened.
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| (my picture)* |
And then I cried. I grabbed my phone and called my dad. He could barely understand me through the tears. And then the phone calls and texts flooded in. I managed to pull myself together for a little while until I started watching recaps and reading headlines. June 1, 2012.
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| (my picture)* |
I will forever remember hearing Gary Cohen say, "It has happened!"
*It's what all the great photo journalists put with their shots.
A really cool blog post you should read about this night from megcassidy. She's also a great blogger AND a Syracuse Alum!
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