Compliments of my cousin Charlie and his wife Chris, my wife and I spent Friday night at Busch Stadium watching the Cardinals play host to the Giants.
The Cards defeated the Giants 14-4. Looking back at the box score, something popped out at me. The Cards had 11 hits, 5 walks, (and one Giants error) and scored 14 runs. Very efficient scoring. Only 3 LOB for the team.
I was looking forward to seeing Albert, of course. His big chance came of course, when the wife and I were the midst of walking around the stadium. We were walking along the outfield plaza when I notice the scoreboard says “Chris Duncan BB RBI”. That can only mean one thing:
Albert Pujols is up with the bases loaded.
…and I know how much he loves that. So I deserted my wife to get a good vantage point knowing that something was going to happen. Sure enough, he slaps a 2-run single to left.
My sojourn to Busch now had meaning.
Other highlights:
-Scott Rolen was the big stick. He hit two homeruns, a double with 7 rbis.
-Chris Duncan also hit 2 homeruns
-University of Illinois alum Scott Speizio went 2 for 4 with 2 runs and an rbi.
-oh, Barry Bonds went 1 for 3… and he was booed. How original.
As a park, I enjoyed Busch II. It kinda reminds me of the Cell in some ways. As I said, Joan and I walked the perimeter and enjoyed the sights along the way. They took down the scoreboard from the old park and have it displayed along the inside perimeter. The scores of the games of the day they took it down are still on there. Cubs lost to Astros 4-0.
My souvenir from the day? An Albert Pujols bobblehead. I think he will come with me on all Illowa APBA functions.
Many thanks to Charlie and Chris (who by the way, keeps a mean scorecard) for hosting us for the weekend.