What Albert Pujols and I Did for My Birthday
Ok, my favorite way to spend my birthday is with my family.
But since that wasn’t possible, the next best way was to spend it with Albert Pujols, the greatest active player in baseball. And to see him homer in Wrigley Field? Icing on the birthday cake.
The last time I saw the Cards and Cubs play at Wrigley was in August, 1968. (History exam: can you think of anything else happening in Chicago that month?) My grandmother and aunt saw how much I loved the game, so they took me the next night. We got to see Bob Gibson pitch eleven innings, though he didn’t get a decision. That’s the summer he pitched 28 — TWENTY-EIGHT — complete games. Today we celebrate a pitcher who has any complete games. Plus, 13 of those 28 were shut-outs.
Anyway, a couple shots of my buddy. (And thanks, Margaret and Leon for the birthday present. Doubt that I’ll ever get to sit that close again!)
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We were blessed at the Heartbeat retreat to have Mark and Katrina Willis with us. Check out the beautiful, intriguing painting she did for our theme: “New Eyes, New Views.”
Great shots Mike. It is amazing how close you are to the field at Wrigley as compared to other stadiums. I grew up with the old Rangers Stadium and the Astrodome.
You were in Chicago as a delegate for Hubert Humphrey at the Democrats National Convention. The only 8 year old allowed to vote. [I was showing up in Searcy for the start of my freshman year.]
Now you need to repent for causing me to be envious of you…and not just because you saw Albert Pujols but because you saw the GREATEST baseball team playing the Cardinals in the GREATEST ballpark.
winking all the way,
Rex
Wonderful paintings and drawings. Thank you so much for the link.
As a long time Yankee fan, I have to admit that Bob Gibson was almost superhuman. I watched him pitch on TV many times, and who can ever forget the 68 World Series. In my opinion that was the greats series ever. I still remember watching it in school. Every game was a day game. I know you have posted about the 68 Series before, but I could still sit down and watch all seven games. I loved the Yankees back in the 60s when they were awful so maybe that counts for something.
Prince Albert on your birthday…if you can’t be with family that absolutely would be a great birthday. He is the greatest player today. And to my Brewers, Cubs, and Braves friends, yes, WITHOUT steroids! We’re heading to St. Louis on Labor Day weekend to take in a couple of games. Happy Birthday, Mike! Thank you for sharing your life with us on this blog.
If I were picking my team, Pujols would probably be my first draft choice–but Josh Hamilton is playing at a level above anyone else right now. “Better year” and “best player” are two different arguments, so no attempt to denigrate Pujols, just a shout-out to Josh.
My boss and I were having a baseball discussion the other day. I said if I had to pick one pitcher (in his prime) to win one game, in my lifetime it would be a coinflip between Gibson & Koufax. Would have loved to have seen him (Gibson) pitch live.