Off Day Discussion Topic: Your First Game

by Jon Marthaler on Jun 22, 2009 1:00 PM EDT in WTF Comment 10 comments

I went to yesterday's Father's Day tilt against Houston with my dad, which got me thinking about my very first Twins game: July 16, 1987. I was five years old, and though the Twins were unbeatable at home in 1987, they contrived to lose to Toronto that day, 5-2.

Here's what I remember from the game, without looking at the box score: Jimmy Key pitched for the Blue Jays, and Kirby Puckett had to DH - it was the first game back after the All-Star break, and he'd lost his glove on the way back - thus putting Mark Davidson in center field. I seem to remember Davidson jumping lamely after a home run, not at all in the dynamic way that Puckett would go after homers, but this may be one of the tricks of my memory.

Anyway, the real story was that Steve Lombardozzi had an RBI double and an RBI triple - possibly the only time he ever did that in his career - and Kent Hrbek, my favorite player, had two hits, but otherwise Bert Blyleven got outdueled, giving up five runs over seven and two-thirds, including a Fred McGriff home run.

So: what do you remember about your first game? Feel free to look up the box score, but it's almost as much fun to test what you remember against the facts.

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First game

Sometime in July, 1968. All I remember is we sat in the second deck at the Old Met along the first base side. My friend’s dad took me a his son, of course, and my brother. In the seventh inning, he bet me a nickle that Harmon would hit a homer. We shook hands and Harmon deposited the next pitch into the left field bleachers.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Jun 22, 2009 1:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

1987

I recall very little other than the year – I was 7, not really all that young, but this was my first summer playing tee ball, and I hadn’t yet developed much of an interest in baseball. In fact, I was thinking that my first game was one in which Steve Lombardozzi had in in-the-park homer, but that was my second game, in 1988 (outfielders collided – we had horrible seats, and my main memory of it was seeing Lombardozzi and Gagne speeding around the bases while the crowd made a deafening roar). I don’t have a single baseball-related memory of that game.

"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

by BeefMaster on Jun 22, 2009 2:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Must have been 1992? Just turned 12...

Twins played the Angels. We sat in the home run porch, getting there early to watch warm ups. Seeing Rick Aguilera and Kirby Puckett in person was a big thrill, these guys were larger than life and here they were just a few feet away from me!

We lived a good four hours away from Minneapolis at the time, so I didn’t see many games live growing up. I’ve made up for it since….

Oh yeah, and the Twins won.

by Jesse on Jun 22, 2009 3:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

To be

To be honest, I don’t remember it. I was going to baseball games when I was 3 and 4 years old and that’s a little too young to remember. I was keeping score by age 5, I sort of remember being taught that…

"You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the damn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all."
~ Earl Weaver
"In God we trust. All others must provide evidence."
~ Billy Beane

by AdamOnFirst on Jun 22, 2009 6:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

1994

Five years old at the time. My only memory of the game was Puck’s homer and the Dave Winfield 3000 hit collectible cup which I still own.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN199407060.shtml

by mc barbarian on Jun 22, 2009 7:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Carew's Favorite Game

My first game was when I was nine – almost 32 years ago (Holy Smokes, I’m old) – on 6/26/77. I read an article in the Strib a few years ago that said that this was Rod Carew’s favorite game he ever played. Check out the box, and I’m sure you’ll understand why. I do remember some dude climbing the foul pole in left field and the announcer telling him to get down.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN197706260.shtml

by mccauleytj on Jun 22, 2009 9:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

1987 and 1991

Kind of an odd coincidence but my first two games were in the world series years. I would have been 5 and 9 so I don’t remember much at all to be honest. I just remember watching the world series in both those years and couldn’t believe that I had been at the same stadium that those events took place at. I lived in far western ND so I only got to see the Twins when we traveled to see my aunt in the cities. Great experiences I thought I was the good luck charm until 1997 when I saw a game on a school trip and they didn’t win the world series then. That was a fun game because I remember seeing Darin Erstad for he Angels in his prime and being he’s one of the few native ND players it was cool to see him play. My high school band played the National Anthem and I got to shake his hand and wish him luck.

One of my only brushes with celebrity, very memorable.

Peyton's good but have you ever heard of Jeff George?

by halfchest on Jun 23, 2009 3:28 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Coincidence

That’s funny – I grew up in western SD (Lemmon, right on the ND border), and I also made my trips to the Cities to visit an aunt.

"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

by BeefMaster on Jun 23, 2009 11:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

first game

I saw my first game in summer 1984. I was 11. I think I have identified it as July 28, 1984. I am 95% positive it was vs. the Angels and 90% sure it was a saturday. It was a bus trip for baseball so saturday makes sense. I don’t remember the game action much. Viola had a 3 hitter CG, the Twins won 6-1. I do remember how big the buildings were. I am from Fosston, MN and the biggest buildings i’d ever seen were in downtown Grand Forks. I also remember i had a broken ankle and a big cast. We sat just past the CF wall and a kid drinking a bunch of free pops was a long way from the bathroom. I remember how hard it was to walk all of those steps. I’d been a Braves fan and I remember Viola and Puckett becoming 2 of my favorite players and remember watching the twins hang in the 1984 race after going to this game.

by Shawn in Binghamton on Jun 23, 2009 12:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

first year of the metrodome

My first game was with my dad and uncle on July 18, 1982, when I was 11 years old. It was the first year of the metrodome, and I remember being blown out the doors and thinking that was pretty cool. Brad Havens pitched a complete game victory over the Tigers and after the game we waited for him in the parking lot or wherever you do that and got him to sign my program. I was a pretty happy kid. I lived in Nevada, so I didn’t get to another game for years.

by cooldude on Jun 23, 2009 2:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs