30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Monday, July 18, 2016

Out to the Ballgame


On Saturday, I went to my second A's game of this season with my friend and watched them take on the Toronto Blue Jays.


We arrived three hours early to ensure we secured our Hello Kitty bobbleheads.  This year she donned her catcher's gear and even though I'm not a HK fan, I've got to admit it's a pretty sweet bobble:


They opened the gates a little earlier than normal, so we were able to walk around the Coliseum, grab some grub, and catch some Pokemon:


Okay... I should clarify something.  I don't play Pokemon Go... but I helped my friend catch this Venonat.  I guess the O.Co is a Pokemon hotspot, so there were a bunch of fans with their phones out catching Pokemon.  Talk about a smart marketing ploy.


The game itself was close.  Sonny Gray continued to struggle on the mound.  The Blue Jays reached base safely or scored a run in each of the six innings against Gray.  Thankfully Khris Davis and rookie Ryon Healy provided enough run support to notch Gray his 4th win of the season.  Last season, it took him only six games to reach his 4th win.  This year?  Seventeen.



Speaking of Mr. Healy... his first MLB hit was a home run, which came in the bottom of the 2nd against 2012 NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey.  Healy was featured on his very own Topps Now card, but I just couldn't get myself to pay the $9.99 price tag... although maybe I'll eventually pick one up on eBay.

Justin Smoak made things really interesting in the 9th, when he hit a leadoff home run off of Ryan Madson.  


Thankfully he didn't suffer his 6th blown save of the year... and I was able to relive one of my favorite childhood pastimes and listen to Kool and the Gang at the end of the game.




By the way... I'm not sure if anyone out there watches MLS... but later that night the Earthquakes played Toronto FC and played with only 9 players for the better part of the second half.  However they somehow managed to keep the score close and in the 70th minute...


Simon Dawkins scored what turned out to be the game winning goal.  Very... very cool.  Talk about an exciting day for Bay Area sports.

I hope all of you have a great week.  Happy Monday and sayonara!

5 comments:

Tony L. said...

And hey, just think -- you'll soon be able to get MLS Topps Now cards.

Maybe I'll start collecting MLS cards once Atlanta United start playing next year. Probably not, though.

Man said...

One of the best things we did last year was go to see the Quakes, great vibe and stadium. Word of advice-sit behind the goal. Down side $12 beers. Tops Now= Scam

Matt said...

Man i need to get to a baseball game again soon. Been 2 years lol. Looks like you had fun!

BobWalkthePlank said...

I've been nabbing all my Topps Now cards on eBay. Love the concept, but hope they make some tweaks for next year.

Love being at the stadium! The Pirates have made it really hard to get their bobbleheads this year. They picked all Thursday day games :(

Fuji said...

tony - if and when i buy my first topps now card, my guess is it'll be a mlb card

brady - yeah i've been to a couple of quakes games and they're pretty awesome. i'm not really a beer drinker, but i don't think $10 lemonades are much of a deal either

sport card collectors - it was a blast. got a little burnt... but it was worth it.

mr. scott - i'm really surprised oakland doesn't adopt the thursday idea. it would probably help fill seats during the week. it would also make it easier for me to get a bobble. not sure if i want to arrive 3 hours early to a game again