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| 2005.09.30 - Dan's Last Game | ||||||||
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On the way home from work on Thursday, I heard that Dan Wilson, the
venerated catcher, and the favorite player of many a Mariner's fan, was
going to be able to catch the first inning of the "Fan Appreciation Game".
He would then walk off the field, and retire. For the first time
since he came to the M's in 1994, there would be no Dan Wilson on the
roster. I got online when I got home, and picked up 4 tickets; I was going to get to be at Dan's last game, and I was taking the Shadow Lady and her sisters with me. It was raining for most of the day, and the weather called for more... so the roof was closed when we got there. |
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We stopped for a couple of burgers from Kid Valley, then went out to our
seats... Just in time to see Dan suiting up for the game. He and Moyer went into the Bull Pen to a chorus of cheers... Which was nothing compared to when the dynamic duo came out to warm up at the start of the game! |
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| It was awesome to see him able to get down and catch... there's something that was just 'right' about it... | ||||||||
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The game got underway, and Super Dan got ready to play his last game. It was weird, happy and sad at the same time. |
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Dan seemed to pause as he scuffed up his section of the box... the grounds
crew had put a "6" there. Once the game started, though, he was the Dan of old... he even stood ready to block the plate, and ran down a foul ball... |
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After the first inning was over, he came out to warm up Jamie, then as the
first batter walked up to the plate, M's Manager Hardgrove called time,
and subbed Dan for Olivo. They shook hands, then Dan went out to say
good bye to Jamie. There's a rule, "There's no crying in baseball!" I sure hope there are exceptions! With his hat in the air, Dan Wilson walked off the field for the last time. |
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| There was a game on, though... the Grounds Keepers danced, and Ichiro became the first player to reach 200 hits in each of his first 5 seasons... |
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The team played very well! Moyer was ON... painting the corners, and
making everyone pop up... most of his pitches were the typical 65 to 80...
the fastest pitch I saw was 86. The problem for batters isn't how fast, but where... Jamie is the master at getting a sloppy strike! |
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The M's loaded up the bases a few times, and held a comfortable lead for
most of the game. It was a fun game to be at. |
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Jamie looked strong at the end of the 8th, but Every Day Eddie came out
and closed out the game for him. After trying to hit Jamie's slow sloppy stuff, they didn't stand a chance with Eddie's fastball... he blew it right on by without fear! |
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Dan and his boy came out on the field to congratulate the team...
He said after the game that it was "Powerful". I doubt that I could have said it any better. |
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