Katherine, her nine-year-old grandson (my stepgrandson) Lukas, and I went to the Ballpark in Arlington yesterday evening to watch the Texas Rangers play the Milwaukee Brewers. The Rangers have clinched the American League West Division title, but are still trying to gain home-field advantage throughout the playoffs by having the best record in the American League. (The American League won the All-Star game in July, so the American League team will have home-field advantage in the World Series.) In short, the game mattered.
The Rangers fell behind, 3-0, but rallied to tie the game and eventually won, 6-4. Usually, we sit in the third deck (which I enjoy), but for this game we got seats in the first (lowest) deck. We were in the eighth row near the third-base (Brewers) dugout. Luki brought his glove in case a foul ball came our way. Nothing came close until late in the game, when a man two rows behind us retrieved a foul ball struck by Brewers player Scooter Gennett. To my surprise, the man handed the ball to Luki! Needless to say, Luki was overjoyed. He held the ball tightly and stared at it, smiling. We thanked the man for his kindness. What a nice gesture!
After the game ended, and as fans filed out, we noticed a Brewers player near the stands talking to people and signing autographs. I decided to take the bull by the horns and try to get Luki an autograph. As I waited, unobtrusively, with ball and pen in hand, I realized that the player (whom I didn't recognize; keep in mind that the Brewers play in the National League and are rarely on television here in Texas) was greeting family and friends. (It turns out he's from Denton, Texas.) An older man was between me and the player. He was smiling and happy. I said, "Do you know this player?" He replied, "That's my son." I said, "You must be very proud." He saw the ball and pen in my hand and said he'd have his son (relief pitcher Corey Knebel) sign the ball for us, which he promptly did. I told him Luki would be a fan of his son's for life. He laughed and said, "Now you have to root for the Brewers."
What a perfect evening! We had great seats; the weather was delightful (temperature in the low 70s at the start and the mid-60s by game's end); Luki got a baseball (against all odds); and he even got a Major League autograph. Oh yes, the Rangers won. The two teams contending for best record, the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians, lost.
Here's the happy boy:
Addendum: Doug Glanville got one, too!
