10 things I have done in baseball

I’ve been to Fenway Park

I’ve eaten a Philadelphia Cheesestake at the Phillies

I’ve sat behind homeplate at the As

I’ve watched an entire game, all 9 innings without getting up from my seat(bar the stretch)

I’ve seen Barry Bonds hit one into McCovey Cove

I’ve skived off work to go to an afternoon game

I’ve stayed to the bitter end of a 14 innings game at nearly midnight

I’ve seen an inside the park homerun(ok, so it was a triple with a very dodgy call on a error but he got around the bases), Jimmy Rollins V the Nats.

I’ve been to the Red Sox, Phillies, Oriels, As and Giants

I’ve stood by the bullpen and watched the pitchers warming up

8 Things I haven’t done

I have 25 grounds to get to

I’ve never been to a minor league game

I’ve never caught a ball, either from batting practise or in live

I’ve never done a double header

I’ve never been to a luxury box

I’ve never been on the Jumbo screen

I’ve never eaten Crakerjack(sorry but it looks revolting)

I’ve never been to a post season game

11 Things I love

The whirr a ball makes as it whizes through the air to the plate

The sight of a homer heading for the fences and beyond

Cold cold cold beer

Lots of t shirts

Women in skimpy shorts and t shirts at a summer game(sorry to be a sexist pig but Philadelphia women are awesome at CB park!!!)

A good pitching battle

Good food, a Philly cheesestake, fries at the Giants, lemonade at the Oriels on a sunny afternoon

The As tshirts and sweatshirts (I’m Irish, the colours are so right)

So many stats

Kids and families at a game

There’s always another game tomorrow

10 Things I hate

Drunks at the game who don’t know their **** from their elbow but think they need to "motivate" the crowd. Sit down, you’re not that interesting

People who don’t watch the game, at all. Why bother going? Give the $50 to a charity

People who go home at the bottom of the sixth in a close game. Why go in the first place?

Sick whiny kids who throw a tantrum because Dad won’t buy them a candy floss to have with their fries, Crackerjack, peanuts, pizza and 3 cokes

Parents who buy the kid a candy floss to have with their fries, Crackerjack, peanuts, pizza and 3 cokes and then wonder why the kid pukes

The fat person whose Dad bought them a candy floss to have with their fries, Crackerjack, peanuts, pizza and 3 cokes when they were younger and who now needs 2 seats cause their **** is too big and who is sitting down next to you.

The grown adult who squashes a kid to catch a fly ball and then won’t give it to them.

The fact that someone has to tell the crowd when to cheer

Fat unfit players, you are getting paid millions, loose the belly and you might get to first a wee bit faster

Steriod taking ******* cheats

Hi and welcome to the first post of my blog

Let’s start by getting the basics out of the way. My name is Jerry, a 38 year Irish man living near Dublin. I’ve never lived in the US but have visited there for work and pleasure on more occassions then I can actually remember. To me, the best way to get to know a country is to go to it’s sports, so when I am in Europe, I go to football (or soccer as you Yanks call it) and when I’m in the US, it’s baseball, hockey or football( or football as you Yanks call it!!!), not basketball, definately not basketball, life is too short to go and watch a basketball game

I grew up in love with sports, as an Irishman, and a Corkman by birth, Gaelic Games, and expecially hurling were my first love. I also loved soccer and was a big Arsenal fan. I lived in London for 10 years, went to Arsenal a lot and also lower league clubs (the equivalent of the minors) but have become disillusioned with the game in recent years, not sure if it is the wimpy players, their diving and cheating on the pitch or their gross salaries, but it is not the same game I watched when I was a kid. Love rugby also, about the only game I was ever any good at as a player

Baseball game into my life in the late 90s. I was working shifts at the time and thanks to a new station, Channel 5, it was on in the wee hours and I slowly started to get into it and understand it. That led to my subscription to Sport Illustrated and my first trip to the US in 2000, it was November so I had to settle for 1 basketball game(and never again, more on that another day), 1 football game(Ravens) and 4 Hockey Games (Capitals)

It was 2002 before I got to my first baseball game, the Red Sox in Fenway. Am I Red Sox fan? Not sure but they are the first result I look for every morning. To be honest, I am not sure if I am a fan of any one team as opposed to a fan of the game.

Since then I have been to the Blue Jays, Orioles, Phillies, As, and GIants, as well as a few minor games. I didn’t really understand the game until one sunny afternoon watching the As and the Royals and for some reason, it all seemed to click into place. Since then I’ve been completly hooked. I don’t know if it is the game, the statistical obsession that surounds it, the atmosphere or perhaps above all, the history that surrounds it

Anyway, that is me and this is the start of what I hope will become a view of baseball most of you won’t have had before, a neutral view from a country where baseball is a very very minor sport on the other side of the pond

Feel free to comment on anything I write or say and hopefully this will be as entertaining for you to read as it might be for me to write

Slan

Jerry