Photo from Google Images
My eighteenth birthday was the last birthday I spent with my twin brother. I’ll take the blame for this. Using vacation time to go Roanoke, VA (where I’m from) sounds like an oxymoron. So naturally I don’t make a big deal out of birthdays or plan anything. Instead, the baseball gods did all the party planning.
Being a Texas Ranger fan and living in the Washington, DC area without the MLB package limits the amount of full games my neighbors have to listen to me hoot and holler. (My cable provider doesn’t have the MLB package in HD. Maybe I’m spoiled or maybe it’s just my vision at this old age reminding me that I can only watch sports in HD.) So the baseball gods sent my Texas Rangers to Baltimore during the week of my birthday!
Who needs a birthday cake with candles when you can watch Josh Hamilton drop bombs live in Baltimore? Tuesday’s game was like watching Home Run Derby and this time, Hamilton was crowned King! The outfielder went 5 for 5 (a career high) and eight RBI’s. Dropping bombs in the first, third, seventh and in the eighth off former team mate Darren O’Day made Hamilton the 16th player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a single game. (He had a double in the fifth that was inches away from being a souvenir ball.) Hamilton’s 18 total bases set a new American League single-game record.
Ranger’s fans were not the only ones cheering when Hamilton took the field. Oriole’s fans gave the slugger a standing ovation. It was a moment you don’t see that often, but to experience that moment where the opponent respects the game more than the score will give you chills.
Carlos Delgado (the last player to hit four home runs in a game on September 25th 2003 for Toronto) welcomed Hamilton with a “welcome to the club” tweet.
Wednesday’s game was rained out and that set up a doubleheader for Thursday- my actual birthday. Thanks to my twin brother I had tickets behind the Rangers dugout for both games. The Ranger’s lost the first game 6-5 but in Texas Rangers fashion, history was made again. Colby Lewis gave up five hits; all of them were bombs, but Lewis also had 12 strikeouts- a career high. That hasn’t happened since 1918!
Ranger’s shortstop Elvis Andrus went into game 2 tied with Curtis Granderson for the major league high for safely reaching base in 28 straight games. Andrus also kept a 10-game hitting streak alive.
I’ve known Elvis for years. He’s younger than I am so I’ve always called him my little brother and he calls me his little sister because I’m shorter. It was only fitting that he tossed me a game ball. (Well, he tossed me two balls- I gave one to a little kid in a Rangers jersey.) And then he signed the ball after the game. To all the little kids wanting autographs; I’m sorry- this ball is for my twin brother.
Hamilton is a beast and the Rangers are playing the best baseball in the MLB. It’s a long season, but if the Ranger’s and Hamilton stay healthy Hamilton will be on his way to winning the AL Triple Crown.
With every failure comes new opportunity. With every new at bat comes new hope. With every new season comes a chance at redemption. There’s a saying in the Ranger’s dugout when someone hits a homerun “is that all you got”? And there’s a saying that Ranger’s fans believe: Third time’s a charm. Let’s Go Rangers!
Thank you my friends, family, and the baseball gods for making this a great birthday!