333 Miles by Craig Birk

Author:Craig Birk
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: road trip, vegas, guys, hangover
Publisher: Craig Birk

Interlude Nine

Gary (25)

August 13th, 1999 was a beautiful day at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. The sun was out, it was seventy-two degrees, and the Padres were about to begin a double-header with the Giants. Gary’s boss had given him sixth-row seats behind first base. He and Roger were trying to find said seats, each carrying the maximum allowed sale of two large beers.

They found row F and headed inward. The ticket Roger held was for seat nine, while the ticket in Gary’s pocket was seat eight. Even so, Roger led the way and sat in seat eight while Gary made himself and his beers comfortable in seat nine. It would prove to be a crucial detail.

The Village People were scheduled to perform after both games were over. Before game one, the Construction Worker came out to sing the national anthem. He stepped up to the microphone stationed near home plate and took off his yellow hard-hat, placing it over his heart. Gary and Roger rolled their eyes at each other, but both refrained from making any derogatory comments. In the end, they both admitted the guy did a pretty good job, though they were soon to be disappointed by the Military Man who came up five feet short on his attempt at the ceremonial first pitch.

Roger: “That was fucking weak. They should have gone with the Indian Chief.”

Gary: “I don’t know. That cowboy looks like he is hiding a pretty good fastball behind that mustache.”

Either may have been more effective than the Padres starting pitcher. In the first inning, he walked the first two Giants hitters and then fell behind Barry Bonds three and one. The next pitch was a fastball. He was not the first and would not be the last pitcher to make the mistake of throwing Bonds a pitch over the middle of the plate. Bonds hitched his right elbow in, lightly lifted his right leg, and then almost unnoticeably opened his right hip and extended his arms in front of him in one fluid motion.

Roger was inserting a Kodiak at the time of contact, but the implication from the crack of the bat was unmistakable. He was able to look up in time to see the ball sailing out toward the right center field seats. It landed in the twelfth row. Shortly after the ball completed its flight path, Bonds slowly began to circle the bases. It was, for any baseball fan, truly a thing of beauty, almost a religious experience.

Gary, despite his appreciation for the talent, was a Padres fan and was not happy. “Retards. Why would you let Barry beat you in that situation?” he asked no one in particular.

Roger answered. “Oooohhh, I don’t know, but it is helping my over.”

The over came in easily, with the Padres ultimately losing 12-4. Roger was happy and, as it turned out, Gary would have something to be happy about as well. In the top of the third inning two young women carrying Mike’s Hard Lemonades bounced down the aisle giddily.

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