A few days ao I made post about attending an Astros' game.
As it turned out, this was the 200,00th Major League Baseball game played since the founding of the National League in 1876.
Who knew?
Well....it seems these nice folks below knew.
Sometimes you just show up someplace and there is a blog post already waiting for you.
The 200,000th game involved the Colorado Rockies defeating the Houston Astros by a score of 4-2 in 13 innings.
Here is a list of the all the major leagues and a number of other historical statistics from Baseball-Reference.com. There have been 6 recognized major leagues in professional baseball history.
A great book to learn the history of Major League Baseball is Koppett's History of Major League Baseball by Leonard Koppett.
A strong history of the Negro Leagues is Shades of Glory by Lawrence D. Hogan.
Everything is better when we know what came before. Context gives meaning to events.
Below is a picture from the 200,00th game. This picture features a beer vendor and an outfielder.
He was there. I give the nod to anyone actually at an event. Bob Watson scored the one millionth run so go figure.
ok, you're back in...
But, I didn't spill my Coke.
dropped a Hank Aaron ball, huh...ain't never gonna make it to the bigs that way.
I'm with Drysdale on those mosquitoes. They have to be from an alternate dimension.
Neil: Ain't you "off the reservation" some?????
I was at the first major league game played in Houston between the Colt 45'2 and the Cubs at old Colt Stadium. Bobby Shantz was our first starting pitcher and we won 2-1. Spent many a night in thbe outfield bleachers with a kid's pass called "The Sixshooter Club". For $5 you go to as many games as you wanted. Coke and peanuts 10 cents each. Had a batting practice homerun from Hank Aaron in my hands and it slipped through my fingers below the stands.
Got ate up by mosquitoes. Don Drysdale once said he hated playing in Houston worse than anything because of the mosquitoes. He said some were as big as small dogs. Ken Johnson (P) of the old Colt 45'2 was the first pitcher EVER to LOSE a no-hitter. Howie Goss (CF) broke Babe Ruth's record for strikeouts in a season..I thhink.
Good times.
When I was a kid my dad would always harp about Satchel Paige. I can't tell you how many times I heard the story about driving nails into a board for pitching control practice. I tried it once and broke a window by accident. My dad wasn't impressed! No, not really, but it sounded like a good old time baseball story.
My dad told me he had a World War II buddy that invited him to visit and tryout with some team that I can't remember. He said when he went and inquired about the guy, he found out that he was dead...suicide. geesh, what a story.
Hey, stealin' Scott's thunder, huh. I see a feud a-brewin'. :O)
Too bad, you weren't the 100 millionth attendee! Free hot dogs for life, yeehaw!