If you haven’t already seen the movie “The Bucket List”, starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, then I highly recommend that you do so. In short, the movie is about the adventures of two men who believe that they are terminally ill and have decided to write out a “bucket list” of things they want to do before dying. The pair of nut cases tried everything from skydiving to classic muscle car racing. The whole list seemed full of fun/stupid/crazy stunts, and it was enough to motivate me to want to try them all (without the whole “terminally ill” part). I proceeded to start the process of creating my own bucket list of relatively dangerous, self-indulgent, and utterly ridiculous things to do. I won’t go into the details of that list here, but suffice it to say that swimming with sharks seems like one of the safer things to do in retrospect. Today I’m taking the bucket list concept one step farther. I’ve created a bucket list specifically for baseball.
In no particular order, here is my personal baseball bucket list.
- Take in a game at Fenway. Start by walking around the street side of the Green Monster to get an appreciation for what it takes to clear that wall. Look at the Coca-Cola sign. Then imagine Mark McGwire launching balls one after another into the night over that wall during the home run derby. If you want to be a bit more nostalgic, then imagine Ted Williams bouncing shots off of the wall for long singles.
- Attend a World Series game in which my favorite team is participating. This one needs no additional explanation.
- See a day game at Wrigley. Sit in the bleachers. Wear a Cardinals jersey, and then wait for Cubs fans to start harassing you. Enjoy the banter, and be sure to shake hands at the end of the game. It’s well worth the price of admission.
- Watch a position player pitch in a blowout game. Whether it be a fastball from someone like Aaron Miles or a strikeout by Skip Schumaker, this is just pure fantasy. Put me in coach, I’m ready to play.
- See my favorite team win the World Series. Count yourself lucky if you get to see this happen once in a lifetime, because there are plenty of people who haven’t been as lucky. I’ve been fortunate enough to see it happen 3 times.
- Attend a baseball game with family members representing at least 2 other generations. This is especially poignant if the love of baseball has been passed down from one generation to the next.
- Dance like an idiot during a rain delay. Yes. Do it. Be THAT guy or gal that everybody is pointing at during the rain delay. Dance like nobody else is watching. Shake what yo’ momma gave you.
- Attend Fan Appreciation Day in St. Louis. Arrive early. Be there in time to join the crowd in singing the National Anthem. If that doesn’t give you goosebumps, then the Communists have won.
- High five at least 2 dozen complete strangers in a fully packed stadium after a walkoff win. Think of it as a positive example of the mob mentality. All the cool kids are already doing it. It’s an outward expression of joy sourced from a love of a wonderful game that is shared by thousands of people around you. Just a high five, though. Good touch >>> bad touch.
- Ride a bike taxi in St. Louis from the stadium to my car. The people who operate the bike taxis are some of the hardest working people I know. Don’t think so? Try peddling a bike uphill while dragging along 3 people who are yelling and pointing at pedestrians.
What would you put on your baseball bucket list?
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{ 13 comments }
1) Follow the Cards around for a whole season while blogging about various stadiums, teams and towns. Go to all the AL stadiums while they’re doing home stands.
2) See a Splash Hit into McCovey Cove, preferably by a Cardinal. 😛
3) Go to a Cards WS game. (Shoulda quit my job and done it this year!)
4) Go to Cooperstown.
5) See the Clydesdales come through on Opening Day.
6) Spend a week at spring training.
1- Sounds more like a dream job than a bucket list item. Nice.
2- Suspect the odds would be on Berkman being that guy.
3- I don’t know about quitting a job for it, but you definitely should have done it this year.
4- Cooperstown would be a worthy excursion in 2012. Visiting the HOF while the Cardinals are the reigning champs likely means that you would get to see more Cards stuff than is usually on display.
5- Having the Rally Squirrel and Torty Craig join the Clydesdales would be a bonus.
6- Only a week?
I agree,wrigly field,would be at the top of the list,then,Fenway park.naturally,see the cards in world series game.
Always interesting to see how people would prioritize their lists. Thanks for reading, Herb.
To have the Houston A-holes stay in the Central division and stop or severely cut back on “interleague” play (except the WS, of course) and keep the playoff format as it has been for the last 15 or so years EXCEPT the division series be 7 games and division rivals CAN play in it if that is what their records make happen.
I agree with keeping the Astros in the NL Central, even though it makes sense geographically to move them. As for the playoff format, it seems that MLB is going to make a change there, and it’s not what I consider a change for the better. I’d rather see them tweak the current system than add another layer to it. I’d also like to see there be some reasonable advantage for the team with the best record in the league.
Spot on. I had the honor of attending a game at Busch II on Father’s Day with my dad, my uncle, and my grandpa. To this day, it’s in my top baseball memories, alongside getting to have lunch with Rick Horton and talk about managing a pitching staff.
Oh yeah, and I would prioritize my ballpark visits from oldest park to newest. The old ones are always in danger of being torn down, and we don’t have many left with any actual character or charm.
Good point about the order in which you visit. I actually left a few personal favorites off the list, because some involve chance encounters that you simply cannot make happen.
Bucket List eh?
See your team on Opening Day.
See your team on the last day of the season.
Visit every Baseball Park in the Majors.
Visit at least one our your teams Minor League Games.
Go to one of those games near the end of the season when you can brag years later.. yeah! I was there.
Go to a game in the dog days of summer and sneak down to great seats because they are empty. I think most people have done this and it is nice they don’t throw you out for doing it.. but if you haven’t.. get to it.
Show your kid how to keep score at the game.
Catch a ball as an adult and give it to a kid near you.
Craig, you really, really are living in the wrong place, sir. You are also way nicer than I am. If I catch a ball at a game, I’m definitely not giving it to some kid. That thing goes in my office along with all the other baseball stuff. 😉
Hello Dennis,
As always, a fun & well written article. (And not too Cardinalcentric LOL)
My list is as much a fantasy as anything..
– See the Cubs win the W.S. or I should say..
– Hope that string theory is correct and the Cubs are winning in some nth universe.
– Go to Cooperstown
– See either Bob Costas or George Will as the next Commish
– Have the team with the best record earn home-field for W.S.
– Go to Fenway vs Yanks & go to Yankee Stadium vs. Red Sox
– See Pujols man first base..er never mind
– See the Reds in the cellar yearly
– See more young, fast & athletic players i.e. (Yes I said it) the 80’s Cards/Royals
– See the Pirates reach the post-season
– Someone, anyone make a good movie about Babe Ruth I mean COME ON!!
Anyways I have a million others but these few are the ones that come to mind
Peace to All & Happy Holidays!!!!
Excellent fantasy list! Admittedly, I wouldn’t hate to see the Cubs win, because I have a lot of long-suffering friends who have been waiting their entire lives for it. Then again, I wouldn’t cry if it never happened. LOL
Seriously, I agree about the Babe Ruth movie. Maybe you should start on the screenplay….
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