The only thing that could ever compete with my love of music is my love for baseball. I have been an Orioles fan since the early/mid 70s. There are a lot of parallels between being a baseball fan and a Dead fan.
First, you have to be able to enjoy making the long drive to the stadium/coliseum and enjoy yourself even if your team gets slaughtered or the band has a really off night.
Second, sometimes the team/band loses but someone has a stellar performance that makes it worth it.
Third, though there is a format (9 innings - 2 sets w/drums and space) you never get the same show/game twice.
Fourth, history is paramount whether its the 1970 World Series (Go Brooks Robinson!) or a 1970 Dark Star (Go Jerry!) - we look back nostalgically and fondly.
Fifth, the only bigger statistical geeks than baseball fans are Deadheads. Who else would think that Mel Ott being the only player to be intentionally walked with the bases loaded or how many times The Dead played Brown Eyed Women in 1985 is important.
How many other baseball freaks are out there? Share some favorite stories. Here's mine:
I love minor league baseball. We have a team in Salem, VA about 25 miles away - they used to be a Pirates farm team - Barry Bonds played there briefly. I was at a game against Lynchburg sitting right at the Lynchburg dugout. In the first inning, the L-burg manager gets tossed for arguing balls and strikes. The 3rd base coach takes over the team. I am blanking on his name but he threw a no-hitter in the majors as a player in the 70s. The game is pretty uneventful through the 7th inning. It was a 3-4 game and L-burg was winning. The L-burg players were getting bored and talking to us about where the good bars were etc. About the 7th inning my friend and I see this huge winged insect on the backstop it had pincers on its head. I still don't know what the hell it was. One of the players overheard us talking about this bug and says, "what the fuck is that thing?" We didn't know. He hands us a super big gulp cup and asks us to catch it. We did and handed it to him and he and the other players were passing it around. With one out a player hits a double. Moises Alou (who was hitting over .400 at this point and on his way to the majors) comes up to bat. An obvious intentional walk situation. The pitcher looks into the dugout for a sign from the manager to walk him or pitch to him. At this point the acting manager noticed his players looking at this bug and asks, "what the fuck are you doing?" They hand him the bug in a cup and he's looking at this thing while the pitcher is waiting for a sign. The pitcher gives up and decides to throw a pitch. Alou lines a double of the wall scoring the tying run. The acting manager says, "Shit! He should have walked him!" The next batter singles Alou in and Salem wins the game 5-4. I had an impact on the outcome of a professional baseball game!
First, you have to be able to enjoy making the long drive to the stadium/coliseum and enjoy yourself even if your team gets slaughtered or the band has a really off night.
Second, sometimes the team/band loses but someone has a stellar performance that makes it worth it.
Third, though there is a format (9 innings - 2 sets w/drums and space) you never get the same show/game twice.
Fourth, history is paramount whether its the 1970 World Series (Go Brooks Robinson!) or a 1970 Dark Star (Go Jerry!) - we look back nostalgically and fondly.
Fifth, the only bigger statistical geeks than baseball fans are Deadheads. Who else would think that Mel Ott being the only player to be intentionally walked with the bases loaded or how many times The Dead played Brown Eyed Women in 1985 is important.
How many other baseball freaks are out there? Share some favorite stories. Here's mine:
I love minor league baseball. We have a team in Salem, VA about 25 miles away - they used to be a Pirates farm team - Barry Bonds played there briefly. I was at a game against Lynchburg sitting right at the Lynchburg dugout. In the first inning, the L-burg manager gets tossed for arguing balls and strikes. The 3rd base coach takes over the team. I am blanking on his name but he threw a no-hitter in the majors as a player in the 70s. The game is pretty uneventful through the 7th inning. It was a 3-4 game and L-burg was winning. The L-burg players were getting bored and talking to us about where the good bars were etc. About the 7th inning my friend and I see this huge winged insect on the backstop it had pincers on its head. I still don't know what the hell it was. One of the players overheard us talking about this bug and says, "what the fuck is that thing?" We didn't know. He hands us a super big gulp cup and asks us to catch it. We did and handed it to him and he and the other players were passing it around. With one out a player hits a double. Moises Alou (who was hitting over .400 at this point and on his way to the majors) comes up to bat. An obvious intentional walk situation. The pitcher looks into the dugout for a sign from the manager to walk him or pitch to him. At this point the acting manager noticed his players looking at this bug and asks, "what the fuck are you doing?" They hand him the bug in a cup and he's looking at this thing while the pitcher is waiting for a sign. The pitcher gives up and decides to throw a pitch. Alou lines a double of the wall scoring the tying run. The acting manager says, "Shit! He should have walked him!" The next batter singles Alou in and Salem wins the game 5-4. I had an impact on the outcome of a professional baseball game!
