Royals 8 Yankees 5

So I got to the K again, as the Kansas City folks call it.
Wearing my Yankees hat I got a couple of looks...on a day when I was actually counting the number of times I got annoyed.

(It was a social experiment...I got to 22 for the day. Annoyed by drivers, people in airports, the slow rental car guy, men on the job and finally, Yankees pitcher, Michael Pineda, who gave up 3 in the first).

It was a perfect night...weather-wise, with the exception of the heat annoying me a little. Sam did his magic and found me a seat that was behind home plate about 5 rows up.

I was closer to the catcher and pitcher than I used to be for some of the boys games.

Perfect.

I also tried the brisket, which set me back 8 bucks, but which I ate like a wolf.

In the 8th inning, with the Royals up 8-1...I had some room to stretch out...and I thought about a whole bunch of things:

1). Baseball is so cool.

There is no forced action. The kiss-cam and the condiment races on the scoreboard notwithstanding, baseball is no frills. Pitch, hit, cheer or groan.

2). I'd never touch the fastball.

Sitting that close offered me even more appreciation of how difficult it would be for the common man to even get a bat on the ball, but with that said:

3). The players aren't gods.

I watched Castro drop everything out of his pockets, groan, get busted by a teammate, and smile. When you follow the game they seem so robotic..."why did he swing at that?"...but they're just boys playing a game. You wonder how they ended up as the royalty of the world as athletes. Yeah, we can't do it, and they're supremely gifted, but in the end, it's the game we played in little league. I was looking at Tex as he got ready to pinch hit with two on and two out and the Yanks down 3 in the 8th. He made about $300 million playing the game...how is that possible?

He hit a slow grounder to 2nd.

4). People are just mad!

In the Midwest there is a whole lot of attention paid to the military. Which is good. Prolonged standing O for the returning vet in the special seats. The Lee Greenwood song in the 5th. The anthem before the game. America the Beautiful in the 7th.

It got folks around me talking about Kapernick.

"He should be lined up in front of a firing squad," the normal looking lady beside me said.

(Really?)

The Yankee pitcher left one inside...the batter scrambled to get out of the way...the fans went crazy:

"Beat the piss out of him!" The guy behind me screamed in my ear.

(He may have over-reacted).

McCann got into the box late in the game...the drunk guy a few rows back obviously had a beef with the Yankees catcher.

"You're fat, McCann. You stand like a girl."

McCann flew out deep and headed back to the dugout. The man scurried to the railing for more.

"Nice hit, you piece of shit!" He screamed.

Then he headed back to his seat, all the while scanning the crowd to see if anyone thought he was cute.

(Why is everyone so mad?)

5). I had a good time.

I don't enjoy leaving parking lots after sporting events, but it was okay. The guy behind me noticed my Yankees cap.

"Lost! No playoffs for you."

"That's okay," I said. "I've seen a lot of winning too. I'm good. Love coming out to the park. We don't have Major League Baseball in Buffalo."

"No football either," the guy said, and his crew laughed.

"Chiefs won it all last year?" I asked.

He laughed.

"Touché," he said.

(I defended the Bills!).

But all that external annoyance aside...

...it was a beautiful night!