Seeing 600

In December, I bought two sets of Rangers tickets from the baseball team at my high school. Dave and I selected the tickets based on the opponents. In April, we attended a game that made history as the coldest game at the Ball Park at Arlington. Last night we had the privilege of seeing Sammy Sosa hit his 600th home run, giving him the fifth highest homerun record.

I remember watching McGwire hit his 70th home run in a season on TV. How neat to be able to say that I was in attendance the night Sosa hit number 600.

Each time Sosa came up to bat, the crowd got to its feet and the cameras started flashing. During his first at bat, Sosa got to first on a fielding error.

During his second at bat in the fifth inning, Sosa hit number 600. The ball went into the bullpen instead of into the crowd; hopefully, Sosa will get the ball back without having to pay too much for the lucky ball. Dave said if he were to catch an important ball, he would ask only for a couple of signed balls in return.








Here, Sosa is greeted by his teammates after he rounds the bases following "the hit".












It was a warm evening, but not unbearably so. We tailgated in the shade of a small crepe myrtle. The Rangers aren't playing very well this season, so we were able to park in a lot near the stadium, which we usually walk through. We shared a burrito, chips and guacamole, and some peanuts before heading into the stadium.

In the stadium, we laughed about the fact that we both sometimes get distracted watching the crowd instead of the game. One thing is certain: all eyes were on Sosa when he was at bat last night.

We were a bit disappointed that Tech alum Mark Teixeira was not playing first base; maybe next time.