Hall of Fame balls (so to speak)
With the Yanks out of the playoffs, my rooting interests have shifted 1,430 miles west-southwest to Houston. The Astros have grizzled veterans (Including "Killer B's" Lance Berkman, Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell), the out-of-nowhere Chris Burke (who hit the 18th-inning-NLDS-clinching home run) and former Yankee icons Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens.
So, in honor of my adopted baseball team for the remainder of 2005, here's a very cool story about a fan who caught not one, but two Astros home run balls in the same playoff game, including Burke's walk-off. According to ESPN, Shaun Dean "never considered selling the balls," instead opting to donate them to the Hall of Fame.
And if behind-the-plate tickets for the NLCS and bringing your 3-year-old son with you to meet and accept autographs from Roger Clemens weren't enough, he gets to be in an ESPN headline that reads "Dean, balls to be part of Hall of Fame exhibit."
I live for this.
3 comments:
Go Houston ... :)
Wait, you're rooting for the Astros because of Clemens and Pettitte? Rico, I hate to tell you this but... they're never coming back.
Pettitte and Clemens to Houston in my mind (post-retirement, let's not forget, for The Rocket) was one of the biggest slaps in the face to Yankee fans ever. Not only did it reinforce Clemens's image as a merc, but it exposed Pettitte as a merc-in-training...
let's go white sawx!
Dude, a few things...
1) I agree the Astros might not come back. That would be sad on a few levels. That sort of pain should be exclusive to Red Sox fans. (Yes, all over again. For another 85 years.) But I think the Cardinals, in the last 20-plus years, have been bigger choke artists, so the 'Stros should win Game 6.
2) Pettitte is not a merc of any kind. He was snubbed by George and Co. and was not treated with any respect for his big-game postseason performances (something the Yanks as a whole have lacked these last two years) and his clubhouse karma. Any Yankee fan who blames Pettitte for leaving is insane. The Yanks' front office just didn't want him.
3) Clemens, for all of his controversy through the years, should not be blamed for coming out of retirement to play for his hometown team. If I, personally, had a hugely successful career with three teams (other than the Yankees) and won a World Series ring with one of those teams, and the Yankees offered me a sweet, sweet, expensive deal to play for my beloved Yanks, would I turn it down? Hell no! Blame Clemens for being a beanball pitcher all those years... but not for this decision. On all levels, he's earned the right to play there for that money.
Go 'Stros.
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