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So, I'm now twenty-six years old. A good number. 26 on the roulette table is a full payout. 26 is the upper-half of the twenties. 26, until I am like 65 means, that there is no further age to look forward to until I am like 65, when I can get senior citizen discounts, easier Vegas comps, and the ability to be as dirty as I want, while being considered "cute." Happy Birthday to me, and thanks to all the folks who spent my birthday with me, those who remembered the occasion, and those who were reminded who sent me nice text messages. It always means something to me to be acknowledged.
I never make a big deal about the occasion, because when the day is over, it's really not that important to me. I don't like self-promoting, I don't ever want to give off the impression I'm trying to siphon out gifts, and most importantly, I don't always want the feeling of obligation to return the favor to those who do make the generous efforts. One of these days, I'll throw a big grand party for my birthday, but the conditions will have to truly be close to perfect before I attempt to do so. Until then, I am always pleased to see the people who remember without me having to remind others, because it generally shows me who are the ones closest to me. If it isn't obvious how introverted I can be, I like to constantly be reminded of where other people stand in my little box.
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So for my birthday, I did everything I wanted to do - I went to some baseball games. The Los Angeles Dodgers were in town to take on my Braves, and an old colleague of mine from a past job treated me to the Friday night game, which was quite entertaining.
The Dodgers have a player on their team that used to be with them in the 90s, by the name of Chan Ho Park. Yes, he is a Korean-born baseball player, and he was one of the first-ever Korean players to ever make it to the big leagues. He is a right-handed pitcher, who had his best year in like 2000, when he won 18 games for the Dodgers. His skill warranted him to a killer, multi-million dollar contract with the Texas Rangers.
Unfortunately Texas was not the place for this Korean pitcher, and he is largely considered one of the all-time biggest financial busts in baseball history. Texas ungraciously traded him and his ludicrous contract away to San Diego in 2005, and most people could tell that Park was comfortable being back in the National League, and especially playing in California.
Chan Ho Park was known for giving up some notorious home-runs throughout history. In 2000, he gave up the record-breaking homers to Barry Bonds, which broke Mark McGwire's tained single-season record of 70 homers in a season. In 2001, Park was the pitcher responsible for giving up a homerun to legend Cal Ripken, Jr. in his final All-Star appearance.
In 2006, my fandom of Chan Ho Park was re-invigorated with the World Baseball Classic, where Park played a huge role for the Korean National Baseball team. He served as both a closer as well as a starting pitcher in the tournament, and was a huge contributor to Korea's 6-0 record prior to elimination. He notched three saves as a closer, and started in one game.
He floated around in the majors throughout 2006 and 2007, but eventually returned to the team where he all started, and Chan Ho Park exhibited a great spring training, and earned himself a spot on the main roster. Now, he is a part of the Dodgers bullpen, serving as both a relief pitcher, as well as someone who can put together a spot-start in case of emergency.
Wow, I certainly wrote a lot more than I thought I would, in order to fill the space that is the height of the image to the left.
The bottom line is that I am a big fan of Chan Ho Park, regardless of how his career has been. Korean ballplayers don't get nearly the respect that Japanese players get, and I am proud and admire the success that Chan Ho has enjoyed in the Great American Game.
So anyway, during Friday's game, I made sure to get to Turner Field early, because I had one goal on my mind, only one goal to accomplish prior to my birthday - to get Chan Ho Park's autograph on a baseball. As I approached the stands, it took me very little time to seek out #61 in left field. I got as close to the general area as I could without being illegally on the field, and I waited for Chan Ho to be close enough for me to seek him out.
My mentality was simple - hardly anyone knows who Chan Ho Park is nowadays, and it's not that likely that he has a gigantic fanbase anymore. Especially in a place like Georgia, I hoped that Chan Ho would respond well to being addressed in Korean. And I had hoped that he would not only sign a ball for my birthday, but also be gracious enough to take a photograph with me.
So when Chan Ho was close enough, I yelled out his name, Korean-style; meaning last-name first, and then first. He glanced up in my general direction, and nodded in acknowledgement. But he wouldn't seem to come any closer, and proceeded to continue to do his warm-ups. Based on the extra effort he was exhibiting, it was pretty obvious that he was going to see some action that night, which I looked forward to, even if he was on the opposing team. But it's not like giving autographs wasn't allowed; Esteban Loaiza, another relief pitcher went to sign some balls and caps for a Hispanic family that addressed him in Spanish. However Chan Ho wouldn't come in my direction, and he actually seemed kind of put-off and a little unfriendly. If I was blown off completely, I was afraid that my opinion of the great Ho was going to be altered for the worst - I was most definitely hoping that this wasn't going to happen.
Warm-ups, and then batting practice had gone on, and the public annoucers informed all fans that they were to return to their ticketed seats. Dejected, I refused to give up on my quest to get Chan Ho Park's autograph. I pretended like I was seated in the dugout section, and patiently waited for BP to end, so that I could hope to intercept Chan Ho on his way back to the dugout.
Batting practice ended, and I immediately got up from my seat and waited for Chan Ho Park to appear. When he was close enough, I pulled out the emergency card. I yelled at him once again, and addressed him in Korean; and then, I told him that it was my birthday, also in Korean. At this, he finally stopped, looked in my direction, and stuck out his glove; he was asking me to throw him my ball. My eyes lit up, and I lobbed my baseball to his glove with my left hand. He then motioned for a pen, and I threw it in his direction.
Chan Ho Park signed my baseball. My evening was complete. To make things better, the Braves won. To make things even better, Chan Ho Park checked into the game in the 7th inning. And then, as alluded to in the image above, he gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, Chipper Jones. But I still got to see the Great Ho in action, at least one more time.
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Christ, I wrote a ton about one particular topic there. But baseball is all I really wanted to do for my birthday. It just so happened that I would have some pleasant company with me for the weekend, and I forced them to come with me to Saturday's game.
It was interesting to see Joe Torre on the Dodgers' bench, but even more so was Andruw Jones' return to Atlanta. I was a little disappointed with Atlanta fans for booing him when he came up to bat; sure he left the team for more money, but the fact of the matter is that he still gave Atlanta the best years of his career, especially one memorable season capped with 51 home runs. Regardless, I still clapped for the guy, even if throughout the weekend, he struck out swinging practically six times. But he did have one big home run, which happened to land in his very familiar spot in left center field, right near the Bud Light sign.
It was enjoyable going to a baseball game with some close friends. Nothing really to elaborate there, but I just thought I'd throw that out there. Even better was the fact that the Braves won the game, which is far better than last year's birthday baseball, despite the better seats, the Braves got beat by the fucking Cubs of all teams. But yeah, it was nice enjoying a nice day game with friends, having some beers in the sun, and then having a post-game burrito from Willy's afterwards. As far as birthday activities go, I really can't ask for much anything else. I'm kinda simple in that aspect, I suppose.
Oh yeah - Braves Tomahawk Team chicks. I like those, too.
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One of the best parts of this past weekend was the simple fact that my brother and I finally were able to fulfill our rewards from the January Las Vegas trip. For the last two and a half months, I've been the sole holder of the WCW Tag Team Championship titles, for my tag partner could not claim his belt, being all the way in North Carolina. But finally being reunited, the other belt was able to find its way home with its rightful owner.
And that is just justification for me to show the following picture, which I am very pleased with. It's nice to actually have something physically tangible as a reward for one of my many Vegas trips.
But it's better off to actually spend a birthday with good company.
So far, it's not so bad, being twenty-six.
So a great big thank you to those who make life not so lame, every now and then, and actually get me to laugh and inspire me to do fun things.
And with that, I'll end this little piece of writing, and go back to teaching myself how to count cards. Ha, gambling.
