Furthest From the Pin

Monday my company raffled off that evening’s Braves/Marlins tickets. I put my name in the hat, but was happy that two deserving coworkers won, went, and enjoyed the exciting game. It’s always nice to discover devoted Braves fans.

Tuesday’s tickets were raffled off as well. With rookie of the year Jose Fernandez toing the rubber for the Fish, I was happy to win the tickets. Left work at 3:15 and headed south on PIB. Traffic on 285 was crawling at 10 MPH, but 85 south was clear. Picked up Reid, who has taken me to a couple of Gwinnett games. The Downtown Connector was slow, but we made it to the Blue Lot off the Fulton Street exit by 4:35 pm. Walked through the gates ten minutes later. The rain made the day chilly, so I swapped my dress shirt and loafers for a long sleeve tee, red golf pullover, and New Balance running shoes. Since all my Braves caps were back at the house, I warmed my head with a white Adams Golf cap.

Batting practice had been cancelled due to the rain, giving us over two hours to kill. We checked out the game-used jerseys for sale and toured the Braves Museum, which Reid enjoyed. Walked past the Turner Field Waffle House, but since it only sold waffles and hash browns we opted for delicious H&F burgers instead. We were the very first in line, and ate the burgers and fries at a picnic table in the Fan Plaza. The Tomahawk Team was conducting a Braves math contest, and later a trivia contest. I spotted Johnny Pierce and introduced him to Reid. They had a fun chat about people in various Baptist circles they knew.

As we talked a member of the Tomahawk Team approached and asked if I was a golfer. “Kind of” I replied. She recruited me for the pre-game closest-to-the-pin completion on the field. Since I have embarrassed myself several times before in front of large crowds, I eagerly accepted her invite. Reid and I walked to our seats, then I made my way down to the seats near the Braves dugout. There I met legendary Braves usher Walter Banks, who has worked at Turner Field and Atlanta Stadium forever. My fellow competitors also arrived: a 40 year old Acworth man also wearing a golf pullover (he’s a country club member) and a senior at Jones County High School (golf team member, wearing a Masters cap, who knew who Randy Griffin is). Usually a Braves player participates, but not this time. Guess Craig Kimbrel was keeping a low profile.

We stepped out on the field, grabbed a 56 degree wedge, and lined up for our introductions. The jumbotron displayed the image of the same middle-aged man who just months before was on the Georgia Dome jumbotron kicking for a Kia. I snapped a photo of Acworth pitching to 38 feet. Jones County’s shot carried to the left. I stepped up and swung. My shot went high but short, a Texas Leaguer that landed in very short right-center. Not too embarrassing. My consolation prize was an adjustable Braves cap, size large Braves T-shirt, and foam tomahawk. First prize was $150 to the Palm Restaurant and $50 at Academy Sports. The rich get richer.

The game was a great pitcher’s duel. We enjoyed the between innings crowd shots, which included a Fredie Freeman variation on the Kiss Cam – the Hug Cam. After showing several replays of Freddie hugging various teammates, the camera zoomed in on couples in the stands. Most hugged (including a Braves fan and a Marlins fan), but one lady refused.

The crowd was small but enthusiastic. Fortunately the wave never broke out, but the Tomahawk Chop received over 90% participation. The lady in front of me performed more of a windmill dunk than short chop, almost whacking me with every backswing. She needed an instructional “This is How We Chop” t-shirt. I donned my new Braves cap for good luck and dutifully chopped the tomahawk, but the Braves failed to rally. Only one foul ball was hit near our section 215, but it bounded the other way. I had forgotten my glove anyway.

The game ended early, at 9:19 pm. We walked out the right field gate, completing a loop all the way around the stadium. “Know what the best part of the game was?” asked Reid. “The burger!” The small crowd made for less traffic. I was able to drive out of the Blue Lot without stopping, and made it onto the Fulton Street interstate ramp and onto the highway with no trouble at all. Had Reid home in a jiffy. From there I foolishly abandoned my usual 75 north route home, taking 400 instead. Construction blocked two lanes at my exit, and then the light at Roswell Road and Riverside was stuck.

On the way home my phone was lighting up with Ebay auctions ending. Sold three more items, so when I got home I packaged them up. Also helped Anna and Matthew on their history homework, so I didn’t get to bed until after 12:30 am. A long, but good, day.