Tagged: Retire
A Dozen
A dozen years of baseball. The game has changed so much in just 12 years, yet it has also stayed the same. MLB has tinkered with some rules. Some have made the game better, some have made the game worse. While there are changes that we love, Ohtani Rule, and hate, runner on second in extra innings, what has not changed is our love for baseball. There are few sounds better than the crack of the bat and pop of the glove. Few better sights than the green grass against a blue sky. Baseball is poetry in motion. Not everyone understands the meaning, but most appreciate the game in their own way.
12 years is a long time to devote to anything. However, The Winning Run is a labor of love. I cannot devote as much time reading, researching, and writing about baseball as I would like, but the time I do have is always enjoyable. A dozen years ago I wrote about the retirement of Tim Wakefield (RIP). Since then I have written about hundreds of players individually and collectively. Every day I learn something new about baseball. What started as a side project became a passion. Thank you for reading along. I hope the love and devotion I have poured into The Winning Run has brought you joy and even helped you learn a thing or two along the way.
Happy baseball.
DJ
Collision Course
Hunter Pence’s retirement closes an incredible career with the Astros, Phillies, Rangers, and Giants. Pence had many amazing hits, catches, and throws in his own unique style. He did not move like other players on the diamond. There are more beautiful swings and throws, but it would be difficult to find someone who brought more passion and love to the ballpark every day.
On occasion I have had brief encounters with players. My encounter with Hunter Pence was brief, had nothing to do with baseball, and was thankfully not painful. My wife and I were in the middle of our honeymoon, a three week cross country road trip in 2017. We were staying on a sailboat just outside of AT&T Park in San Francisco. We watched the Giants lose to Cleveland on a cold San Francisco summer night. The game was messy, but the stadium was beautiful. The game also ended the 530 consecutive sellout streak for the Giants, a National League record. After the game we were walking around the outside the park, slowly making our way back to the sailboat. Suddenly a guy on a segway whips around a corner heading down The Embarcadero. We literally jumped out of the way to avoid a collision. The guy turns his head and apologizes as he rides away. The street light caught his face just right. It was Hunter Pence. We almost got run over by Hunter Pence on a segway during our honeymoon.
This encounter with Hunter Pence was a singular moment. No photos, no hellos, no autograph, just an apology. I have had more enjoyable experiences with professional athletes, however the image of Hunter Pence riding off into the San Francisco night on his segway after nearly running us over will forever be etched in my memory. We went from WATCH OUT to that’s ok to Hey that was Hunter Pence, in the blink of an eye. Pence was hitless in four trips to the plate with three strikeouts that night. It would be understandable if he was distracted after a tough day at the office, but the simple apology was greatly appreciated.
Thank you for sharing your passion for the game with everyone who saw you play. Enjoy your retirement and thank you for not running us down on our honeymoon.
DJ
The Winning Run 