"There is No Crying In Baseball"

This is a line that Tom Hanks used in the movie A League of Their Own about the Woman’s baseball league during WWII. This is also a line that Kyle used last night while we were part of a sold out crowd at Safeco Park that celebrated the return of Ken Griffey Jr. A crowd of true baseball fans that showed their respect to a player that is credited with “saving baseball in the Northwest”.

I was amazed at the emotions of the moment and frustrated when the tears did start. See for me, I thought it was just going to be a night that Kyle and I got to go to a ball game. I am a fan of baseball, not necessarily a fan of a particular team, but what I love most is going to the ball part. As a kid I would go to ball parks and watch my dad play recreation league, and then I myself started playing in organized leagues when I was in third grade. I like to be in and around the ball field, whether it is softball or baseball.

So about two months ago Kyle came home all excited about having tickets this game at the end of June, it would be the first game that Griffey played at Safeco since being traded to the Reds. I was glad for the tickets, especially because they were great seat behind the Mariners dugout, 12 rows up from the field, but didn’t really care about the inter-league play part of it. I guess I’m a purest or just don’t like change and I don’t like the inter-league format, leave it for the World Series. So anyways, we head down to the ball park and get to our section, make a pit stop, grab a foot long hotdog and a soda and arrive at our seats just as the national anthem starts. We sit down and start eating our hotdogs and settle in for the pre-game festivities. The sun is shinning the weather is warm for a Seattle game and the seats are full. Out comes a couple of guys in suits and then they announced Ken Griffey Jr and the place erupts in a standing ovation that lasted and lasted. I almost went deaf from the guy behind me yelling so loud thank God it was an open stadium. It was during that time that the tears started. As I tried to wipe the tears and not be obvious I notice that the guy in front of me has tears running down his face too, it was just an emotional moment in time.

In trying to figure out why I was in tears I can only think it was because of the true emotion of the moment. In that time there was no division, there was only celebration, there was unity and where there is unity there is power.