I figured I would go back to the first professional baseball game I ever covered. It's been awhile since I thought about it. In fact, it's been so long that I don't remember much about it at all.
I knew it was a Triple A game between the Buffalo Bisons and the Louisville Redbirds in Buffalo, N.Y. But I had to go back to the clipping to refresh my memory about the rest of it.
I try to keep all of my newspaper article clippings on file. It's quite the ancient process. I started in this business about a decade before the Internet came along, so I have been making photocopies of my clippings and storing them in a file cabinet box all of these years. I've never gotten around to filing them electronically. Frankly, I could look up any of my articles on the computer anytime I wanted, but for some reason, I still need the hard copy for posterity.
So down in the basement I went to find the clipping. It turns out the game was very early in the season -- April 6, 1989. And the game was decided in rather dramatic fashion -- a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
I don't remember any of it.
Apparently, I interviewed the hero of the game. I vaguely remember doing that. His name was Jeff King.
No, not THAT Jeff King! Must you think about Allen & Ginter 24 hours a day? For crying out loud.
The guy I interviewed was this Jeff King:
You remember Jeff King, don't you? He played back when the Pirates were pennant contenders. He was a solid hitter and Pittsburgh's regular third baseman. Then he had an absolute monster season in 1996 (30 HRs, 111 RBIs, .497 SLG) and the next year was traded to the Royals with Jay Bell for a bunch of people who amounted to next to nothing (Joe Randa was the best of the bunch).
King had two more good seasons, then, out of nowhere, announced his retirement two months into the 1999 season. He was 34.
But back when I talked to him, he was on the brink of starting his major league career, and I was at the start of my journalism career. Here is the beginning of what I wrote the first day I covered a professional baseball game:
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BUFFALO -- With weather conditions less than perfect for baseball, Buffalo Bisons third baseman Jeff King had the ideal solution.
King drove a first-pitch fast ball over the left field fence with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday to give the Bisons a climactic 3-2 win over the Louisville Redbirds at Pilot Field and send the small crowd of freezing fans home.
About 1,200 fans tolerated wind, rain and 40-degree temperatures to witness King's home run finish a two-run, ninth-inning rally for the Bisons. It was their second win of the American Association season.
"They'd been getting me out on fast balls all day," said King, who flied out and popped out twice in his previous three at bats. "I was just happy to hit the ball. I hadn't been swinging the bat well before. I just had a great swing and fortunately I hit it well."
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Probably what I most remember about the whole thing was trying to figure out how to do everything. How do I get to the park, where do I park, what door do I go in, where do I sit, when can I talk to the players before the game, when can I talk to them after the game, when do I leave the press box to go interview the players, where does the manager do interviews, when is it OK to go to the locker room, how long do I stay at the park before it's time to drive back to the office, etc, etc, etc.
I look at that story now and all I see is a fairly well-written, if straight-forward article. Somebody taught me well, I guess. I wish I could remember more about the game that day. But something tells me I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have. I wonder if Jeff King feels the same about his baseball career?
I knew it was a Triple A game between the Buffalo Bisons and the Louisville Redbirds in Buffalo, N.Y. But I had to go back to the clipping to refresh my memory about the rest of it.
I try to keep all of my newspaper article clippings on file. It's quite the ancient process. I started in this business about a decade before the Internet came along, so I have been making photocopies of my clippings and storing them in a file cabinet box all of these years. I've never gotten around to filing them electronically. Frankly, I could look up any of my articles on the computer anytime I wanted, but for some reason, I still need the hard copy for posterity.
So down in the basement I went to find the clipping. It turns out the game was very early in the season -- April 6, 1989. And the game was decided in rather dramatic fashion -- a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
I don't remember any of it.
Apparently, I interviewed the hero of the game. I vaguely remember doing that. His name was Jeff King.
No, not THAT Jeff King! Must you think about Allen & Ginter 24 hours a day? For crying out loud.The guy I interviewed was this Jeff King:
You remember Jeff King, don't you? He played back when the Pirates were pennant contenders. He was a solid hitter and Pittsburgh's regular third baseman. Then he had an absolute monster season in 1996 (30 HRs, 111 RBIs, .497 SLG) and the next year was traded to the Royals with Jay Bell for a bunch of people who amounted to next to nothing (Joe Randa was the best of the bunch).King had two more good seasons, then, out of nowhere, announced his retirement two months into the 1999 season. He was 34.
But back when I talked to him, he was on the brink of starting his major league career, and I was at the start of my journalism career. Here is the beginning of what I wrote the first day I covered a professional baseball game:
--------------------------------------------
BUFFALO -- With weather conditions less than perfect for baseball, Buffalo Bisons third baseman Jeff King had the ideal solution.
King drove a first-pitch fast ball over the left field fence with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday to give the Bisons a climactic 3-2 win over the Louisville Redbirds at Pilot Field and send the small crowd of freezing fans home.
About 1,200 fans tolerated wind, rain and 40-degree temperatures to witness King's home run finish a two-run, ninth-inning rally for the Bisons. It was their second win of the American Association season.
"They'd been getting me out on fast balls all day," said King, who flied out and popped out twice in his previous three at bats. "I was just happy to hit the ball. I hadn't been swinging the bat well before. I just had a great swing and fortunately I hit it well."
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Pretty smooth writing, if I do say so myself, especially from someone who was probably scared crapless by his first chance to interview a pro ball player. I do remember King sitting in a chair in the locker room as I stood in front of him asking questions. He seemed pretty bored by the process, if I remember correctly.
Probably what I most remember about the whole thing was trying to figure out how to do everything. How do I get to the park, where do I park, what door do I go in, where do I sit, when can I talk to the players before the game, when can I talk to them after the game, when do I leave the press box to go interview the players, where does the manager do interviews, when is it OK to go to the locker room, how long do I stay at the park before it's time to drive back to the office, etc, etc, etc.
I look at that story now and all I see is a fairly well-written, if straight-forward article. Somebody taught me well, I guess. I wish I could remember more about the game that day. But something tells me I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have. I wonder if Jeff King feels the same about his baseball career?
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