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Furm's Take: H.A.D. Diary
In Review ...
Eleven-year-old Alex Conrad took home a nifty souvenir Sunday, after Chris Heisey threw a baseball into section 96 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Check out more Heisey Appreciation Day photos in the complete photo gallery.
Heisey Appreciation Day Photo Gallery 11:14 a.m. EST — I’m almost to downtown Baltimore, and I’m already excited about today’s Reds – Orioles game. I’m also extremely exhausted from last night’s Dave Matthews Band concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey. But for those who know me, this shouldn’t surprise you. With no summer tour in 2011, I did what I had to do. Show number 62 did not disappoint. 11:27 a.m. — Finding a parking space is a breeze when you show up to a major league baseball game over two hours before the first pitch. But as I begin walking to the park, I start to get dry mouth: What if Chris Heisey, a 2006 Messiah alum, doesn’t even play in today’s game? He’s started just 24 of the Reds’ 78 games this year, but played in 67. Would everyone in our group be disappointed if he pinch hits just once today? Would they seek out the organizer of this event, and inflict bodily harm on him? I notice a Party City store and contemplate stopping, purchasing a costume and attending the game incognito. 11:28 a.m. — Party City is not open. 11:32 a.m. — A large, shirtless man is selling bottled water on the street corner, and is rapping about his product using a megaphone that appears to be manufactured sometime in the late 1980’s. Today it’s gonna be 85, man alive, that’s hot ... Remembering that Reds’ manager Dusty Baker has failed to respond to my repeated emails begging him to start Heisey, my saliva count drops further. I buy water. 11:39 a.m. — Making my way into Oriole Park for the first time in my life, I’m immediately impressed by the charm of the place. I am then immediately accosted from behind by a tall man in some type of quasi-bear hug. Thankfully, it is our interim director of athletics, Jack Cole. We begin to do what we do best. We mingle. 11:46 a.m. — As Jack and I shake hands with several Messiah folks who are in the ballpark equally as early, I say hello to athletic trainer Wendy Cheesman. Wendy appears to be ready to head elsewhere, but then Jack begins talking about buying lunch. Wendy remains loitering near us. 11:52 a.m. — Jack follows through with his offer, buying several of us lunch (including the ubiquitous Cheesman). This is an extremely solid move for my wallet, seeing as how my chicken fingers basket and Coke cost $17. Apparently, the people who set concessions prices at Oriole Park believe it is the year 2082. 12:03 p.m. — While eating, Lisa Heisey, Chris’ wife, and her parents, Bill and Sandy Strausbaugh, stop and say hello. Bill confirms my deepest fear: After starting in each of the first two games of this weekend’s series, Chris informed his family that he is not in the starting lineup today. Nearly $6.82 worth of chicken fingers threatens to move from my stomach into my mouth. 12:04 p.m. — Bill continues talking. It turns out Reds’ usual starting right fielder Jay Bruce is sick, and sent an early-morning text message to Chris urging him to “be ready to go today.” Unlike Bruce, I do not vomit. 1:04 p.m. — Now in our seats, the Jumbotron proves Bill’s information correct: Chris is batting leadoff and starting in right field for only the fourth time of the season. Our section is located in right field. I make plans to write Jay Bruce a thank you note. And the cook who served Bruce some bad poultry Saturday night. 1:36 p.m. — Heisey is announced for his first at-bat of the afternoon, and section 96 gives him a rousing ovation. He lines out a 1-2 pitch to the shortstop. Section 96 now wants the other two outs immediately retired so we can see him up close and personal. 1:48 p.m. — Heisey jogs out for his first appearance in right field. He waves to some people sitting along the first-base line. He waves to some people near the foul pole. He waves to some people in the upper deck. The people in section 96 are now borderline apoplectic. Heisey turns and waves to us wearing an ear-to-ear smile. I turn to the crowd, soaking in the golden moment. A youngster looks at me and tells me I have a big nose. I sit back down. 2:34 p.m. — Heisey makes his second appearance at the plate and, for the second time, flies out to the Orioles’ shortstop. In an attempt to affect karma, fans in our section begin talking about his three-homer night against the New York Yankees Wednesday. I imagine Chris homering to our section, and me catching it in my hat. 2:35 p.m. — I remember I’m not wearing a hat. 2:53 p.m. — Our section has now become used to Heisey patrolling right field, so his at-bats are becoming the focal point of the game. In his third plate appearance, Chris flies out to left field, putting the ball in play three times but failing to get on base. I order a $6 bowl of ice cream pellets to calm my nerves. 3:27 p.m. — Heisey singles to right field (right field even!) in the top of the sixth to plate a run for Cincy, pulling the visitors to a 5-2 deficit. Three batters later, Heisey scores off a walk from Jonny Gomes. Brandon Phillips then scores off another walk. Cincy trails 5-4. We gotta ballgame. 3:48 p.m. — Members of our section successfully start the wave. It takes eight attempts, but eventually the timeworn act makes itself all the way around the park and back to our section. I should not feel excited. But I do. Section 96 now owns Oriole Park at Camden Yards. 4:03 p.m. — Heisey belts another single up the middle, finally getting the best of O’s shortstop J.J. Hardy. He’s now 2-5 on the day with an RBI and a run scored. He clearly realizes it’s Heisey Appreciation Day. 4:11 p.m. — Even another run from the Orioles couldn’t dampen the spirits of our section after Heisey throws a warm-up ball into our group in the middle of the seventh inning. Matt Spolski makes the grab, attending as a guest of 2009 Messiah grad Jeff Rosser and wife Jenna (Fore, ’10). He looks at the ball intently. I envy him. 4:32 p.m. — In the middle of the eighth frame, Heisey does it again. He looks to our section, making a gesture as if he wants to throw this warm-up ball to us. I stand up and point to him. I’m certain he sees me. He rears back and lofts a soft toss directly to ... my right. It bounces off several hands, and Tera — my wife who was doubling as the official F.A.N. photographer for the day — makes the snag. People cheer her athletic ability. I feel emasculated. 4:33 p.m. — Tera hands the ball to me, and I instantly sense the glares of 149 Messiah folks impaling the back of my head. I quickly hand the ball to 11-year-old Alex Conrad, who was sitting to my left and attending the game wearing a homemade Chris Heisey shirt. He and his friend were also scoring the game in their programs, which didn’t allow him to get out his glove in time to vie for Heisey’s toss in the first place. “Alex loves baseball more than anything,” says his father, Rick. “He and his friends will be talking about guys who played in the 1980’s for the Phillies and I’m like, ‘I don’t remember those guys.’ It’s his passion.” 4:35 p.m. — Rick tells me that he’s at the game as a guest of Laurie Owens, the right-hand woman of Messiah President Kim Phipps and generally my favorite person on campus. I make plans to use the bestowing of the baseball for brownie points. 4:47 p.m. — With everyone at Oriole Park on their feet (except for section 96), Heisey comes to the plate with two outs retired in the top of the ninth, no one on base and a 5-7 deficit staring down the Reds. He works a full count after battling back from 0-2, and drills an 89-mile-per-hour cutter deep to left field. It’s not enough to get out of the park. Orioles win 7-5. 4:52 p.m. — As folks begin to depart the ballpark, several people approach me and let me know how much they enjoyed and appreciated the day, including two of Chris Heisey’s uncles, Jim and Rick Heisey. Relieved, I knew it couldn’t have gone any better: A brilliant day with low humidity and a light breeze, Chris plays the entire game and plays well, and he plays right field, standing just yards away from our seats the entire afternoon. The Boss Jack Cole shakes my hand and says, “Today was perfect. Now we have to figure out a way to make it even better next year.” 4:53 p.m. — Dry mouth returns. Where is that large, shirtless man with the megaphone?
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