It was bittersweet...being a part of Mobile baseball history this weekend.
The LAST Mobile BayBears game ever.
The team is moving to Huntsville and will be re-named the Rocket City Trash Pandas (don't get me started on the name...)
I wasn't one of the fans who filled the stadium on that first game in April of '97. The rest of my family was there, but my sister-in-law wisely counseled me to stay home and watch the game on TV because stadium seats just aren't very comfortable when you're 8 months pregnant! But I was in the stands later that season, along with our son Mike who was born in May. And our family made at least 1 game every year, with Mike getting a job as a batboy when he was 16.
He joined me at the final game on Labor Day... scroll down... he's the one with the beard! (That's also him in the glasses, meeting Hank Aaron at The Hank!)
Becca spent a lot of time at the Hank when she was growing up, too. She rescued me early on by throwing out the first pitch for me, because I can't throw. Or catch. Or hit.
Here are a few of the shots from this weekend (yes, that's Clarence, The Dancing Man!)... and a few memories, like celebrity softball and the year I decided not to even try to use my glove in right field.... I think I sent one of the Bears after a ball that was hit in my direction.
Thanks for 23 seasons of memories!