Who's on first?

Or, should I say......WHO IS IN FIRST PLACE?

PNC Park--Home of the FIRST PLACE Pittsburgh Pirates

PIRATE FEVER is sweeping my fair city---it's in every nook and cranny and alleyway.
Our Buccos have this entire city feeling the heat.
If you don't have PIRATE FEVER, there's something wrong with you......something very wrong.
You better get yourself checked out.....

Okay, okay, I know,  I'm not what you would call an avid sports fan.
However, let me tell you--I can throw a rocking game day feast and I  can and will party with the best sports fan. Plus, I can always sport my hometown team colors and assorted team paraphenalia when the occasion calls for it....
But, let me tell you--if there's any sport that I can actually follow and know the names of the players from the 60's to the present and even know the terminology....it's the PIRATES and BASEBALL.
The Roberto Clementes, the Mannie Sanguiens, the Bill Mazeroskis, the Willie Stargells, the Bob Princes....to name just a few guys from my youth....  See, I told you, I can name drop! 

My Uncle Sam was known as Sammy Pie until the day he died.....because of Pie Traynor.   History has it that my Uncle Sam was a legendary third baseman in his days of playing on  The Hill.  He was also a legendary number writer....thus his reason for not becoming a famous ball player.  
Baseball was our family sport.  We even played it!  
Well, the boys and the men played it....the girls and the women sat in the stands and cheered and referreed and booed and got into little disagreements.....
Every family reunion, every picnic and every graduation party at the park always erupted into a huge baseball game....with every age playing...even those uncles who were well into their 60's....never with pinch hitters...but sometimes with pinch runners. 

Oh, and, God forbid one of the cousins got married during baseball season....there better be a TV there. But, God save the soul of the cousin who planned a wedding during play off season or during the World Series......
So,  yeah, baseball has been at the center field of my life since I was old enough to walk.
PIRATE baseball was a family affair......
My parents dragged us to Forbes Field and Three Rivers Stadium ----PIRATE games were a ritual of our summers.  There are moments I can still smell the excitement of being there.....

One of my favorite images from Forbes Field....I always imagine one of those women was my mother!

 

The day they imploded Three River's Stadium....we were there to watch it!  Then, we had a party afterwards with a cake that had Three Rivers Stadium on it done up in Black and Gold icing.   Ah, good times! 

My mother always had St. Jude on top of our TV set when the PIRATES were on.  I can still see it sitting next to the rabbit ear antenna box on top of our portable TV in the corner of our living room....
My uncles always sported ear pieces from their transistor radios on game days.  Till this day....when I think of my Uncle Anthony....I picture him with that ear piece and holding his RCA transistor... 
As the years went on, PIRATE games were great dates.....to sit under the stars with a cute guy and to even know a thing or two about the game to impress said cute guy....well, that was damn priceless.
And, when Carmen and I had our first child--Vince--we could not wait to take him to a PIRATE game.  Somewhere there's a picture of Carmen, Vince and I...me with Vince in my arms... in one of those fancy luxury boxes at Three Rivers Stadium.....it's one of my favorite pictures.  Someday I will have to find it....

 Funny....my story about PIRATE baseball is not just mine.  
There are thousands and thousands of Pittsburghers who could tell these very same stories....maybe they would have different characters but they would all be the same--the PIRATES were as much a part of our lives and our treasured memories as Christmas Eves, First Communions and High School Graduations.....
The PIRATES stole our hearts, gave us something to believe in, gave us something to share and for those fleeting 9 innings.....our troubles were few. 

Yeah, the BUCS are going all the way......
ALL THE WAY THIS YEAR
(this one is for you Debbie Dean!)


I'll be back with more PIRATES BASEBALL soon......gotta go watch the game with my dad! 
BEAT 'EM BUCS!