I have to admit. I'm an addict.

[Roy Firestone]

I have to admit.
I'm an addict.
I'm an addict not of booze or drugs.
I'm an addict for baseball ....
It's still THE game for me and I love almost any team sport.
But for me, when it's great, it's still the greatest game of them all.
I hate to say it, but when my team wins ...it's like a hit of crack or coke and I have never and will never try those drugs.
This one is a better high anyway.
It's an adrenaline rush for me. It comes from my heart and soul.
Like the other night in Anaheim I sat transfixed on the game.
I dont need to look at the silly shell games on a scoreboard, nor hear what the players favorite singer is.. or eat a lot of junk, but I DO have to have my bag of peanuts.
The Orioles were clinging to a one run lead, when, with the bases loaded, Mike Trout stepped up to the plate...a single and the game is tied...an extra base hit and the Orioles lose.
Our pitcher Craig Kimbrel had to throw a strike to one of the all time greats, and somehow, someway, Trout looked at a third strike and the Orioles won.
I lept into the air as if I had a million dollars on the game.
I never bet on sports, but this was a better high than winning any bet anyway.
Because it is pure and it comes from my deep place of caring when the 'Birds' win.
Today in Anaheim, another nail biter, the game was in the ninth with two out and a runner on first. Suddenly the runner broke for second and catcher James McCann threw a strike to second base.
Gunnar Henderson covering, made the tag and the ump called the runner out.
And the game ended that way. Bang Bang.
Personally I thought it was a blown call, but after review the call was upheld and the Orioles won another nail biter.
I dont watch many other games, but every night I hit the crack pipe" of baseball.
It's my addiction.
I also love watching fantastic performers. Mookie Betts is an electric ballplayer . can do anything at the plate and in the field.
The Orioles' Henderson is a must see ballplayer like Betts is.
On Wednesday he hit a home run, a double, a single, drove in 3 runs got hit by a pitch , stole a base and made two game saving plays in the field.
Baseball is a team sport but it's also watching the brilliant, mesmerizing individual performances. It's watching the best players in the world do what I think is the most difficult thing in sports , hit a baseball, throw a baseball, and field a baseball.
It's hard to do.
Anyway,it's still just April and it's a long, long season.
Bryant Gumble once had a great line about the difference between football and baseball.
He said "Baseball, is a never ending romance, but football is a one night stand."
Yep, I'm an addict, a baseball junkie, and I make no apologies for it.
I'll never go to rehab for my baseball addiction.
I don't NEED to be cured.
And I never will be.
Jim Bouton said it best in "Ball Four" his great book.
"In all the years you grip a baseball...you suddenly remember, it's really the other way around"
Exactly.

[Ridgway22]

Quote

47 minutes ago, Roy Firestone said:

I have to admit.
I'm an addict.
I'm an addict not of booze or drugs.
I'm an addict for baseball ....
It's still THE game for me and I love almost any team sport.
But for me, when it's great, it's still the greatest game of them all.
I hate to say it, but when my team wins ...it's like a hit of crack or coke and I have never and will never try those drugs.
This one is a better high anyway.
It's an adrenaline rush for me. It comes from my heart and soul.
Like the other night in Anaheim I sat transfixed on the game.
I dont need to look at the silly shell games on a scoreboard, nor hear what the players favorite singer is.. or eat a lot of junk, but I DO have to have my bag of peanuts.
The Orioles were clinging to a one run lead, when, with the bases loaded, Mike Trout stepped up to the plate...a single and the game is tied...an extra base hit and the Orioles lose.
Our pitcher Craig Kimbrel had to throw a strike to one of the all time greats, and somehow, someway, Trout looked at a third strike and the Orioles won.
I lept into the air as if I had a million dollars on the game.
I never bet on sports, but this was a better high than winning any bet anyway.
Because it is pure and it comes from my deep place of caring when the 'Birds' win.
Today in Anaheim, another nail biter, the game was in the ninth with two out and a runner on first. Suddenly the runner broke for second and catcher James McCann threw a strike to second base.
Gunnar Henderson covering, made the tag and the ump called the runner out.
And the game ended that way. Bang Bang.
Personally I thought it was a blown call, but after review the call was upheld and the Orioles won another nail biter.
I dont watch many other games, but every night I hit the crack pipe" of baseball.
It's my addiction.
I also love watching fantastic performers. Mookie Betts is an electric ballplayer . can do anything at the plate and in the field.
The Orioles' Henderson is a must see ballplayer like Betts is.
On Wednesday he hit a home run, a double, a single, drove in 3 runs got hit by a pitch , stole a base and made two game saving plays in the field.
Baseball is a team sport but it's also watching the brilliant, mesmerizing individual performances. It's watching the best players in the world do what I think is the most difficult thing in sports , hit a baseball, throw a baseball, and field a baseball.
It's hard to do.
Anyway,it's still just April and it's a long, long season.
Bryant Gumble once had a great line about the difference between football and baseball.
He said "Baseball, is a never ending romance, but football is a one night stand."
Yep, I'm an addict, a baseball junkie, and I make no apologies for it.
I'll never go to rehab for my baseball addiction.
I don't NEED to be cured.
And I never will be.
Jim Bouton said it best in "Ball Four" his great book.
"In all the years you grip a baseball...you suddenly remember, it's really the other way around"
Exactly.

 

Nicely stated Roy. Every since I was 9 years old and saw the O's vs. the Tokyo Giants in Tokyo in 1971, I've been infected with the Orange/Black virus. There is no cure and I don't want one. You and I sat at the lunch table with Jim Palmer at the 1970 World Series Champs reunion, and its still one of my enduring baseball memories. You said I looked like Carlton Fisk!

I was at all 3 games in this Angels series, right behind the O's dugout. I got to see all our boys, and just simply love to watch this team play. And in true baseball fashion, the one game on paper we should have dominated (GRod vs. 8+ ERA Channing), we end up down 7-0 and lose. But watching Gunnar's homers, his electric triple, and he made a fantastic play today on a ball that went under Westburg's glove, Adley do Adley things, Cowser, holy crap.

Kimbrel v. Trout with bases loaded, bottom of 9th, 2 outs, down by 2? That was fun. Next game Trout bats leadoff and torches a GRod fastball for a homer to the opposite field. 

An observation.... If you didn't know anything about the team, and you only watched game 1 batting practice, you'd think Cowser and O'Hearn were the studs of the team. Mountcastle was taking BP with the reserves and he put on a show as well. 

Home after 3 straight days watching this O's team, so jealous of the Balt fans in Balt that get to see the team with regularity. It's a special bunch.

[Billy F-Face3]

How can you not be romantic about baseball?

This seems slightly poetic. I enjoyed reading, and correlated your experience in the stands back to what I watch in Game 1 on MASN.  It was also pretty cool to hear Jim Palmer give you a shout out in Game 2 of the series on Live TV.

[Frobby]

I have a feeling Roy wouldn’t have posted this today if Kimbrel had blown that game in the 9th.  

I always feel like the players and the manager are able to set aside the ups and downs a lot faster than a dedicated fan can.   

[Too Tall]

Just when I think there is no way better to say it, Roy, you top the charts. Since Scrapiron caught Turley, I've been hooked. Since The Rope singled to right field. There have been many ups and downs but the illness has been consistent. I love this site for moments like this. Where else? I love this team to the same degree I love family. Thanks Roy!

[Roy Firestone]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

I have a feeling Roy wouldn’t have posted this today if Kimbrel had blown that game in the 9th.  

I always feel like the players and the manager are able to set aside the ups and downs a lot faster than a dedicated fan can.   

Because you and I text often, and did during the game yesterday...you know how annoying and negative I can be. I'm a whiner and complainer when it comes to this team. But when we win, and I see some kind of performance like Henderson gave...I want to write a sonnet or symphony in my mind...paint some sort of masterpiece. I have to put my joy SOMEWHERE. Yes, I probably am over the top in my love for this team. WEAMS came and stayed at my home a few years ago and was mesmerised by my Oriole  collection of memorabilia that goes back more than 50 years when I was a batboy. Brooks Robinson and Palmer stayed for a weekend once. I was told to take all my Oriole stuff down, lest Brooks think I'm a kook. Brooks David, his son, told me to "keep all the stuff up...my dad LOVES this stuff. And Brooks Sr did INDEED "love the stuff". So, yes, even in a long up and down season...I cant curb my addiction. I sulk when we lose or are losing...and I'm giddy as a 5 year old when we win dramatically. Maybe I should seek a therapist. But I don't want to. I dont want to or need to be "fixed"....To quote the line from earlier in this comment...."I love this stuff". Its a romance that breaks my heart sometimes, but when it's right and I'm happy...nothing else in sports for me, comes close.

[AdamK]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

...

I always feel like the players and the manager are able to set aside the ups and downs a lot faster than a dedicated fan can.   

No doubt.

As I was about to settle into bed last night to wait for the Os game to start (west coast start time, after all) my wife came in and casually said "Os won, that's good" as she was putzing around the room. Not knowing it was a day game and it had been played hours ago my first reaction was "damnit, what?!" instead of "oh cool".

 

Addict.

 

Edited April 25 by AdamK

[Orioles West]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

I have a feeling Roy wouldn’t have posted this today if Kimbrel had blown that game in the 9th.  

I always feel like the players and the manager are able to set aside the ups and downs a lot faster than a dedicated fan can.   

I mostly agree about players generally being able to deal better than us with the ups and downs, but I recall Hyde saying how hard those losing seasons were and he wasn’t sure how much more he could take.

That aside, I am as addicted as Roy and a lot of us hear who love the game and the Birds in particular.

[InsideCoroner]

“Hi, Roy.”

[luismatos4prez]

I'm with you Roy.

I watched every at bat that Stevie Wilkerson, Pat Valaika, and Dwight Smith Jr. took for this team. This young, fun, talented team is our reward and I'm enjoying every second. But even if they still stunk, I'm not going anywhere.

Don't forget, you're here forever.

[NashLumber]

On 4/25/2024 at 1:14 AM, Roy Firestone said:

I have to admit.
I'm an addict.
I'm an addict not of booze or drugs.
I'm an addict for baseball ....
It's still THE game for me and I love almost any team sport.
But for me, when it's great, it's still the greatest game of them all.
I hate to say it, but when my team wins ...it's like a hit of crack or coke and I have never and will never try those drugs.
This one is a better high anyway.
It's an adrenaline rush for me. It comes from my heart and soul.
Like the other night in Anaheim I sat transfixed on the game.
I dont need to look at the silly shell games on a scoreboard, nor hear what the players favorite singer is.. or eat a lot of junk, but I DO have to have my bag of peanuts.
The Orioles were clinging to a one run lead, when, with the bases loaded, Mike Trout stepped up to the plate...a single and the game is tied...an extra base hit and the Orioles lose.
Our pitcher Craig Kimbrel had to throw a strike to one of the all time greats, and somehow, someway, Trout looked at a third strike and the Orioles won.
I lept into the air as if I had a million dollars on the game.
I never bet on sports, but this was a better high than winning any bet anyway.
Because it is pure and it comes from my deep place of caring when the 'Birds' win.
Today in Anaheim, another nail biter, the game was in the ninth with two out and a runner on first. Suddenly the runner broke for second and catcher James McCann threw a strike to second base.
Gunnar Henderson covering, made the tag and the ump called the runner out.
And the game ended that way. Bang Bang.
Personally I thought it was a blown call, but after review the call was upheld and the Orioles won another nail biter.
I dont watch many other games, but every night I hit the crack pipe" of baseball.
It's my addiction.
I also love watching fantastic performers. Mookie Betts is an electric ballplayer . can do anything at the plate and in the field.
The Orioles' Henderson is a must see ballplayer like Betts is.
On Wednesday he hit a home run, a double, a single, drove in 3 runs got hit by a pitch , stole a base and made two game saving plays in the field.
Baseball is a team sport but it's also watching the brilliant, mesmerizing individual performances. It's watching the best players in the world do what I think is the most difficult thing in sports , hit a baseball, throw a baseball, and field a baseball.
It's hard to do.
Anyway,it's still just April and it's a long, long season.
Bryant Gumble once had a great line about the difference between football and baseball.
He said "Baseball, is a never ending romance, but football is a one night stand."
Yep, I'm an addict, a baseball junkie, and I make no apologies for it.
I'll never go to rehab for my baseball addiction.
I don't NEED to be cured.
And I never will be.
Jim Bouton said it best in "Ball Four" his great book.
"In all the years you grip a baseball...you suddenly remember, it's really the other way around"
Exactly.

@Roy Firestone, you don't have an addiction. It's a fever. 

And the only prescription is "more cowbell!"

There used to be a woman at Ebbets Field with a cowbell, if memory serves. I wonder if that will catch on for Cowser? Maybe this kind of dancing in the dugout could be a supplement to the Hydration Station. 

 

Edited April 26 by NashLumber