Take me out to the ballgame! Munch Musings from Goodyear

I know, we all miss those two words PLAY BALL (for me right after “Love you” from Mrs. Munch!) and as the marvelous SARAH LANGS from MLB.com is quoted as saying “BASEBALL IS THE BEST”! I was treated to a weekend in Arizona (a birthday present from my oldest son) to head to Goodyear and see the Cleveland Guardians in action Friday vs the Angels and Saturday vs the Padres. No Mike Trout or Padres starters but indeed was in close proximity to the diamond and to JOSE, KWANIE and the rest of Cleveland’s BOYS OF SUMMER!

I need to talk about the experience at Goodyear first and foremost. (I’ll get to Phoenix later to not taunt my Ballpark and game delight)! MAGNIFICENT does not do it justice. A HUGE SHOUT OUT to the Cleveland Guardians organization as they really have it going on at the ballpark.

First off the parking is FREE and the attendants were cool and helpful. Flags whipping in the breeze as they directed you to parking spaces. The stroll into the yard was easy no matter how far away you parked and the folks scanning your tickets and checking you as you passed through a quick security check point acted as if they were welcoming you into their house. Very cool too as there is a little league diamond set up in the area outside of RF and both days we were there youngsters were living their dream. Of course, I wanted to join them but held off.

Friday we sat 4 rows back from the first base bag and made sure to grab some Skyline coney dogs, peanuts, and 12 oz Busch Light beers before we sat down. Why Skyline? Gotta remember the Reds play here too! I treasure sitting in different locations in the ballpark, something I learned from my Dad as you can experience all the nuances of this wonderful past time. The game is fast…quick, snap throws to first from anywhere in the infield, rocket shot ground balls and the proverbial baseball handcuffs – those sharp on hoppers. You do not realize how close most plays are at first base.

The regular Guards stalwarts were just that for the most part (David Fry is struggling with the bat and behind the dish) and young players who will not make the club (Watson, Velasquez) are players! I know we all love Steven Kwan but moving to CF is not easy and even a Gold Glover like Steven has a HUGE learning curve to conquer. Gavin Williams was superb although the affliction of giving up runs in the first continues (1 unearned compliments of Fry) and out of the Bullpen Avila was “meh”. Again no Trout for the Halos and the rest of the roster is a shoulder shrug. PLEASE TRADE HIM at the deadline this year so we can see him in the postseason! BTW the good guys triumphed 5-3.

Saturday we were in the front row right at the home plate edge of the dugout and it was a treat seeing the players interact with each other and the coaches. Slade Cecconi toed the rubber for the good guys and was very good. The Padres did not play any starters, and the Guards had an easy win 7-1. Great to see Hedgie behind the plate especially when he is hitting .250! Manzo is a stud despite a .167 average along with Kayfus, who’s a big leader although the .176 needs to come up. L

ooking at the other youngsters Valera and DeLauter cam both put the bat on the ball. Hoskins was very good at the plate and in the field and Rocchio plus Arias are hitting the ball and playing good in the field. I gotta say Gabriel has the best head of hair in baseball. The relievers were all very good with Armstrong standing out. As you can figure JOSE was greeted as royalty and Kwan was close to that status too. I enjoyed sitting with some Dodgers fans who were playing that night 30 minutes north and they knew th game. They were in awe of Jose’s presence. Now a ballgame is not a ballgame without noshing, so we dined on regular ballpark dogs WITH BERTMAN’S BALLPARK MUSTARD. Our beverages…12 oz Busch Lights!

I noted earlier that I must salute the GUARDIANS organization for the perfect ballpark experience. IT WAS PERFECT. THANK YOU.

Phoenix on the other hand…something is going on as almost 5 million people live in the area, but they can have it. Sure, temps are good now but months and months of 100 degrees on the way…no thank you. The mountains look good until you get close…rocks, rocks, and more rocks. No vegetation and driving around you see brown… dirt, gravel, scrub plus fake grass. Not for me. I was also puzzled as I saw no billboards for any of their pro sports teams. I saw on for GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY sports (Go ‘lopes”) but that was it. I must say the people are laid back and welcoming, but the heat takes its toll.

The best part – going with my son Clay. He said it was a return favor for all the ball games we went to when he was a youngster. Yes indeed SARAH LANGS…BASEBALL IS THE BEST!!

Read more of my thoughts and ramblings right here at NEO SPORTS INSIDERS. I need to thank those who keep me powered up, KEN GANLEY AUTO STORES and KEN GANLEY AURORA CHEVROLET

Please take care of each other and it’s your world, pay attention. No doubt enjoy every sandwich and for now, ADIOS AMIGO, LONG MAY YOU RUN!!