Not Just Another Game at U.S. Cellular Field

Last night I made a point to be at the ballpark when Mark Buehrle returned to pitch against the White Sox. It is always hard to see players that you loved as a member of the White Sox come back for another team. Mark may be one of my favorite ballplayers of all time so it was awesome to see him pitch again. Before the game they handed out Frank Thomas bobble heads to the fans. I remember being at the Cell in 2006 when Frank came back for the first time when he was playing for the Oakland Athletics. The crowd gave him a huge ovation, and then he promptly sent a Jon Garland pitch into the left field bleachers. The crowd booed him when he came up the next time. Frank hit two home runs on that day making it a good return for him.

I had a feeling that when Mark took the mound in the bottom of the first inning that the crowd would give him a great ovation. They started giving him some love as he walked out to warm up, and then as he came back to the dugout. The ovation when he took the mound was great as well. Part of that was the fact that it seemed liked half of the 29,000+ fans in attendance were Blue Jay fans. The score was not what I wanted it to be, but I was able to see Mark and Pauly one last time. I was also able to see Jose Abreu for the first time. It is really amazing just how long the White Sox have had a superstar at first base. The way that Abreu is playing that trend looks like it will continue for a long time. This may have been the last time that I will see Mark pitch, but I can assure you that I will be at the park when they retire his number, and then again when they put up his statue.

Almost Thirty Years of Watching the White Sox Live

I was thinking heading up to the park that it was nearly 29 years ago to the date that I saw my first White Sox game. It was between the Blue Jays and the White Sox as well. Looking back at that game you really wonder where the time went. The White Sox starting pitcher that day was Floyd Bannister. Twenty five years after seeing Floyd pitch that first game I saw his son Brian pitch in Chicago for the Royals. His son is now out of baseball after a successful career. It will only be a matter of time before I go to a game, see a kid playing, and say “I saw his grandfather play.” Hopefully that is a long way off.

Bonus Photos

Here are a couple of other photos from the day that I really liked. I had some more fun with the multi exposure function on my camera. As the lights took effect the white jerseys of the Sox players seemed to pop even more. I also tried some handheld exposures of the fireworks after the game. I shot a few inside, and then a couple more at my car. As crazy as it sounds I liked the photos taken at my car much better.