The Quest for # 27

April 2, 2007

The official start of the 2007 Major League Baseball Season for the New York Yankees.

Say what? Baseball? Yankees? Questions I never fail to receive from Pinoys.

You see, this country might be crazy for all the drive and shot to the hoops and rounds of boxing but I'm proud to say that my ever favorite sport is Baseball!

If I'm at the Bronx, NY right now, I would be lining up there and entering the greatest stadium on this earth, the Yankee Stadium. Also known as "The House that Ruth Built". Yup, Babe Ruth. No... it's not just a candy bar, he was a great baseball player and of course a great Yankee.

This opening day, the veteran voice of Yankee Stadium, Mr. Bob Sheppard, will introduce both players from the opposing teams. One by one they'll run to the field and line-up at opposite 1st and 3rd base lines. According to the news, 2 US Jet Fighter Planes will fly over the Bronx to signal off the start of the season. Wow! I can just feel the electricity now.

The ceremonial pitch will be done by the ex-Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle's wife and son. Just like what you see in a basketball game which is a ceremonial toss, baseball has it's own too. Lidle was the pilot of the plane that crashed into a NYC apartment building last year around the last week of September which caused a stir of panic, thinking it's another terrorist attack.

I maybe 8,000 miles away from NY but I don't miss out that much. Why? Thanks to our town's local cable provider, I get to watch NY Yankees games for free as there's a Japanese channel that covers 80% of their games whole season-long. Thanks to you Mr. Matsui and to the newest player, Mr. Igawa. See? People in the States need to buy a subscription but me, all for free. =P

Why baseball? I find it more challenging. Yes, it's boring but not if my Yankees are playing. No time limit, play must continue until a team is declared a winner. I find it more challenging as the nature of the sport is so intriguing and I feel you really need talent to be a Major Leaguer. And the statistics man, the statistics! Whew! I don't know any other sport which has more stats than this game. Dig this: Batting Average = for season, lifetime, against a certain pitcher, with men on base, with 1 or 2 outs... aaaaaargh!!! That's only one, how much more for the whole game and other players? Whew!!! You think pitchers just throw the ball for the batter to hit? No! They throw it to get the batter out. This is the only game that if you're on defense, you have the ball. The pitcher? He's not an offensive player, he's for defense.

A day won't be enough for me to explain about the game and the tactics included. About the players, the teams and their rivals plus history and all.

Oh, quest for # 27? I forgot to mention. The New York Yankees as a professional sports franchise is heralded as the most successful team ever in this planet. The word winning is synonymous to the Yankees. They currently have 26 World Series Titles and looking for # 27 since year 2000.

So, I hope that when you take out the two zeros from 2007, it's gonna be 27!

Let's go Yankees!!!