45-inning vacation: the ultimate 9

ultimate (verb): to come to an end

All vacations eventually ultimate, necessitating a return to the real world, the one of responsibility and routine.

What better baseball shirt to wear for my last trip to The Jack than this one from 2014, when my dear Sand Gnats won the South Atlantic League Championship?

A kind gent with a good eye, and a steady hand, spotted my flip phone and volunteered to take my photo.

What a nice guy!

He even had me step forward to line up this third shot!

Me and Jackie Robinson and the little kids - how apropos on this Family Fun Day!

This event was one of my favorites.

I'd never heard of the Shoe Shuffle!

The kids' shoes were in a pile in left field, where the kids had to run from the 3rd base line, then put on their shoes to complete the race to the 1st base line.

New to me and very funny to watch!

And, oh, what a gorgeous view of that International Speedway bridge arching under the perfect sky for my first Sunday afternoon of baseball since 2015!

(Savannah Bananas don't play day games.)

 

ultimate (adjective): not comparable; final; last

As the ultimate game of this series between the hometown Daytona Tortugas and the visiting Lakeland Flying Tigers, it stood apart from the others.

Then again, that's one of the best things about baseball: every game is different.

Every single game has moments not found in the others.

Take the sixth inning.

The score was tied, with both teams scoring a single run in the fourth frames.

Then the Detroit team started having butterfingers.

For instance, Wilfred Astudillo made it to third on a single because the ball was overthrown to first.

I guess they hadn't counted on a hefty boy like him to be able to move that fast, with his braids whipping in the wind!

Then they underestimated him again.

Why is he not still on third?

Because he stole home!!!

The Tiger's catcher had fumbled yet another catch, in his continuing comedy of errors.

Those fumbles had allowed Johnny Ascanio and Justin Boyd to steal bases, too, setting them up to score that inning.

As for Edwin Arroyo, he made it to third on a single, but not the way the others had.

His was due to an outfield collision.

Yep, that's right, the two Tigers forgot to call the catch and so both got in each other's way.

No worries, though.

Hayden Jones hit a home run, so the outfielders weren't needed.

Thanks, y'all, for the two runs as Edwin came in, too!

The Tortugas made a stunning five runs that inning!

Magnificent!

The Tigers tried to make it up later, though not for two innings.

That's okay, the crowd was being entertained by Professor Matt, clad in cartoon themed top and matching shorts!

Top of the 8th saw the visitors rack up three more runs on the scoreboard, after the hometeam got another run by Johnny Ascanio.

By the way, he has the coolest walk-up music, ever!

Anywho, the Tigers' last inning netted nothing more.

By 7:49 PM, the 5:35 PM game had concluded, with a fine total of 7 for the Cincinnati team and 4 for the Detroit team.

ultimate (noun): conclusion

What can be said at the ultimate of my experiences at Jackie Robinson Ballpark?

The two had evenly split the six-game series, of which I caught five, with each team seemingly taking turns at winning.

Now, that's sportsmanship!

As I headed for my car, parked on Orange Street this time, I enjoyed this display over Beach Street of another bday64 coming to a close.

Right place, right time.

How blessed is that?

i thank You, God.