so... today was the day the new interns arrived at channel 5. which means we were training all day. well we had a bit of a break and so i went into the sports department and was talking with katie (the reporter) and we were brainstorming ideas for stories that she could do this week. well one thing led to another and i found myself walking up to the credential window at busch and getting the pass that gets me inside... we went into the stadium and i had to go wait on the field while rene and katie talked with some of the guys in the clubhouse. (interns aren't allowed in the clubhouse.)
i walk out on the field and immediately MELTED. 1. because this was what i came to st louis to do! and 2. because it was 92 degrees outside and like 500% humidity. of course i pick the hottest day of the year to go to the ballpark.
well immediately i see shade in the dugout so i go and sit there. (right about where yadi is sitting)
and i sit there and sit there and think to myself are the players ever going to come out?? and then...
chris carpenter walks out from the clubhouse and up the stairs to the field and i MELT again. is this really happening?? am i really here?!
and then one by one they all come out.
Lohse, Barden, Thurston (who then proceeded to walk by me and lay his stuff down on the bench a few feet away so that he could insert the cup. awkward) Yadi, Shumaker, Ryan, Franklin, Perez, Motte, Rasmus, Duncan... and so on. and then.... PUJOLS. yes. i was in the dugout when pujols was there. he's the greatest hitter in baseball. HEAVEN!
they are all pretty funny people. motte was cracking jokes on his way out to right field. carp is pulling a plastic bag out of his back pocket with 2 Bubble Gum gumballs. one blue. one dark pink. barden is drinking some kind of energy boost/red bull thing.
one of the producers from FSN is asking barden if they will let him be mic'd up during bp tomorrow. and he says they'll have to catch him when he's in a good mood so he'll talk alot. and then the producer says to have a few drinks first. barden says he doesn't think he can come to the stadium drunk... then the fsn producer says miles was the best mic'd up so far so barden has a lot to prove, and i am thinking, brendan ryan would be the best. and then barden says, you mean brendan ryan wasn't the best. and then i may have not been invited but i join the conversation saying that i would have guessed that too... and just like that. i am in with brian barden. haha. jk. one thing i love about myself is that i feel comfortable talking to most people.
so now i venture up to the field and watch batting practice and warmups with katie and rene. after 20 or so minutes my body temperature reaches 500 degrees so i decide to sit by the stairs down to the clubhouse where there is air conditioning. after a few minutes of this, i see pujols walking toward the dugout and i look at katie and she's getting all excited for me. and all of a sudden he is walking down the steps only inches from me. and i MELT.
the rest of the pregame proceeded like this. we talked with brendan ryan, who does a good impression of Robert Dinero. and we talked with Hal McRae, and Cal Eldred and Nick Stavinoha and Tony Larussa.
and then at 6:30 we left the stadium and i walked back to channel 5 and could not stop smiling. and i still can't stop smiling. :)
time of arrival- 3:30
items on the agenda: pure bliss
time of departure- 6:30
Awesome, Katie. Truly awesome.
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