A New Pirate Generation

So, I don't know if you know this, but in January I became a first time Pittsburgh Pirates season ticket holder. Sure, there were a few seasons (maybe 2 or 3) back around the turn of the century when my dad split a 40 game package with Shrec (that was just to ensure our seats at the newly built PNC Park). But I don't count that, because at that time, I went to those games on my dad's dime. This January, I made the decision to become a season ticket holder by myself and for myself.

I bought one seat. Left field bleachers, section 135, row B seat 17. I'm basically in the good part of left field, not down the line but not too much down the center; probably right where a good left fielder would normally position himself. Here's the kicker: I bought the full season plan. Yes, that's right, 81 games!

Now, the nice thing about the plan is that it's more like 81 tickets than 81 games. What do I mean by this? I mean that I have 81 tickets for people to go to games. I'm hoping to go to somewhere between 40-50 myself. For the games I don't go to, I can trade them in ahead of time and get another ticket to a certain game. So say Patty calls me up and wants to go to the game tomorrow. I can take my Sunday ticket (just as an example, but I probably don't plan on going to too many Sunday games) and trade it in for a ticket next to me, for my mother. It's really a first class operation - which lends credence to the fact that the Pirates are first class all the way, right up until the product they put onto the field.

So this past Saturday was the season ticket holder open house at the ballpark. I scheduled an appointment with my account rep (Kevin - a nice guy). I met him at 12:30 and he took me on a tour of the park. I went into the locker room and saw the weight room, batting cages, film room, etc. We went down the tunnel and up the stairs into the dugout. I stood on the dugout steps, looking out at the view of both the most beautiful ballpark and the most beautiful city in the country. I went to see my seats, which I knew were good, but it was cool just to be there anyway.

Kevin was telling me about all of the perks of being a season ticketholder. They will have a few battice practice sessions for us, so before games I'll go down into the batting cages and take some cuts against the machine (the machine knows every pitcher in the game and can pitch like it; same arm angles, same pitches, everything. I will stand in against a 98 MPH fastball from Randy Johnson, or maybe Mariano Rivera's devasting cutter). Then after the season, they have a "field day" for us, where we go out ONTO THE FIELD and take BP and shag some flies. My dad is very concerned about my performance on this day. I think he's ready with my medical insurance card and an ambulence - luckily AGH is a few blocks away.

Anyway, it really is a new Pirate generation for me. I've always been a fan but this year I am taking it to another extreme. I'll be looking for people to go to games with; let me know if you are interested!