There is Nothing Like Your First MLB Game In Person

Do you remember your first MLB game that you attended in person? If you are blessed

enough to have been to a Major League ballpark for a game, you know, you never

forget your first time seeing the boys of summer in person. The sights, the smells, the

sounds… there is nothing like it. Everyone should experience a live, in person MLB

game at least once in their life.

My first MLB game was 1980 something, and I was a young boy of 7 or 8 years.

Padres vs. Mets at the old Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego (still can’t believe it’s

completely gone now). Steve Garvey and Tony Gwynn on the Padres, Gary Carter was

a Met… (I also can’t believe both Tony and Gary are no longer with us!). I don’t

remember many details about the game itself, other than Gary Carter hit 2 home runs,

but I do still remember the smell of the cut grass on the summer day. I remember the

smell of sunscreen on the patrons, as it was a sunny southern California summer day. I

remember the butterflies in my stomach when I heard the Ump yell “Play ball!”

I’ll never forget the crack of the bat on the first home run I had ever witnessed in person.

Gary Carter smacked one that my little mind thought would never come down. There is

still nothing like the sound of a homerun off a wood bat.

I bought a hat, and probably some other souvenirs, ate hotdogs, drank cokes. I don’t

remember every last detail; I mostly remember how I felt. I get a glimpse of that feeling

every time I go to a baseball game, whether it’s a little league game, a high school

game, college or professional; it’s all the same. It’s amazing how smells can bring you

right back to a place, and fresh cut grass in the spring and summer air take me right

back to that first MLB game. I wish I could bottle those feelings up so I could feel them

all the time! Living in Utah I attend some AAA games at our home town Salt Lake Bees

games, and it brings back some memories; most minor league teams do a great job of

providing a great product for the fans, with fun theme nights and other festivities, a lot of

the sounds and smells are present, but it’s just not quite the same as an MLB game.

I know that I can’t capture and savor that feeling all the time, but I have figured out a

way to get a glimpse of those feelings; and that is taking someone to a ballgame that

has never been: a kid, your dad, your grandpa, your uncle, even a complete stranger.

There is something about seeing the experience through someone else’s eyes that

brings back that feeling.

You can see it in their eyes when they realize how big, and yet small the stadium is.

You can feel their excitement when they witness their first strikeout, their first homerun.

You can see the joy in their faces when they find that perfect souvenir at the gift shop. It

is almost as good as being there for your first time.

I have been able to do this a few times, and it never gets old. I have taken my daughter,

I’ve taken my sister, I have taken my nieces and nephews, I’ve taken friends and even

once a person I had barely met. All those experiences were very much the same, I

could re-live my first time through their experiences and for a few moments felt like it

was first time again.

I’ve said it before, baseball is a family affair for me. Our fandom goes back generations.

I look forward to taking my own grandkids to their first MLB game someday, so they can

experience the sights, smells, and sounds of America’s pastime and I can re-live my

memories of my first game!

I encourage all of you who read this, take someone tp their first game, even if it means

taking yourself! You won’t regret it, I promise.

By Scott Carter