"Rick get a move on, my dad will be here soon!" Kate yelled from the loft's living room.
"Kate, have you seen my glove?"
"Rick come on we don't have the time. Maybe if we go again."
"NO, I need to find it. What if A-Rod hits a foul ball our way, I can make a grab for it and can give it to Tyler, Preston, or Anne"
"Rick are you serious? The boys are only 7 and 5. And Anne is only 3. They are way too young to know what's going on."
"Kate, did you think that when your dad had taken you to your first Yankee game?"
Kate recalls the first game that her dad had ever taken her to. She was in heaven on that bright sunny day. It was an epic battle between two rivals. The Yankees were playing the Red Sox and she was loving every minute of it even if she was only 8. Her dad had gone to the extreme and bought her a cotton candy, a very large foam finger with the Yankee logo, and in the 7th inning stretch, he got a beer, a soda and 2 hot dogs as they both watched the field crew perform the Y-M-C-A song as they cleaned up the infield.
"Rick look for your glove in the hallway closet." Kate felt a little bad about downplaying his finding his glove.
Rick ran to the closet and before long he had hit pay dirt. Just as he backed out of the closet there was a knock on the door. Rick closed the closet door and approached the loft's front door. Swinging it opened his face automatically went into a smile.
"Jim, How are you?" Rick asked.
"Rick, I'm doing great. Are you ready for the game today?"
"I wouldn't miss this for the world. Do you know who is hurling today?"
"Pineda is going up against Buchholz. It should be a great duel!"
I can't wait! Kate is in the living room getting the kids ready."
Jim enters the loft and sees Kate as she readies the children. Rick is behind him and Jim lets a small comment escape his lips "She's just like Jo."
The ride to the stadium was a relatively long one from So-Ho to the Bronx. However the boys and Anne were happy to be going anywhere, as long as they were not stuck in the loft. They made it there early so they could all watch batting practice. Jeter was hitting a couple of pitches from the batting cage and they were sailing into the outfield when they took their seats just at the edge of the Yankee dugout by the first base line. Jim had just hoped that he could have this power when he was at the plate.
"Katie, should we get the kids a snack before the game starts?" Jim asked.
As Kate was just getting ready to answer her dad, a voice she knew all too well was asking her why they were on the side of the dugout and not behind it.
"Well Derek, we wanted to be able to catch one of your foul balls if one came our way."
"Well, I'll see what I can do about that!"
"Dad let's get the kids something so that they are happy before the game starts."
"Great Katie, send Rick along with me and we will be right back."
As Rick and Jim made their way to concession stand and Jim looked at the prices for the items that they offered.
"I can't believe this, every year I am able to get to a game the prices for everything skyrocket into the stratosphere."
"Jim I'll get it. Please let me."
"Rick, just this once, the next time we come to a game I'm treating."
Rick and Jim had their hands full when they returned back to their seats. They had just about everything under the sun a Yankee fan could ever want. They gave the boys the exact foam fingers that Kate got when she was younger. Anne got a Yankee pennant. They also had food. Hot dogs, boneless chicken fingers with dipping sauce, and pizza.
The announcer had asked everyone to rise for the national anthem. As they got to their feet, they heard a rumbling in the sky. As the national anthem played a squad of F-22 Raptors from Steward Air National Guard base flew overhead at sub-sonic speed. It coincided with the ending of the anthem.
Each team took to the field. The Red Sox were in the field first with the Yankees at bat. The Yankee batter took his place in the batter's box. Five pitches later he was called out on strikes. Next up was A-Rod. He eyed each pitch as Buchholz threw them. A-Rod had a full count. He was swinging at whatever was thrown at him next. The last pitch it was in his zone. As he came out of his swing the bat and ball connected and the ball was launched into the second deck of the stadium.
Rick and Kate were high-fiving each other, but Tyler and Preston were looking at them like they were nuts.
Rick looked over and told his kids that they were winning. It was then that they started to understand the concept of the game. The pitchers gave it their all. The score was still 1 to 0. Then in a close sixth inning Cerverlli was at bat and the count was even at 2 and 2. No one was on. Buchholz eyed his catcher and waited for the sign, it was for a fast ball away. He started his windup and let it go. As Cerverlli watched the ball enter his zone he started his swing. It was as if dynamite had exploded. The end of the bat had connected with the leather of the ball and sent it sailing towards the left field foul pole. The whole crowd was holding their respective breaths as the ball cut through the air and sliced just to the left of the foul pole earning Cerverlli a home run! The crowd let out a reflective breath then and then started to cheer him. As he rounded the bases Jim said "Now there's something you don't see every day!"
Gardner walked up to the plate. He was 0 and 2. He set in and waits for the pitcher to get his signs. With Buchholz set, he watched as the ball came right at him and into the strike zone. 0 and 1. The second pitch was a repeat, and now the count was at a quick 0 and 2. Gardner stepped out of the batters box to get perspective on Buchholz and waited. About 20 seconds later he steps back into the batters box. Getting into his stance, Buchholz looks for his sign once more. Nodding he starts his wind up and Gardner is faced with a slider and he lifts it out of the cellar and loops it into center field. Gardner is safe with a triple.
Rick looks at Jim and it's then he realizes all he has missed when he was younger. He really needed his father in his life when he was younger.
"So Jim, do you think Jeter can work some of his magic?"
"Rick, I sure hope so. He has a 2 run lead so anything he can add to will help!"
"I hope your right."
Jeter eyes Buchholz and looks to the outfield, not really picking one spot in particular. As he walks from the on-deck circle he is still swinging the bat with the 10-pound weights on it. He stops and slams the narrow end of the bat onto the dirt and the weights slide down the end of the bat. He swings a couple of more times and makes the sign of the cross and steps into the batters box. Buchholz has his sign and Derek gets ready by pumping his left leg as the pitch was moving towards him. Derek checked his swing and the count was 0 and 1. Jeter gets ready again and assumes the stance of a Yankee. Buchholz winds up and the pitch is thrown. Ball 1. The count is 1 and 1. Buchholz waits for his sign on the mound. It's given and he sets. The pitch is swung on and sliced foul. Jeter resets his batting glove and checks his bat once more. Buchholz sets and winds up and the ball is let loose towards Derek. He times it a little late but manages to get wood on it. It's a short chopper to the third baseman, and Jeter runs down the first baseline, knowing that he will be thrown out at first. But something happens. The third baseman bobbles the play and can't recover the ball in time. The throw is late getting to first and Derek is safe at first.
Girardi is making the slicing motion across his throat and is getting no response from Jeter. It's then when Rick looks at Kate wondering what is gong on. "Kate?"
"Rick, you have just witnessed the end of an era." Jim said sadly.
Rick still did not understand. He was not a hardcore follower of the game like Kate and her dad, so he was just a little in the dark. He looked to Kate once again trying to understand.
"Babe, what you just saw was Jeter's last at bat. After this game he is finished. He is retiring." Kate said.
While Derek is hugging and waving his batting helmet to the crowd Rick finally gets it. Derek Jeter makes one last gesture with his cap and the crowd at the stadium goes wild, starting to chat DEREK JETER over and over again. As he made his back to the dugout he looked up and noticed his parents in the stands. He stopped and he bowed towards them and the thanked him by doing the same.
Rick, Kate, Jim and the kids were all walking back to the car for the ride home. It was then when Jim asked Rick "So Rick how does it feel?"
"How does what feel Jim?"
"The fact that you, my boy have just witnessed history."
Rick had always wanted to feel like this and held nothing back. "Jim it feels GREAT!"
"Katie, I think we've created a monster."
Kate just nodded her head as a sleeping Anne shifted more into the warmth of her body.
This was requested by anonymous. This is the result of his/her prompt:
Anonymous asked: "Caskett and Kate's father taking their 3 kids (2 boys and 1 girl) to a baseball game"
The game I wrote about was an actual Yankee game. I have altered it to be played at Yankee Stadium instead of where it was really played at... Fenway park. This was Jeter's last MLB game!
Anonymous, I hope this is what you were looking for. P2P