In the top of the 9th Tuesday, in front of a crowd of over 18,000 Milwaukeeans, closer Joe Borowski entered the ballgame from the left field bullpen to chants of "Bring in Wild Thing!" These Miller Park fans were obviously eluding to arguably the greatest baseball movie ever made, Major League, in which the Cleveland Indians called Milwaukee County Stadium home. Now nearly 18 years later, Brewers fans still remember, and I'm sure Joe Borowski was thinking "Hey, it's better than nothing."The crowds and enthusiasm were something neither team expected, and Milwaukee did everything they did to make the Indians feel right at home...this time, the REAL Indians. With Sizemore in center instead of Willie "Mays" Hayes, and Marte getting the nod over Roger Dorn, the Indians took 2 out of 3 in their first "home" series of the year, in front of a total attendance of over 52,000 screaming fans. I know personally of at least two people that attended this $10-general admission series, and it sounds like it was an unparalleled experience - hey, as much as I hate the AL, it must have been nice for these fans to see a couple of offensive outbursts. Bernie Brewer even got into the act, sliding down from his chalet for every Cleveland homerun. The bookends of the series were C.C. Sabathia's pitching on Tuesday, and Travis Hafner's 3-run bomb yesterday afternoon.
The Indians will again try to play a series in Cleveland this weekend against the White Sox, and weather right now looks to be in the mid-40s with rain possible on Sunday. Certainly a warm welcome compared to what they've been having up there. Indians, it was great having you in our fair city, and hopefully this will inspire a movement for "Major League 4: Snowed In."
THIS WEEKEND:
Twins v. Devil Rays
Brewers @ Cardinals
Reds @ Cubs
LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS:
Twins W (6-3)
Brewers off
Reds off
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
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