Take Us Out to the Ball Game!

BASEBALL ON THE BRAIN: Today is the Seattle Mariners home opener and of course we're going to the game this afternoon.

That being the case, our morning work was all about baseball, as well. We started with FunBrain's Math Baseball. The kids took turns 'pitching' math problems at each other. It's a good game, because you can mix up the types of problems (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) and select your level of difficulty (easy to hard).

Next, we were off to the Exploratorium's awesome "Science of Baseball" site.

It featured the cool Fastball Reaction Time "exhibit" in which you get a real idea of just how frigging hard it is to 'pull the trigger' in time to hit a major league speed pitch.

Its "Scientific Slugger" activity lets players adjust the angle the ball leaves the bat, the strength of the swing (from bunt to home run) and the motion of the ball (from knuckleball to curveball to fastball). It's interesting to see how different combinations of those factors affected the hit.

"Throw for a Curve" showed the kids how the pitcher's changing grip affects the ball's flight toward home plate. They learned the different grips for a fastball, curveball, and slider and then did a little bit of experimenting pitching (using a wadded up pair of socks as a ball). Of course, if someone's pitching, there needs to be a batter, so they took turns taking swings (with their arms) at the sock ball. There was some difference of opinion as to the quality of the pitches. After one toss CJ declared, "Strike two!" at which Annabelle shot back, "I didn't even swing because that was a crappy pitch!" Just callin' em like she sees 'em. ;)

The "Science of Baseball" site also has an interesting explanation about the bat's sweet spot and center of percussion. We'll have to try that experiment (and a bunch of other things on that site) on another day, and believe you me, there will be plenty of other days we're going to Ms games this season. :)

PIONEERING: Our literature today was reading the biographical "Jackie Robinson - A Man of Determination." The book did a nice job of introducing Jackie to the kids and explaining how he broke the color barrier in baseball and just how hard that was. It's interesting to think that the first president that CJ and Annabelle will remember is Barack Obama - an African American. It's amazing to think about how far we've come as a nation. That said, I'm well aware how far we still have to go.

GAME TIME: We headed for Safeco Field a little after 2. Since it was a sellout the area around the stadium was cRaZy, including parking. We struck out in our usual spots, and the pay to park lots wanted $40, so we took our chances in a regular, metered 2-hours-max spot - which would run out loooong before we were back to the car. Oh well. We were just hoping the parking ticket would be less than $40!

Oh, how wonderful it was to be back at Safeco! On our way in, the ticket taker said to the kids, "You must be really smart if they let you out of school today to come to the game."

To that I replied, "This IS their school today." :)

Once inside we found our seats and then I took the kids to the centerfield playpark to burn off some energy before game time. I thought it was funny that instead of climbing and sliding, CJ was more interested in solving puzzles and doing math!

We certainly enjoyed the pre-game pomp, circumstance - and lots of pyrotechnics! Annabelle did a nice job singing along with the national anthem (the flag was presented by local law enforcement officers). The biggest cheers of the day went to Mariner legend Randy Johnson. The lanky lefty was there to throw out the first pitch and the crowd was crazy for him. Former Mariner greats Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner and Dan Wilson were on hand for the love fest. So many fond memories with that bunch. Too bad today's starting crew had to go and wreck it by not scoring a single run! ;)