My first MLB Game

On this date in 1968 I saw my first Major League Baseball game at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, MN. It was between the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins.

My dad and a friend of his John Salwei and I were sitting up in the third deck between home and first base. A pretty high view but for me it was magical. I will never forget the first time we came out of the ramp and I saw the perfectly manicured green grass of the old Met.

In the fourth inning of that game Harmon Killebrew hit a foul ball and we caught it. What a thrill for me. My first MLB game and we got a foul ball from Harmon.

Here it is 42 years later and I've still got that ball. I held onto it for 21 years before I got it signed by Harmon at a card collectors show at the Met Center. He was amazed that I had keep the ball that long. I've still got that ball in a little trophy case (picture above) and it is something I cherish and I will pass along to my kids. It is more for sentimental value than any genuine worth.

Baseball is a game that I'm passionate about it. Whether it was playing the game while growing up to collecting baseball cards and now being an ardent fan. I love all the intricacies of the game, the strategy and the wonderful execution by such talented athletes.

I'm enjoying passing along my passion to my kids as we attend several Twins games a year and we usually see one spring training game in Florida and venture to a different major or minor league park every summer. Baseball is a wonderful game for memories and I enjoy reading about players that played before I was born.

Baseball is a great game and I'm glad that I caught the bug for the game early in my life. And I thank my Dad for taking me to that first game. He helped instill in me the passion for the wonderful game of baseball. 42 years later that passion still burns for the game.