We made it to our first couple of Tacoma Rainiers games this season. As I wrote in my last letter, you’ve become a full-blown baseball fanatic. You love jumping on the TV to catch the latest highlights. We throw the ball and practice pitching in the backyard a few times a week, and your interests have shifted from collecting Pokémon cards to collecting baseball cards. You even asked for a pack of baseball cards from your tooth fairy, Trevor, when you lost your last tooth. Now, what to do with all those Pokémon cards? (Asks every parent.)
Uncle Scott invited us to our first game as part of one of his client appreciation nights. We sat in box seats right behind home plate. You were a little bummed that we weren’t in prime foul ball territory, but the views were great and you stayed glued to your seat. I think you love learning the game—the stats, the pitch counts, the field positions. You insisted we stay through the end of the game, making for a late school night, even though the Rainiers had been trailing most of the time. Good call: in the bottom of the ninth, down two runs, the Rainiers came back to win!
Our next game was for your “school night.” We arrived early on a warm Friday evening so you could catch batting practice and try to snag a game ball. An outfielder noticed you and tossed one our way! You then posted up near the Rainiers’ team tunnel and got half a dozen players to sign it. You were winning before the game even started. We didn’t see much of you during the game—you were off running around the stands with your buddies, dancing during every song break, and even made it onto the big screen out in the outfield. The Rainiers didn’t win that night, but we stayed for the fireworks show afterward, which was genuinely impressive. Since we’re usually not close to any big fireworks displays for the Fourth of July, I know you and Eliza enjoyed what was probably the first show you’ll really remember.
Baseball has become such a special thread in our lives this season—not just for the games, but for the moments in between: playing catch in the backyard, the car rides filled with questions about stats and trades, the shared excitement in the stands. I can’t wait to see where this love of the game takes you next.