FanPost

today's your birthday - what good does it do you?

my previous thread ("when did YOU realize the giants were going to the series") has run it's course and i would like to announce the winner(s)...

i really could not choose between these two:

1) from duncan:

after game 1 against the rangers, when i got the chills and my body started to ache. i woke up the next morning and couldn’t move without any pain, had a horrible sore throat, and felt like i was going to die. it was then that i knew the giants would win the world series because there was no way the flu was going to let me enjoy it. i was able to watch the last two games sitting upright, so that was good, and i did exert a little too much energy after cruz struck out, but that completely wiped me out. i was finally able to celebrate properly about two weeks ago.

2) from shanghaijim:

Funny you should ask. (And how you asked.) Every year I watch the World Series and there’s always this moment, before whichever game ends up being the final one, where I see something and say to myself, “They’re going to win.” It’s not necessarily a highlight play, but it’s usually some sort of nicely-turned fielding play or something, that somehow tells me, without conscious analysis, that this team deserves to beat this other team and win this series. That it’s the World Series is important but I don’t think essential — except in that it has made me pay a closer kind of attention.

I like to say, as if this was a Chinese dynasty or something, “The mantle of destiny”. In rational terms I guess I just note the execution of the play, or the body language, something that tells me they’re playing like winners and will win. This isn’t infallible (see: 2006 Detroit Tigers vs St. Louis Cardinals) but it tends to happen, at least a game, usually two, before the game that actually ends the series.

This year, in Game 3, bottom of the 5th, Texas leading 3-0 in a game they’d eventually win, Michael Young hits into a double play, Uribe to Freddy to Huff, and I said, “The mantle of—”

And then I stopped myself, because this was MY TEAM. Either it’s wishful thinking, or worse, a jinx.

But, yeah, that was my “they’re gonna win” moment. I have them every year. This year I didn’t trust it, because it meant too much and I didn’t want to hope. But, as it turned out, the feeling was right again

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yesterday, on the "what are you thankful for" thread, the talk diverged briefly (as it often seems to) when someone pointed out that their birthday occassionally falls on thanksgiving, to which others replied that their birthday occassionally falls on easter and then others joined in with one liners...

at the same time, knbr was replaying all the clinching games (the thanksgiving thread became mainly about that event) and the first was the october 3 game against san diego... the announcers couldn't fail to note the significance of that date in giants history and the passing of bobby thomson...

these two things together made me decide to start a thread on "birthdays"...

but first, a question:

do you (or your friends) know WHICH major leaguer was born on the same day as you?... because every fan who is also a friend of mine does... with us, it's not just "same day" but it's also "same year"... that is, what major leaguer do you share a very special relationship with, that you were born on the same day, same year (extra points for "same hospital" - and, at the mudd club, i once met a girl who was born same day, same year, same hospital, but i digress, and she wasn't a baseball fan anyway)...

i'm interested to A) find out how many of you keep track of this and B) if any of you have a story as interesting as the one i am going to recount...

i wrote this when it occurred, on a political board i post on - and the interesting thing was that although when i began to see this giants team as a team of destiny and started the thread on sf junto, i didn't expect anyone to join in (and only a few did, because most political people tend to see sports as the toy department), but the person who joined in the MOST was the person with the most diametrically opposed political viewpoints to my own - and yet, he had exactly the same youthful relationship to the same team (braves of the late 50's) as i did, and a story about them that rivalled my own, but i'm digressing again - both of our "braves" stories are on the thread on the first page or two - this link is to page four)...

i'm going to cut/paste from my post there when this event happened... if you wish to examine the thread in detail, i will link it here, but people have told me that you can't read it unless you register with yuku (it's free)... i don't know if that's correct, but do what you will... i will tell you that there is a second story involving my friend gene, and his equally amazing interraction with robin williams which is also on the thread, but which i am not cut/pasting here, because it has nothing to do with baseball...

here is the link:

http://sfdebate.yuku.com/topic/2095?page=4

and here is the cut/paste (from august 18 ):

went to saturday's game with san diego, knowing we had to leave at 3pm to go to a 50th birthday party (where we watched the giants win in extra innings)... granted, giants fans were roaring in the extra innings (those that were left) but i was amazed at how quiet they were when i was there (first six innings)... and i was stunned as we left, with the score 2-1, on an absolutely beautiful day, to see how many other customers (can't really call them "fans") were streaming out of the gates... maybe they ALL had birthday parties to go to (and this is definitely a "birthday" post)...



first, a question:

everyone i know who is a baseball fan knows which player or former player was born on the exact same day and year as them... my guy actually finished his career with the giants and, having a special relationship with him, even though he was over the hill and not likely to help the giants much (and was a distinctly minor free agent signing), i still made sure to watch the press conference announcing his signing...

and because my only real physical "burden to live with" is a back that has been "bad" for over twenty years, i IMMEDIATELY saw from the way he was walking (compensating) up to the platform that he was hiding a bad back himself - and a VERY bad one at that... i turned to my buddy (somewhat crestfallen because, after all, this was, by simple fate of birth, "my guy") and said, "he's just taking the money and he will never help the giants one bit and may not even ever suit up"...

as it turned out, he suited up, played a handful of games, using painkillers, i'm sure, to act like this back injury was one just incurred AFTER he signed, and then went on the disabled list for his last year in the big leagues... 15 games, 14 at bats - where's my check?...

if he hadn't been "my guy", born on the same day as me, i probably would not have watched the press conference or known he was pulling a fast one - he HAD to know his career was over, but he got one more year out of it at decent money (big money to you or i)...

anyone else out there know who is "your guy"?... born same day and same year as you?...



and now, back to saturday's giants game:

my buddies had tickets, but i had to buy one... one of them went in and the other waited with me while i went to the window (the scalpers were NOT friendly that day)...

when i returned to gene, he was in baseball heaven...

he first showed me the picture on his cell phone camera of him with dave winfield, the bay as the backdrop...

dave winfield is his guy (born same day, same year)...

and, of course, he had never met him before...

but here came dave and his wife, heading for the vip door (near the same day ticket window) and gene sees his one chance to connect with a guy he has followed all his life, for the simple reason that they share a date of birth...

so gene goes over to shake his hand and says, "of course you don't know this, but i have followed your whole career, because we were both born on october 3, 1951"...

winfield doesn't brush him off and go in - instead he stops, shakes his hand warmly and says, "ah yes, bobby thomson day" - for that was the day that thomson hit the shot heard round the world (and both of them were born)...

then winfield says, "you got a camera?" and gene, who is as technically deficient as yours truly, says, "nope"... so winfield asks, "you got a cell phone?" and gene says "yes" and produces it and winfield sayys, "then you got a camera - give it here"...

and he proceeds to find and call up the camera function and then calls his wife over and says, "take our picture" and she does...

they shake hands again and winfield and his wife go in...

did winfield have to do all that (ask for the camera, find the function for technically deficient gene, call his wife over to take the photo that gene had not even requested)?... of course not... but winfield recognized that they shared a special bond...

and i get to gene and he shows me that the circle is complete and he has a picture of him and winfield (towering over him - he is 6'6 and gene is 5'10)...

it's an aside, but, gene probably showed the picture and told the story to fifty people at the birthday party later that day and it is amazing how people's reputations can be either glorified (or in the alternative, trashed) with just one event... if he'd brushed gene off, gene still would have had the connection, but would have always told people what a jerk winfield was...

but winfield had likely never met a fan who was born on the same day, same year as him (at least he acted that way with gene)... he'd probably never gotten to say, "bobby thomson day" to a guy who that meant as much to as it did to himself... they definitely shared something unique to themselves in that moment...

two nights later, bobby thomson died, at age 80... in giant's lore, he's not just another player... he hit the biggest home run in the history of the ballclub... certainly the radio call ("THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT - THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT") is one of the most famous radio calls in the history of the game...

had thomson died on the NIGHT of the day that gene and dave winfield shared a unique bond with each other that concerned bobby thomson, i'd CERTAINLY be looking for some psychic answers...

two days later?... well, gene thinks it's just coincidence...

i'm not so sure...

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and that's the story...

so, the questions are:

1) who is "your guy" and how long have you known?

2) ever had an interraction with your guy similar to the one gene had this past magical summer?

same day, same year?... naw - that would be TOO coincidental



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