A couple of days ago, I was invited to go to Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium to see a Newark Bears game (in Newark, NJ) and to meet some of the players and coaches. It was a very fun experience and I got to meet some great people. Let me tell you what happened in chronological order.
My dad and I got to the stadium at about 5:30 for the 7pm game with the Newark Bears hosting the Wichita Wingnuts. We were greeted by a man named Andrew Tint who was very nice. Andrew walked us down to the manager's office where we met J. J. Sherill, a coach who has played baseball, including in the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, for 15 years, and Bears manager Garry Templeton, the former MLB All Star!
In case you don't know, Garry has been playing baseball since he was a young kid growing up in Texas. He eventually moved to California and, as he told me, became the first freshman to play high school varsity baseball in Orange County, California. He informed me that he was drafted by the Cardinals in 1974, was brought up to the bigs in 1976, had the most hits in baseball in 1979 with 211, and played for St. Louis until 1981. In 1982 and for the next nine years, Templeton played for the San Diego Padres. In 1984, the Padres went to the World Series, but lost to the Tigers. Garry said that the team had a great mix of veterans and new players which helped them win as a team. They had older players like Graig Nettles and Steve Garvey and new players like Tony Gwynn. Overall, when Garry retired in 1991 with the New York Mets, he was a three time All Star, two time Silver Slugger, and had 2,096 hits.
After I met Templeton, I went into the clubhouse and met the CAAPB's batting average leader, Bridger Hunt, who was a very nice guy. Bridger said the two tips he had gotten that helped him with his hitting were (1) to use his top hand and catch the ball up front and (2) to hit with his head over his back knee. I guess the tips worked because, before the game, he was batting a Ted Williams-like .401! After that, Andrew took me and my dad up to the press box, where we were invited to stay during the game! Of course I said yes. The game started and my dad and I were hanging out in the press box. It was the most fun I've had at a baseball stadium in a long time. All the guys in the press box were very nice and knew a ton about baseball. The PA guy even advertised me over the loud speaker! Anyway, in the middle of the fourth inning, I was invited to play "The Price Is Right". I had to stand on the top of the home team dugout and guess if a Newark Bears lunchbox cost more or less than $12. I guessed lower and was right! I won two free Bears tickets to prove it! Overall, we had a really great time and I would highly recommend going to see a Newark Bears game, if you're in the area.
Anyway, thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back in a couple of days for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."
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