City of Angels (Los Angeles, CA)

Lynn and I took a five day getaway to Los Angeles all because I wanted an Ohtani bobblehead. Well, that's how it all started... when I bought Dodgers tickets before buying our plane tickets or booking a hotel.  

I've vowed to never come back to LA but I keep coming back. It's mainly due to the horrific traffic but I serendipitously booked a hotel close to the Metro, saving myself from driving in congestion and the headache of hunting for parking spots. 

The Metro is like the best kept secret. I knew it existed but never thought to actually use it. It was never crowded, even during rush hour times.  

Our hotel was in downtown LA, walking distance to Little Tokyo, but also a block away from Skid Row (IYKYK). Just pay no mind to those mentally unstable bums and you should be fine.

Ohtani's in town

Shohei Ohtani, baseball's unicorn (great pitcher and hitter), was coming to town. He is my absolute favorite baseball player and I have to go see him whenever I can. Our last time was four years ago when he was with the Angels.

I bought tickets in right field for that (slim) chance of catching an Ohtani home run ball but unfortunately, he wasn't in the batting lineup. He was the starting pitcher though, and had been lights out lately. He was recently named the NL Pitcher of the Month.

World Baseball Classic

What is the World Baseball Classic?

The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is the premier international professional baseball tournament, sanctioned by the WBSC and held every few years (currently a 3-year cycle) to crown a world champion. Featuring 20 nations, it showcases top MLB and international talent competing for their countries, similar to the soccer World Cup.

Pool play and two of the quarterfinal games were hosted at Daikin Park. Before the brackets were determined, I had already bought tickets for the Friday night game (quarterfinal game 1) with the expectation that it would be the US vs (TBD). 

There was a mini-scare as the US had lost to Italy during pool play, meaning that were actually at risk of not advancing. But in the end, they did advance so we watched USA vs Canada.

Birthday weekend

Enhanced photo by Google Photos AI.

Baseball and birthday

Astros game with the family sans Jacob (who's currently in Asia).

Father's Day weekend

Celebrating Father's Day without the kids.

Family Sunday Funday

Sunday afternoon Astros game.

Father's Day weekend

Father's Day started early for me with an Astros game on Wednesday night. But why this particular game? To get the Springer bobblehead! The game itself saw Verlander get a career high in strikeouts (15 K's) but unfortunately the 'Stros lost the game in extra innings.

I love that the kids are into watching sports. It gives us a reason to all come together. To root for the same team, for the most part. When it comes to the Premier League, each kid has their own favorite team. The best games are when they go against each other, e.g. Liverpool vs Manchester City. They get so into it. Tears have been shed. But I digress, I like how sports bring us closer together.

Baseball season ends

This picture pretty much sums up the team.

Utility player

Andrew joining his brothers.

According to Wikipedia, a utility player is "one who can play several positions competently." This is true of Andrew. In soccer, he can play any position on the field (which can't be said of many of his teammates but I'm not going to rant). But what makes him the ultimate utility player is his ability to play whatever, whenever.

Tyson's first baseball game

Family Sunday Funday

Sunday afternoon at the ballpark.

"Wanna get away?" (Chicago, IL)

At 3 a.m. my alarm goes off. My eyes are burning. It's too damn early. On this early Saturday morning, we're heading out to the airport for a 6 a.m. flight to Chicago. Why Chicago? Because I've never been. Because I've always wanted to visit The Windy City. But most importantly, because I had a bunch of miles with Southwest that were due to expire so I had to use them or lose them. So I cashed in for a couple of round-trip tickets for Lynn and I (and baby Elliot) for a quick weekend getaway to Chi-town.

#MeltdownTown

What if I told you the Astros had a 2-1 lead in a best of 5 series and are up by 4 scores at the start of the 8th inning (6-2). They're only 6 outs away from advancing to the American League Championship Series (ALCS). The bats of the Astros have been red hot and the Royals can't seem to generate any offense. It's a done deal right? Or so I thought...

Wednesday night: Astros game

On a random Wednesday night, we went to see the Astros play the defending World Series champion, the San Francisco Giants. It's been three years since we last went to a baseball game so I was pretty stoked to go to a game this year. Are people still saying "stoked"? And the Astros are pretty good this year (currently first place in the AL West). Let's get on the bandwagon!

Fall sports begins

After being delayed a week due to all the rain (which led to rise of all those effin' mosquitoes), the fall sports season finally began. Jacob moves up to the U10 soccer league which is composed of kids his age and older. These kids, obviously, are on another level. Older, bigger and faster. Now there's a goalie. These kids look serious. By halftime, he was already gassed. And at the end of the game, he was exhausted. Andrew, on the other hand, opted not to play soccer this season and chose T-ball. Why? Because he wanted to try something new. I like that he's willing to try new things. It's a shame he didn't want to play both but his skinny little self wouldn't have been able to handle it.

Take me out to the ball game

Take me out with the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and well, you know the rest. I wanted to take the boys to at least one Astros game this season and with the summer heat creeping upon us, the sooner the better. The Rangers were in town this weekend so this was the perfect time to go. Because really, who would want to go watch the Pirates or Brewers? Not me.