May 5th, 2012 at 1:49 pm 
by Scott Harvey On April 29, 2012 I took my daughter, Lexy, to watch the Dodgers in the final game against the Washington Nationals and to get her a Kershaw kids jersey that they were giving away. The crowds seem to have returned to Chavez Ravine with the new ownership and the winning record, but I started to think about it as the game went on…have we forgotten what a day at the ball park really is all about?
Lexy from the Base Line seats as Little League Players parade around the field
We made our way into the parking lot and then into the stadium where they have a green screen set up and can put you and your family in front of any number of backgrounds. I bought two photos like any father would do and we proceeded to our baseline seats and waited for Matt Kemp to finish stretching. Lexy stood there with a smile on her face holding her ball and pen hoping for an autograph, but Matt went the other way.
Nothing is as good as a Dodger Dog at Dodger Stadium while watching a game
After Matt left we ventured up and purchased a few Dodger Dogs, waters and of course Cracker Jacks. We returned to our seats and set our food down to stand for the National Antheim and then the game was on and we watched while enjoying our dogs. Lexy in her short life had never had Cracker Jacks and after trying them was hooked. I had to let her know in my day the surprise was actually pretty cool instead of the paper thing they gave you now.
Lexy's first bag of Cracker Jacks, same great taste...but the prizes today lack that of my youth.
By the fourth inning it was time for a chocolate malt and the 6th was more sunscreen time and also brought in the only two runs of the game, by the Dodgers. The seventh inning brought God Bless America and Take Me Out to the Ball Park which we sang along with. In the top of the 9th we made our way to the line for Kids Run he Bases, but it seems everyone had that idea so we walked to the truck as the Dodgers closed out the game for the sweep.
On the way home as Lexy slept I thought about the question I posed earlier…have we forgotten what a day at the park is all about? We get so tied up in the stats and the record of wins and losses that we forget that really a day at the park is about memories and passing on tradition. It’s about a father passing on the love of the game to their kids. It’s about watching the rookie in his second Major League game slam into the wall to make an awesome catch and then shake off the trainers.
Lexy hoping for a foul ball
A day at the park is one of the most magical moments there is. In it’s most basic form it is two teams battling it out on grass and dirt in the most perfect game ever created.
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What a GREAT story, Scott – Thanks for sharing. If each of us were to stop and think about it for a minute, we would realize that every one of us were in Lexy’s shoes once. When our parents or grandparents or whoever it was who took us to our first baseball games it wasn’t about winning or losing, or hits, or walks, or strikeouts, or even home runs; it was about BEING there, and being there with people we love.
Some of my greatest childhood memories are those of attending Dodger games at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum and at Dodger Stadium with my dad and my brothers when I was no older than Lexy is right now. As I grew, so did my passion for the Dodgers and the game, but you know what? NONE of it would have ever happened had my father not shared with me exactly what you shared with Lexy during your Day at the Park.
Thanks for bringing back memories of some of the best days of my life. Man, I miss my dad.
Scott, It’s posts such as these that make me reflect about what it is all about. Parent-child relationships. Sharing fun times with family, all developed through the love of a baseball game. Funny thing is, my youngest son (now 23) approached me the other day and told me he was treating me when the Dodgers come to town. And not to the cheap seats either. For Father’s Day he’s buying the best seats he can get on Stub Hub. There was a time when our relationship had distanced itself, but we could always talk about baseball. Before my dad passed away, we’d talk about those trips to Dodger Stadium…cuz’ they were some of the best memories we had. As Lexy grows up, she’ll cherish those dates to the ball park with dad.
WOW! Another great story that brings back memories. Thanks Scott and Lexy. When we think about it, it is the experience at the ball park that we remember. All of us have had those moments, as you say, special moments, not available in any other venue in life.
I was older than Lexy when I went to my first baseball games, not the majors, but the H&D League in a small town, Liverpool, Nova Scotia. We loved the Larrupers, made up mostly of US College players. I don’t recall the score of even one game, but I remember my Mom and Dad taking me to the games an hour away from our home in Lunenburg, buying me treats and talking to me about the Larrupers. My brother and sister didn’t go to the games. The game and my parents were all mine during those cherished moments. My parents fostered my love of baseball, perhaps knowing it would occupy most of my waking moments, but not knowing it would create a life long love for a game played on grass and dirt.
I do recall seeing a couple of former major leaguers play in that league – Zeke Bella and Moe Drabowsky. Remember Moe – 1966.
I don’t want to hijack Scott’s wonderful article but since you started it and I know where you were going with this – Moe Drabowsky set a record for relief pitchers that will probably never be broken when he struck out 11 Dodgers (including 6 in a row) in 6 2/3 innings in Game-1 of 1966 World Series, thus helping the Baltimore Orioles sweep the Dodgers in four games (uggh!). Now I need a Dodger Dog, Cracker Jacks and a chocolate malt.
There was a time, oh maybe 20 years ago, that the only major league games I went to see involved the Dodgers. Then when Claudine and I began spending Sundays together, I felt that a good place to spend the afternoon was at Shea Stadium with my daughter, a Met fan.
Since the first game I ever attended at Ebbets field was double header against the Pirates, I decided that the first game I’d take my eldest daughter Caterina would be at a game in which the Mets played the Pirates and so not to change anything, the first game I took Claudine to was against the Pirates. I guess I thought it was some kind of a tradition at the time.
I love going to see the Brooklyn Cyclones and the Staten Island Yankees play in their respected ballpark and in recent years we’ve managed to sit right behind home plate. Wow that’s the place to watch a ballgame. Like a giant TV set, but absolutely a lot better.
Sunday we’re going to Citi Field and although we’ll be behind home plate but way up in the stands, I can’t wait to get there.
Oh yes I’ll be keeping my eyes on the out of town scoreboard beginning at 2:20PM.
Baseball has brought to me the memories money can’t buy. The time spent with my son at the ballpark is something that no one can take away. That is our time. A time for fostering memories. The tattoo on my leg speaks so much more than my love of the Dodgers. It speaks of the love of my son and our time and memories we spend at the ballpark (spring Training) and the countless hours of watching the Dodgers together on TV. I bleed blue for our team, but I also bleed blue for my son as well. We don’t get to many games, but that is part of what makes our time so special. They are far and few between, but we try to make the most of those times together when we get the opportunity to go. Getting up close to the heros we watch on TV, and trying to get that special autograph. Looking forward to our next visit to a ball game, and what we are going to eat there. The meeting of many new cherished friends on our trips to Pheonix. These are the things that are important in my life. We are headed to Seattle for the June 8th series with the Mariners. This special weekend will be spent with my son, father and two brothers. A trip to be remembered and cherished forever!
Scott you are so right, a trip to the ballpark means so much more then just a silly kids game. My kids are 30, 29 & 17 and some of our most cherished memories we have are the times we’ve spent together watching a Dodger game or being on the fields playing and coaching today!! The time we spend with our kids can never be replaced and should always be cherished.