First Giants game

After some awesome games down at Dodger Stadium left a huge imprint on our little guy, Andy decided it was time to take Riley to see his hometown team play.

And what a game! Within minutes of the first pitch, little Riley was the proud owner of a foul ball.

The boy lucked out with excellent proximity to the foul ball line near third base. As soon as the Pirates left fielder Jose Tabata hit the first foul ball of the game, Riley ran down to the fence. The ball boy was 60 feet away when he plucked the ball, but when he spied Riley, he trotted right over and made the kid's day.

When the Giants scored four runs in the bottom of the first, it was clear that Rilz and Andy were in for a great night.








Riley was so delighted with his ball that he gripped it nearly the entire game. He wouldn't even put it down to eat his hot dog!

In the second inning, Andy revealed a surprise: the kid-sized mitt he used for Little League in the '80s (a Kirk Gibson-signature glove). Rilz slipped it right on and tossed the ball deep into the webbing like a natural.



















All this cuteness was later captured on the kiss cam, with Andy planting a big smacker on Riley's cheek. Later, as they left the game, other fans high-fived Riley all the way up the stairs.

 

Both of my guys returned home with ear-to-ear grins. Andy reported it was probably the most fun experience he and Riley had ever had together. Even though it was more than an hour past his bedtime, Riley was too wound up to go to bed immediately. He told me all about the game and asked if he could go to more games soon. We made a plan for next year: lots of Dodger games with mommy and Grandpa and plenty of Giants games with daddy.

Well past 10 p.m., Riley rationalized that the Giants and Dodgers are probably in bed because they need to play again tomorrow, so he should go to sleep, too. As I left his room and said "Have a good night's sleep," he responded, "I will. Tell the Dodgers and Giants to have a good night's sleep!" With both of our favorite team's wins tonight, I think they will.