To cap an eventful day, tonight Alan and I made our return to Progressive Field for the first time in 2019!  We stayed until the end and was treated to his very first walk-off victory when pinch hitter Tyler Naquin singled home Leonys Martin with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning to beat the Mariners 2-1!

Alan started the night by picking up his Tribe Town MVP package for the season, which consisted of a membership badge and lanyard and a duffle bag, t-shirt, socks, and wall banner.  We spent some time in the Kids Clubhouse, where Alan climbed the baseballs and got his customary orange popsicle.

Alan realized that at his age the Kids Clubhouse is beginning to lose its appeal, so we spent a larger proportion of our time outside on the Family Deck.  After growing bigger and faster over the winter, Alan recorded his first set of sub-6 second times, with the fastest coming in at 5.82!

Alan also took advantage of short lines by getting a lot of hitting practice in at Little League Park, where he hit for the cycle and recorded the 2nd and 3rd home runs of his career.  His first home run of the night was hit just fair down the left field line.  At first it was ruled foul, but upon subsequent video review and slow motion analysis, I reversed the call on the field.  His second home run of the night was a no-doubt-about-it blast.  He rounded the bases with a big smile after that one.

Alan and I watched the 9th inning rally from the seats outside the Kids Clubhouse.  Naquin’s famous walk-off inside-the-park home run from 2016 was shown on the jumbotron right before Naquin’s game-winning hit tonight.  It was an exciting finish on a spooky, foggy night at the ballpark.

On our way out of the ballpark, Alan wanted to get on TV.  The ballpark staff had already ushered fans away from the STO set, but we snuck over anyway while STO was airing Francona’s post game comments.  I was able to hit record on my DVR through my phone while Francona spoke.  When STO went back live, I told Alan to look up at the monitor to see himself on TV. 🙂

If Francona, who recorded his 562nd win as Indians manager to break a 5th place tie with Eric Wedge, had spoken 10 seconds longer, we might not have been able to dodge the ballpark staff long enough.  But somehow I don’t think this will be the last time Alan’s tries to get on TV…

Tonight Alan and I made a special Friday night visit to the ballpark to close our school/work week with some baseball and fireworks.  It was a great way to kick off the long Labor Day weekend.

Out on the family deck, Alan dove home safely after a sprint around the bases in Little League Park.

Inside the Clubhouse, Alan got extra turns on the slide with fewer kids in attendance for night games.  He also got his favorite popsicle to eat during fireworks.

During the 8th inning of the game (won 3-0 by the Indians over the Rays) we found out the Indians acquired Josh Donaldson!  Alan was concerned for who we had to send to Toronto, but for now at least it is a player to be named later.  The Indians win clinched another winning season at Progressive Field for Alan.  He’s 4-2 with one game left to attend.

The magical season for Alan and the Indians came to a close today in style, with yet another win on a beautiful day for baseball.  Alan concluded his perfect regular season at Progressive Field at a sparkling 8-0!

On our way to the ballpark we walked with many Browns fans, who opted for the Browns-Tribe doubleheader.  The walk was also highlighted for Alan by seeing and hearing a firetruck go down Superior.  As the sound of the siren echoed off the buildings, Alan remarked that he’d for sure have to tell Xavier about it tomorrow at school (Xavier’s a big fan of firetrucks).

At the ballpark, Alan checked in at the Tribe Town MVP table and headed for the nearby souvenirs to buy an Indians fidget spinner (he’s got a Cavs one too — four in all that he has in his backpack to share with friends).

We then entered the Kids Clubhouse, where Alan got a beach ball from the Cleveland Clinic Children’s table that we played with.

He also spent time on the big glove and baseball bat-balance beam – his favorite climbing and jumping activities within the Kids Clubhouse in 2017.

On the way out, Alan took a picture at the Kids Clubhouse lockers, showing off his 2017 Tribe Town MVP badge.

Next up we went down to The Corner so Alan could see the Indians’ mini team balls on display.  Alan was glad to see Ramirez and Lindor, and he accurately identified the Francona ball.

Then we returned to the family deck I got Alan some popcorn while he ran the simulated race.  He set a new personal best time of 6.60 seconds!

Alan ate his popcorn while we watched the bottom of the 8th from seats in the lower deck between home and first.  An usher actually offered us to enter his section and sit in two empty seats – first time I’ve ever had that happen.

We watched the top of the 9th standing near section 168, where we met with the group set to participate in Catch on the Field (Alan had been selected at random, we think, from the list of Tribe Town MVPs.  We were originally selected for Sept 17th, but that was rescheduled for today due to the Indians clinching that weekend.  We had tickets for both dates anyway).

We helped salute the Indians as they walked off the field after celebrating the win.  Alan enjoyed watching the high five line in person.  He’s stayed up to see it on TV on Friday nights, but had never seen it in person on a Sunday, since we’re normally under the stadium waiting to run the bases).

After the Indians left the field, our most fun began.  We entered the field down the third base line and walked across the warning track all the way to right field.  On the walk there, Alan commented that he was passing the scoreboard where they showed the flames he saw when Andrew Miller entered the game in the 8th inning.

When we got out to right field, the Indians handed us a specially-marked, soft core baseball to play catch with.  And play catch we did.  We had a blast throwing the ball around.  Alan and I took selfies and also had an Indians employee take our picture (shown at the beginning of the post).

We also wrote Alan’s name in the warning track dirt.  After all it’s Alan’s ballpark; the Indians just play in it!

We’re sad to see the regular season end, but hopefully Alan can at least get back during October for another playoff watch party.  In the meantime, how’s this for an impressive season in review, for both Alan and the Indians:

Alan finished the season with a perfect 8-0 record.  It started with his MLB debut in the Kids Starting Lineup in April and ended with Catch on the Field in October.  In between, there were personal bests set all throughout the family deck.

Meanwhile the Indians won 22 games in a row on the way to 102 overall, won the AL Central by 17 games, led MLB in ERA, had five all-stars – including two MVP candidates in Ramirez and Lindor and the likely AL Cy Young winner in Kluber…and the list goes on!

Let’s go Tribe this postseason!

Alan continued his perfect season at Progressive Field today, as the Indians improved to 5-0 with Alan in attendance following a 12-0 victory over the Royals. To Alan’s delight, we opted to take the transit downtown, and Robbie and Jill — our generous season-long ticket providers — came to the game with us.

Alan was showing off his balancing skills on the large wooden bat in the Kids Clubhouse while the Indians scored a season-high nine runs in the 2nd inning. The scoring came via a 2-run HR by Lindor, a 3-run HR by Santana, and finally a Grand Slam by Gomes — with the latter drawing quite a few families out of the Clubhouse and onto the balcony to join in the cheering!

Out on the family deck, more records were set as Alan beat his personal best race time of 6.89 seconds!  Alan was thrilled to see his first sub-7 seconds time and excitedly reported the news to Robbie.  The new record time must’ve been due to the pre-race popcorn he requested beforehand.

We didn’t have time to hit today as lines were extra long (due to a standing room only crowd at Progressive Field) and the game went fast (no scoring after the 2nd inning).  So we opted not to risk losing our place at the front of the MVP line for running the bases, and lined up during the 8th inning.

I ran with Alan today, while Robbie and Jill watched from the stands.  You could tell which one of us was the record setter, as I quickly fell behind Alan and never caught up, despite the usual log-jam between 3rd base and home plate.   After running, Alan took the camera for selfies and photos from his perspective, including this close-up of Robbie, Jill, and I.

Alan was in a silly mood with the camera out, as evidenced by the following photo that we took behind the dugout.

For the Tribe, today’s win capped a weekend in which the Indians outscored the Royals 20-0 over three games.  It was the first time since 1956 that the Indians shut-out a team for an entire series.

For Alan, it was another great Sunday afternoon at the ballpark with his family!

Today Alan set a new career high by attending his 7th Tribe game of the season (17th overall).  All went according to plan: The skies were clear, the temperature was comfortable, and the Tribe won the rubber match with the Blue Jays by a score of 3-2 — thanks to a late 2-run Home Run by Jose Ramirez in the 8th!

Alan played his usual activities inside the clubhouse, then surprised me by asking to watch some of the game.  He was mainly interested in seeing the Hot Dog race, but I’ll take it.  We caught the whole 5th inning from the Kids Clubhouse viewing deck, before watching Mustard (Alan’s favorite) win today’s race.

Afterwards, Alan went to the family deck to practice hitting, running, and throwing.  I took a video of today’s sprint from a new angle.

Then it was time to run the bases and take pictures with Robbie and Jill, who drove down to the ballpark with us.  Alan was extra excited to have Robbie and Jill there, and he asked all three of us to run the bases with him.  We did our best to keep up, though Alan was ahead of the pack the whole time!

Another Sunday; another fun day at the ballpark.  A pregame rain delay gave Alan an extra 35 minutes or so at the train table inside the Kids Clubhouse. In addition to playing with his usual toys inside the Clubhouse, Alan also posed for the pictures above and below for the first time — something I had been trying to get him to do all season. I thought they turned out pretty well!

Out on the Family Deck, Alan beat ketchup in a simulated race, hit in the Little League Park (pictured below from a new vantage point this time), and climbed the Lofton wall (which I caught on video for the first time). Alan finished off the afternoon by circling the bases!

Today Alan and I watched the Indians close out the unofficial first half of the season at Progressive Field.  Alan had a surprisingly quick stay inside the clubhouse, as he was in a hurry to get to the big kid activities on the Family Deck!  Alan got to pitch to simulated batters, hit in the Little League Park (pictured above), jump at the Lofton wall, and run a simulated race (pictured below).

Thanks to a 46-minute 5th inning, Alan was finished with his activities well before the game was over.  So we sat and ate in the Right Field District, then got in line early to run the bases.  Alan was first in line and got to lead all the kids onto the field.  Alan loved being the line leader!  He brought me out of retirement to circle the bases with him this time. 🙂

Just look at that form!!

Alan and I went to the ballpark today for our third Indians game — and first win! — of 2016.  Alan followed his normal routine at first, as he drove his favorite red car and played with the trains for a couple hours.  But the routine changed as the afternoon went on thanks to a 3+ hour rain delay.

Alan took advantage of the extra time in the Kids Clubhouse — and diminishing attendance in the room — by repeatedly taking a turn on the slide (we’re talking 12-15 consecutive times) and racing on the mini roller coaster (probably 10-12 times).

But he didn’t stop there.  He also ventured outside the Kids Clubhouse to the area of the concourse where the older kids play.  There Alan tested his vertical jumping ability on the “Circus Catch” wall (think Kenny Lofton) and tracked his pitch speed (16 MPH) on the Pitching Simulator.   He was pretty good!

Alan told me that next time he’ll be ready to participate in a game with other kids on “Slider’s Field” (also located on the Family Deck).  He’s definitely become more confident in his abilities after being on a baseball team this spring.

Alan did not get a chance to run the bases postgame due to the lengthy rain delay, but that did not phase him.  He still had a blast with his car, trains, power tools, and interactive games!

Alan wrapped up another fun baseball season today at Progressive Field!  The Indians beat the Red Sox and improved to 4-2 with Alan in attendance this season.  Alan drove his favorite car (video) in the Kids Clubhouse and led the line again during the postgame run around the bases (video).  This was Alan’s 10th career run!

Thanks to the Indians, Alan had a summer to remember.  He looked forward to Sundays for the chance to see the Tribe and regretted when the team had a Sunday road game.  He told me several times, “the Indians need me,” since he was a Tribe Town MVP this year.

Hopefully the winter flies by so Alan can get back out on the field in 2016!

You’re looking at the newest member of the Tribe Town MVP Club!

As a proud new MVP attending his first Indians game of 2015, Alan got a souvenir baseball, drawstring bag, jersey, and badge w/lanyard.  The badge allows Alan to move to the front of the line not only at the Kids Clubhouse, but also at the lineup for running the bases!

The first thing we did today after picking up Alan’s gear was head to the redesigned Kids Clubhouse.  Alan’s favorite addition was the two-story slide, which he tried out several times.  He loves it!

Video:  Kids Clubhouse Slide

In addition to playing on the slide, Alan drove his favorite cars and played in the walk-in houses.  After a couple hours in the Kids Clubhouse, Alan did his job, which he takes seriously as an MVP, and ran the bases!  I ran with him this time, but pretty soon he’s not going to need me out there anymore.