Getting Good Aluminum on the Ball at UT

A visit with the Regen-Harms would not be complete without a baseball game or two. Friday, after Rey’s graduation ceremony we first attended a University of Tennessee baseball game. They were hosting LSU, which ended up beating UT, 2-1. It was a long game, which was unusual what with its low score, but there were a lot of balls pitched, some of which resulted in walks, and there were errors too and many more plays that could have resulted in errors. These all caused the early innings especially, to drag on and on, but overall I liked the ambiance of UT’s stadium and had a good time, plus it was an extremely pleasant night for a ball game.

Saturday, we attended a Tennessee Smokies game. This is the organization that first recruited Rey to Eastern Tennessee. He started with them as an intern and then stayed on with them for several more years, until starting his UT program. Interestingly, while breakfasting at Panera (Saint Louis Bread Co.) that morning, we met Rey’s original Smokies manager. Now, he works with Rey at Saint Louis Bread Co. (Panera).

The Smokies were playing the Birmingham Barons. One of the Baron’s claim to fame is that this was the organization that Michael Jordan tried out with, both before and after finding his true calling, basketball. The Smokies are a minor league team in the Cubs organization, while the Barons are with the White Sox, making this exhibition a kind of Chicagoland distance learning program. You know, I might have been a little harsh in my summary of the UT game, but at least UT kept it close to the end. The Smokies were routed 11-1 and it was fricking cold by the end of the game. The next morning, our car’s thermometer bottomed out with only 37 ˚F, in May people, MAY! Enough negativity though, because at the Smokies’ park Everybody Loves Raymond Rey, plus it was Star Wars night and there were fireworks too. This was my first minor league baseball game, unless you count watching “Bull Durham”.