December 16, 2017 7:30 pm

“When the Stars Aligned: My Game 1 World Series Experience” by Playing with Science Prize Winner Jessica Stacy

Today’s guest blog post is by Jessica Stacy, a Playing with Science fan who won our World Series Ticket Giveaway that we were able to do thanks to the help of our friends at TuneIn as part of their First Play promotion. All photos in this post are provided by her.

Cue the withdrawals. I don’t care if the holiday season is in full swing—if you’re a baseball fan, you’re still reeling from the excitement of the 2017 World Series and wishing you could relive it all over again. Whether you bleed Dodger blue or were cheering for the underdogs donning throwback jerseys who came from a city that needed the W, this year more than ever, this Series was a one for the history books.

But before millions of us were picking our jaws up off the floor and cracking a beer at the bottom of the 9th in Game 5, that one particularly nerve-wracking game that would tease us into the bottom of the 11th… and still leave us wanting more, my dad and I decided that one day, some way, somehow, we’d go see the World Series together.

Jessica Stacy's photo of herself and her dad in front of the Dodger Stadium sign for Playing with Science World Series blog post.

Even if you’re not a baseball fan, the World Series is pretty much the one time everyone circles around the TV, jumps on the bandwagon, and soaks in the dramatics like osmosis. Finally joining us believers in what we’ve known all along — even if just for the month of October.

On the third Friday of baseball’s signature month, I just happened to be listening to the Playing with Science podcast. Trudging to work on a prototypically gray morning in Portland, Oregon, I hear the show’s hosts Gary O’Reilly and Chuck Nice introduce an episode honoring some of greatest players to ever step foot on a diamond. They’d go on to unveil the physics behind every swing, catch and play of Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, and Reggie Jackson (AKA Mr. October himself). And something else — a giveaway for two tickets to go see Game 1, in person.

No freaking way. My dad literally just talked about this! A former high school centerfielder turned fire scientist, my dad was the one who took me to my first game and taught me how to keep score. Then how to throw like a girl (AKA really damn well). I learned everything about the dynamic flow of the defense. The force required to start from a dead stop and the resulting momentum to fly around the bases. The fast-twitch muscle fibers responsible for the quick reaction times of outfielders. (Chuck, Gary, I’ll leave the proper scientific terms to you.)

So regardless of the crazy odds stacked against me, I knew I had to enter the contest. And if sports have taught me one thing, it’s this: If you don’t try, the odds don’t matter. But if you at least try, that’s when the magic happens.

The stars aligned in the form of a “ding” in my Gmail inbox announcing me as the winner. With zero hesitation, two booked flights and one Airbnb reservation later, I found myself sitting in the most unbelievable situation I could have ever imagined.

Throw it back to Game 1. It’s October 24th at 4:30pm and my dad and I sitting up high in Left Field reserve in a sea of blue at none other than the historic Dodger Stadium. And I ask myself whether this is real life? Being in La-La land, I was undecided. The home team Dodgers, who hadn’t won a World Series since 1988, were pitted against the visiting Houston Astros, who had never, ever won in franchise history. A matchup too good to be true of regular-season +100-win behemoths about to battle it out in what would later be known as one of the greatest World Series of all time.

The air is electric. Staring down at the manicured diamond, with its freshly mowed outfield and expediently raked baselines, in a crowd of 55,000, we’re all braving the 103° heat together in the hottest World Series game on record. My dad and I even sweated the 30-minute walk uphill to beat traffic, get through the gate and watch three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw warm up 200 feet below us. With soaked backs and a cold beer in hand, we couldn’t care less because we wouldn’t miss this for the world.

Jessica Stacy's photo of the gigantic US flag at Dodger Stadium for her Playing with Science World Series blog post.

As the biggest flag of the United States I’ve ever seen is pulled taut across the outfield, with fireworks bursting into the air and the national anthem singer belting his heart out, Jackie Robinson’s wife and progeny wait in a golf cart near the dugout to throw out the first pitch— honoring the barrier-breaking former Dodger on the 45th anniversary of his passing.

Jessica Stacy's photo of the ceremonial first pitch at the World Series game she attended thanks to Playing with Science and TuneIn.

I’m bouncing my knees, chatting with strangers-turned-fast-friends surrounding me. One even noted, “You haven’t really lived until you’ve eaten nachos at a World Series.” I’m asking everyone within earshot: what was their reason for being there? Their answer wasn’t just “I’m a Dodgers fan” or “I’m rooting for the Astros.” Turns out, the cost of entry wasn’t solely the thousand-dollar ticket price tag. It was a shared admiration of this majestic, time-honored tradition we know as baseball.

Game 1 started off as historically as the entire series would finish, with a first-pitch homer by the home team’s Chris Turner. In comparison to the rest of the series, it would be anticlimactic in the sense that it featured perfectly executed pitches leading to a one-sided score favoring the Dodgers. It was no record-breaker like the following night’s Game 2 would be, but in the bottom of the 6th, I remember Justin Turner’s ball soaring past the back fence, clinching a two-run homer and the subsequent rise of thousands of fans out of their seats, whirling rally towels overhead in a synchronous eruption of pandemonium.

Jessica Stacy's photo of fans standing for Justin Turner's 2-run homer in Game 1 of the World Series for Playing with Science blog post.

I found myself standing there, silenced, in the middle of the happy chaos. Thankful beyond words for baseball, and sports in general. Sometimes, they comfort us in their familiarity. Athletes can surprise us at every turn. But sports always show what humans are really capable of.

Jessica Stacy's photo of her and her dad at Dodgers Stadium thanks to Playing with Science and TuneIn.

That’s what I love about Playing with Scienceit unpacks the common truths and everyday mysteries behind the sports we all know and love. I knew Chuck, Gary and Neil would do a great job of breaking down the exact mechanics of how Turner could clear the ball I watched go over the Dodger’s back fence—let alone every other amazing feat of athleticism that would happen throughout the World Series. But I’ll let this particular moment, and my entire Game 1 experience, remain just what it is. All magic.
– Jessica Stacy

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