Gordie Gronkowski Stole The Show At The Oldtime Baseball Game With A Chicken-Eating Home Run Celebration
If you’re not familiar with the Oldtime Baseball Game, it’s an exhibition game that Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald has put on annually for the last 23 years at St. Peter’s Field in Cambridge. The competition’s pretty good with a lot of college players, but there are plenty of players added to the game from all walks of life, chosen because they exemplify what it means to play for the love of the game, and also for their personal stories. It was an honor to play alongside Jordan Leandre this year, whose story has inspired New Englanders for over a decade. In addition to that, it was a trip getting to share a dugout with Yogi Berra’s granddaughter, Lindsay.
The game chooses a different charity every year to raise money for, and this year was a locally based charity by the name of Boston vs. Bullies. The game itself is sponsored, as well as all of its players. This year, the Oldtime Baseball Game raised about $40,000 for Boston vs. Bullies, which is incredible.
Rob Gronkowski’s older brother, Gordie Gronkowski, stole the show on Thursday night, mashing a home run into the wilderness, before taking a bite out of some chicken at home plate. Some protein for the boys. I had no idea he played minor league baseball. I was just under the impression that any of the Gronk brothers could pick up any sport right now and be significantly better than a bunch of average Joes, which is still probably true. Turns out my teammate, Gordie, was drafted by the Angels in 2006, and hit 50 home runs over six years between minor league and independent league ball. Did not know that. Now I do.
I didn’t have the same success as Gordie. If you’re a Section 10 Podcast listener, you know I talked a LOT of shit leading up to this game. Like, a LOT of shit. Promised a home run, the whole deal. Turns out, it’s not that easy to not face live pitching for six years, and then try to get a hit off of dudes throwing 88 MPH fastballs. My cocky ass didn’t even take BP. I was so sure that I’d just stroll up to the plate, and rip one back up the middle, no problem at all. I didn’t even swing a bat until I got to the on-deck circle. Poor game plan by me. I’ll learn from it, and I’ll be better prepared next year. I did hit a ball into outer space, though. Foul or not, that’s still impressive.
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Regardless, it was a really fun night. It brought back a lot of great memories to be standing out there in right field under the lights again. I missed that a lot. Spent a lot of time out there as a young lad. And beyond the charity aspect of it, and paying homage to the game’s storied history, that’s really what the Oldtime Baseball Game is all about, because when else are guys like me ever going to get the thrill of playing in an organized baseball game again? Never. My days of playing in a league are far behind me. But for one night a year, I can come back and relive the days when my love for baseball first began. I get to do that when I’m out there on a baseball diamond in Cambridge, and that’s something I never thought I’d get to experience again.
I’m looking forward to coming back and playing as long as they’ll have me, because I didn’t realize how much I missed playing until I started to walk back to my car after the game, and took a second to look back at the stadium lights one more time. Big thanks again to Buck for having me, and Gordie for putting the team on his back.