Finally, after a long wait, one of my bucket list’s dreams came true. As many of those of you who follow us here know, I’m an avid baseball fan. And being a southern boy, could there be any other team for me to love other than the Atlanta Braves?

THE ATLANTA BRAVES

They came to Atlanta in 1966, transferring from Milwaukee after 13 successful seasons (1953-1965). And though they showed flashes of that earlier success over the next few years, they eventually became what could possibly be called the laughing stock of baseball. I still followed them faithfully, though, and finally got to go see them in person. However, with the coming of the 90s, a new era also came, one of the most successful ever in the history of sports.

Beginning in 1991, the Braves won fourteen consecutive division championships, the one in ’91 being the iconic going from worst to first championship. But like any sports franchise, the glory eventually ends, and though they made it to the playoffs a couple of times after that historic run, after the 2013 season things really went downhill and they started appearing like those teams of old, finishing way down in the standings, especially after many of their star players were traded away, much to the chagrin of their fans.

But…they had a plan; a plan to rebuild. And that plan has taken hold in what could possibly be considered a year, if not two years, ahead of time. They have restocked their farm system with so many outstanding young players and at this very moment have two of ’em, only 20 and 21 years of age, on the field displaying their outstanding abilities. One of them, Ozzie Albies, actually participated in the All Star Game just last night, along with three other Braves stars, Freddie Freeman, Nick Markakis and Mike Foltynewicz.

And when the second half of the season begin this Friday, the Braves have a record of 52-42, finding themselves just 1/2 game out of first place behind the Philadelphia Phillies 53-42 record. And that 1/2 game is just the one game less the Braves have played, so as soon as we make that game up, we could be tied if we win.

So as of this moment, the possibility exists that the Braves could once again make the playoffs as a division winner or at least as a wild card, which wouldn’t be as outstanding as going from worst to first like in ’91 but still an incredible feat after finishing in third place last year 25 games out of first place.

But I’ve strayed away from sharing the completion of my bucket list dream coming to fruition.

SUNTRUST PARK

Just this past week, we traveled to Atlanta to see the Braves play in their new stadium, SunTrust Park. We missed seeing them play there in its first season last year because last year’s vacation was spent for a month in the Philippines, the first time I’d taken Lynndee home since I brought her here to the U.S. to marry her. So I can now say that I’ve seen the Braves play in all three of their Atlanta locations – Atlanta Fulton County Stadium – Turner Field – SunTrust Park -, as well as getting to say goodbye to their second home, Turner Field, back in 2016.

But the new stadium is an amazing creation. With the cantilevered configuration, more seats are closer to the field than any other ball park in Major League Baseball. And for the first time ever, I sat in the outfield for one of the games we attended and was amazed at the scope of my vision. The park is adjoined to an entertainment district known as The Battery Atlanta, featuring many bars, restaurants and fun things to experience. Also, right outside the stadium is the 264-room, 4-star Omni Hotel. If one stays there, all they have to do to attend a game is walk out the front door and go to the right field entrance gate. That had been my plans for this trip but unfortunately for us, I tarried too long before trying to book reservations and was foiled by no rooms being available. Oh well…next time!

TORONTO BLUE JAYS vs. ATLANTA BRAVES

The opponent for the two games we attended was the Toronto Blue Jays. We split the series, losing the first game 6-2 but rebounding the next night to win an exciting 9-5 confrontation, highlighted by Ozzie Albie’s two home runs. And with that win, my wifey Lynndee’s record of watching Atlanta Braves games in person is 4 wins and 2 losses, for a .666 win percentage. And hopefully, the Braves can continue their so-far successful rebuilding season by finishing with a .666 winning season.

GO BRAVOS! CHOP ON!