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July 16, 2005

Baseball News

I went to the Mariners game last night. A couple of momentous things.

First, for those of you who follow baseball, Baltimore Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro entered the game with 2999 hits. A little action on the slide rule reveals that put him just one hit away from 3000. Palmeiro, who reveal a few years ago that he "corks" his "bat", also has over 500 home runs, so he is no doubt destined for Cooperstown (despite certain nincompoops who say he shouldn't be).

Palmeiro batted in the first inning as flashbulbs popped all over the stadium on every pitch (must make it tough to see the ball). Joel Pineiro, the Mariners pitcher, had just given up a home run and a double so he was a bit rattled, and walked Palmeiro. But in the third inning he came to the plate...and grounded out to the first baseman. But in the fifth inning...Palmeiro strode to the plate, mighty shillelagh in hand, and verily did he smote the ball into the left-field corner for a double and #3000. The Safeco crowd gave him a nice long ovation as the dugout and bullpen emptied out for congratulations. Then in the seventh inning he got a single, on his way to 4000 (Pete Rose got his 4000th hit while playing for the Expos, a game my father saw, and claims I also saw although I'm not sure I did).

The other event of note at the game was that the Mariners and Verizon and Verrus introduced something called "OrderUp" where you can order food on your phone. Each food item has a two-digit code (nachos == 14, super pretzel == 46, 187 ml of Merlot == 72, etc) and you text a message with your codes to a certain number. Then they text back asking for your seat number, then they text back asking for your credit card/expiration, then they text back a final confirmation. Then some short time later (they claim 5-7 minutes, but our order took 20) they deliver your food. Tax and tip are all included so you can enjoy your $4.75 chocolate malt in peace.

Posted by AdamBa at July 16, 2005 07:31 AM

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Comments

I love Palmeiro. He's the all-time greatest player to come out of Mississippi State, a phenomenal college baseball program over the last 25 years. Second best was Will Clark- not too shabby, but no Palmeiro.

Posted by: Randy H. at July 17, 2005 06:57 PM

So, is that $4.75 including the text message costs?

I just want to make sure I'm getting *value* for that price :)

Posted by: DennisPI at July 19, 2005 11:26 PM

my testing comments for this blog

Posted by: my comment for baseball group at July 21, 2005 03:03 AM

That baseball food ordering thing seems like a pretty sweet idea. I'm going to an M's game in early September. Is their system smart enough to remember your credit card, seat, etc for next time? Did they have a full menu with beer and everything?

Posted by: Ian M. at August 10, 2005 11:23 PM

I'll answer my own question if anyone else was wondering... Yes it remembers your credit card the next game. Or probably on the very next order. This is seriously really cool!

Posted by: Ian M. at August 15, 2005 01:10 AM