Re: The Magic of Baseball and What it Means to You?
Great story.
Late to the party, but still want to share. Congrats to the winners.
The magic of baseball, to me, is MLB 23 on Switch and Jackson Chourio. Together, they created the most magical moment I’ve ever experienced in a video game and then some.
Here’s how.
I didn’t grow up with baseball. Being from Europe, I discovered it very late in life, and through and a winding path.
My sports journey began with motorsports. Like many in Europe, I was a Formula 1 fan. But at some point, F1 had started to feel predictable, so I found myself drawn to NASCAR. It was an exciting time in that sport, just after Jimmie Johnson’s championship streak, with the competition wide open again. My love for the sport grew, and for my birthday, I made a dream come true: I traveled to Florida to watch the 2015 NASCAR Championship race, Jeff Gordon’s final event. The experience was incredible, even though the driver I was rooting for, Martin Truex Jr., didn’t win.
But, that trip to the U.S. introduced me also to the NFL. I watched it there for the first time on my hotel TV. Back then, the NFL wasn’t nearly as popular in Europe as it is today, but I was instantly hooked. When it came time to choose a team to follow, I picked the Rams. They had just relocated to Los Angeles and were one of the league’s worst teams, giving me something to root for. Of course, that choice worked out far better than I expected. Over the years, I attended several NFL games in London, including an unforgettable Rams vs. Cardinals matchup where Todd Gurley led a 44:0 shutout.
Still, I wanted to see an NFL game in the U.S. So, during our post-COVID honeymoon in New York, I bought tickets for the Patriots-Jets game at MetLife Stadium. The game itself was one-sided and forgettable but for me, just being there was special.
The night before that game, however, is when I discovered my now favorite sport: baseball. With no plans for that evening, my wife and I had an early dinner, went back to our hotel, and turned on the TV. Right on time for the 2022 World Series. I was fascinated right away.
Ever since that evening I’m trying to get es much baseball in my life as possible. If you haven’t seen SB Nation’s YouTube documentary on the Mariners’ history, do yourself a favor, it’s a masterpiece.
After a while I wanted to try a baseball video game. I had been a longtime Madden franchise player, so I was eager to find a baseball game that let me build and manage my own team. That’s how I found MLB 23. Even better, there was a Nintendo Switch version (23 lives on Switch for me. 20 and 24 on PS5), perfect for my frequent post-COVID work travel.
Now, I needed a team. I wanted a good-but-not-great one, one I could develop into a contender. I also wanted a team that had never won a World Series, so I could help them get their first. Because of name, color scheme and vibe I picked the Brewers.
I started with vanilla rosters and default sliders. This was around May 2023. From that moment on, I was addicted. Over the next four months, I logged more than 120 hours, something I hadn’t done with any game since a decade.
I built my own baseball universe. With lots of ups and downs. And finally, in 2033, everything worked out. We reached the World Series against the Rays. I took a 3:2 lead going into Game 6.
And there. Bottom of the ninth. Down 0 to 1. With Trey McClendon on first. (Trey went to become WS MVP btw.) Jackson Chourio stepped up to the plate.
At this point in my franchise, Chourio and Sal Frelick were the only two original Brewers still on the team. And with Chourio I crushed a walk-off home run to seal the championship. I was just overjoyed. This was and is my all-time favorite gaming moment, better than beating any Souls game. Pure adrenaline, pure happiness.
So far so good. But here’s where the real magic of baseball happens.
All of this, my World Series win with Jackson Chourio happened in summer 2023, before he had ever taken a swing in the majors.
In fact, it should take another few months, until Opening Day March 29th 2024, 1.44 PM for his first AB. How I know the time so well… I was there. On a crisp spring afternoon, I watched Jackson Chourio step up for his very first major league at-bat. Brewers at Mets in Citi Field. My wonderful wife had agreed to another New York trip, not only, but also to see this exact moment in time.
Jackson didn’t do anything with his first at-bat, but I had goosebumps when he stepped on and was the happiest guy in the stadium.
The magic of baseball, to me, is MLB 23 on Switch and Jackson Chourio. Together, they created the most magical moment I’ve ever experienced in a video game and then some.
Here’s how.
I didn’t grow up with baseball. Being from Europe, I discovered it very late in life, and through and a winding path.
My sports journey began with motorsports. Like many in Europe, I was a Formula 1 fan. But at some point, F1 had started to feel predictable, so I found myself drawn to NASCAR. It was an exciting time in that sport, just after Jimmie Johnson’s championship streak, with the competition wide open again. My love for the sport grew, and for my birthday, I made a dream come true: I traveled to Florida to watch the 2015 NASCAR Championship race, Jeff Gordon’s final event. The experience was incredible, even though the driver I was rooting for, Martin Truex Jr., didn’t win.
But, that trip to the U.S. introduced me also to the NFL. I watched it there for the first time on my hotel TV. Back then, the NFL wasn’t nearly as popular in Europe as it is today, but I was instantly hooked. When it came time to choose a team to follow, I picked the Rams. They had just relocated to Los Angeles and were one of the league’s worst teams, giving me something to root for. Of course, that choice worked out far better than I expected. Over the years, I attended several NFL games in London, including an unforgettable Rams vs. Cardinals matchup where Todd Gurley led a 44:0 shutout.
Still, I wanted to see an NFL game in the U.S. So, during our post-COVID honeymoon in New York, I bought tickets for the Patriots-Jets game at MetLife Stadium. The game itself was one-sided and forgettable but for me, just being there was special.
The night before that game, however, is when I discovered my now favorite sport: baseball. With no plans for that evening, my wife and I had an early dinner, went back to our hotel, and turned on the TV. Right on time for the 2022 World Series. I was fascinated right away.
Ever since that evening I’m trying to get es much baseball in my life as possible. If you haven’t seen SB Nation’s YouTube documentary on the Mariners’ history, do yourself a favor, it’s a masterpiece.
After a while I wanted to try a baseball video game. I had been a longtime Madden franchise player, so I was eager to find a baseball game that let me build and manage my own team. That’s how I found MLB 23. Even better, there was a Nintendo Switch version (23 lives on Switch for me. 20 and 24 on PS5), perfect for my frequent post-COVID work travel.
Now, I needed a team. I wanted a good-but-not-great one, one I could develop into a contender. I also wanted a team that had never won a World Series, so I could help them get their first. Because of name, color scheme and vibe I picked the Brewers.
I started with vanilla rosters and default sliders. This was around May 2023. From that moment on, I was addicted. Over the next four months, I logged more than 120 hours, something I hadn’t done with any game since a decade.
I built my own baseball universe. With lots of ups and downs. And finally, in 2033, everything worked out. We reached the World Series against the Rays. I took a 3:2 lead going into Game 6.
And there. Bottom of the ninth. Down 0 to 1. With Trey McClendon on first. (Trey went to become WS MVP btw.) Jackson Chourio stepped up to the plate.
At this point in my franchise, Chourio and Sal Frelick were the only two original Brewers still on the team. And with Chourio I crushed a walk-off home run to seal the championship. I was just overjoyed. This was and is my all-time favorite gaming moment, better than beating any Souls game. Pure adrenaline, pure happiness.
So far so good. But here’s where the real magic of baseball happens.
All of this, my World Series win with Jackson Chourio happened in summer 2023, before he had ever taken a swing in the majors.
In fact, it should take another few months, until Opening Day March 29th 2024, 1.44 PM for his first AB. How I know the time so well… I was there. On a crisp spring afternoon, I watched Jackson Chourio step up for his very first major league at-bat. Brewers at Mets in Citi Field. My wonderful wife had agreed to another New York trip, not only, but also to see this exact moment in time.
Jackson didn’t do anything with his first at-bat, but I had goosebumps when he stepped on and was the happiest guy in the stadium.
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