Passage V

Knit One for the Home Team

[1]

Accepting that poster giveaways,free batting helmets, and $1 hot dogs are tried-and-true ways to coax fans to a baseball game, but newer promotions offer “something for everyone.” My home team, the Seattle Mariners, didn’t draw me with Beach Towel Day or Retro T-shirt Night, but with Stitch N’ Pitch Night at Safeco Field, they finally got me to a Mariners game. I’d probably be knitting, anyway, on a lazy summer evening. [A]

[2]

Before entering the stadium, I bought homespun yarn from a huge knitting supply booth, set up by a local shop owner, right outside the ball park. [B] I showed my discounted “knitters’ section” ticket at the gate and began climbing the bleachers to the upper deck. We knitters were happy to be high up in the cheap seats. Who were the Mariners playing, again? Let the fans who study every play have the most covet seats behind first base. [C]

[3]

[1] Though we knitters pay more attention to pattern books than to scorecards, we wanted our team to win. [2] Then it happened. [3] We watched a pitch, knitted, watched a strike, knitted, and when a Mariner gets a hit, one or two of us would stand up and cheer. [4] I knitted faster during tense plays, studying the players’ tactics and techniques, but still mostly focusing on not dropping a stitch. [5] I witnessed a dazzling catch by right fielder, Ichiro Suzuki, and responded like any rowdy believer. [6] TV cameras captured my seatmates and me—unlikely fans, maybe?— surrounded by our colorful skeins of yarn, cheering wildly for Ichiro and the Mariners. (70)

[4]

I held up my unfinished scarf during the stadium wave, flashed my knitting needles with every base hit, and ate hot dogs and peanuts enjoying the game with all the everyday fans. Later that night, I showed off my knitting to my friend Mia: That section was when the Mariners pulled ahead. This is my best row. Here was the winning home run, when I mistakenly did a purl stitch instead of a knit stitch. An imperfect scarf but a Mariners win. [D] If Safeco Field calls out again with “Come Knit One for the Home Team,” I plan to inquire regarding whether Mia would like to accompany me to the event.