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| Tigers first baseman Prince Fielder puts the squeeze on a pop fly and makes the final out in the fourth game of the ALCS |
I worked in my quilting studio yesterday.
At 4 pm, almost first pitch time for the fourth (and last) game of the American League Championship Series, I tuned in the radio, picked up my knitting and downed a cup of coffee while listening to the first innings of the Tigers vs. Yankees game.
By 4:45pm, my long arm quilting machine and I were finishing the feather borders on a crib quilt for great-nephew Shawn who lives in Marquette, Michigan and the Tigers were into a screaming four-run inning with home runs by Miguel Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta. The television in the studio was blaring the TBS broadcast and I was stopping regularly to watch and to text with sister Heidi in Philly who was keeping tabs on the game, too.
The quilt came off the Gammill. I cleaned and oiled the machine, closed down studio, and headed home where Ed was exuberantly watching the last innings.
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| A happy Miguel Cabrera, after the Tigers cinch the American League pennant |
With one presidential candidate who would not have supported economic help for the auto industry and, thus, vilifies Detroit and Michigan, it was sweet to see a baseball team lift the city and the state and the fans up into a joyous celebration. Nobody was beating down the losing team. Heavens, the Yankees have a full plate in front of them, what with scoring as many RBIs (six) as a team in the four game series as Delmon Young, a single Tiger player, scored by himself.
Mike Ilitch, owner of the Tigers, looking very frail, was surrounded by Dave Dombroski, Tigers general manager and Jim Leyland, the Tigers' manager. As the weighty championship trophy passed from Dave to Jim, it was obvious that Mr. Ilitch couldn't hold the trophy and that was okay.
Surrounded by the Tigers team and management and in a ball park with fans who set an attendance record of over three million this season, Mr. Ilitch had done his work of holding up the weight of the Tigers and of Detroit. There's no one in the entire state who does not admire and appreciate the dedication of Mike Ilitch to Detroit and, this week in particular, to baseball.
In my mind the little quilt that came off the quilting machine during the game will always be remembered as the quilt that I finished during the game when the Tigers finished their walk to the championship in the American League. Little Shawn won't know that, but I will.
My next date with the quilting machine? Wednesday, Oct.24 -- the first game of the World Series.
Copyright 2012
Wanda Hayes Eichler
Wanda, I knit an afghan during the 2008 Phillies post-season. Used Mary's diagonal square pattern oh her blog. The afghan was there for every hit, every strikeout, every win, every loss, every crazy rain-delay. When I finished the afghan, I donated it to the VA hospital. I included a note so the vet who received the afghan would know about all of the memories wrapped up in that afghan.
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