By: Daniel Kravatz
Seminarian, First Theology
Now that I have been back in PA for a few weeks, I have had time to reflect on my stay in Omaha for the summer. Of course, there were many great graces God chose to bestow upon me, with which I am sure I can fill up a book. This post is on a game I have grown to enjoy deeply: baseball. I am a big Phillies fan, and in my time out in Omaha, one of the things I missed the most was Phillies baseball. However, it wasn’t too hard to find a ball game to go and see.One dream I have is to one day go visit all the major league ballparks and watch a game there. I was able to cross one park off my list when I visited Royals Stadium in Kansas City. The ballpark was beautiful, with a giant waterfall in right field. We even got to see a grand slam hit out into the water. Between the bar-b-que and the game, it was an overall good time. Oakland was able to pull out a win in their last at-bat.
However, the highlight of my baseball experience was in visiting Rosenblatt Stadium, the home of the Omaha Royals. I love the experience and all the gimmicks of minor league baseball. Although, it was the College World Series that will stick in my mind the most. This was the final year the CWS would be held at Rosenblatt, and, as a child, I can remember watching the games on TV each June and July and being caught up in the experience of that distinctive ping. I was lucky enough to go to two games. 
The first time I walked into the stadium, it felt like I had traveled to the ballpark in the movie The Natural. Ironically enough, the right fielder was wearing Roy Hobbs’ number 9, but there wasn’t a Hobbsian feat of hitting the ball into the lights, sending down a shower of sparks. The second game I saw was the last game played at Rosenblatt during the CWS, as Omaha is building a new stadium to host the series next year. The game was fantastic. The underdogs of the University of South Carolina had a 1-0 lead in the best of 3 series going into that game with UCLA. The game ended up going into extra innings, with the Gamecocks pulling off a walk-off win in the 11th inning. It was a great way for my summer baseball fun to end.
