Monday, May 20, 2013

A Grandal sighting in Des Moines, Iowa

There was a Yasmani Grandal sighting in Des Moines, Iowa over the weekend. And I don't mean the Gypsy Queen autographed jersey card I almost bought at the Urbandale card show on Sunday...
 
In reality, I mean Yasmani Grandal back in a Padres uniform, albeit a Tucson Padre uni. Apparently Grandal's 50-game suspension is up, becuase he nade an apperance at Sunday May 19th's Tucson Padres - Iowa Cubs game at Principal Park in Des Moines. After warming up RHP Nick Vincent in the Padres bullpen, Grandal dumped his equipment and raced to the Tucson dugout.
 
 
He then pinch-hit for Vincent to lead off the 9th inning, While he didn't look uncomfortable at the plate, he still ended up striking out in the final game of the four game set.
 
 
While we weren't able to attend Friday or Saturday's games, it seems Grandal played his first game of the season on Saturday, playing catcher and earning two hits in four at bats, including a RBI, singling to center and bringing home LF Mike Wilson.

Tucson has since departed Des Moines, opening up a four-game series in Omaha. My wife and I did enjoy the pair of games we saw and yes, we did take a bit of good-natured guff for wearing our Padres gear.

While the Padres split the four-game series with the I-Cubs, losing the two games we were at, one of the biggest disappointments was the  Classic Baseball Cards giveaway on Sunday. I was hoping to get some nice minor league cards (even if they would have been the I-Cubs), but instead, my wife received a package with 39, 1986 Topps cards and I received 25, 1990 Fleer baseball cards. At least mine had five Padres cards - Eric Show, Mark Parent, Carmelo Martinez, Mark Grant, and Joey Cora.
 

 
 

3 comments:

  1. That's a bummer about the cards, at least '90 Fleer is a decent set. Still, minor league cards are pretty awesome. Grandal's suspension is 50 Major League games, but at some point (apparently now) he's able to start playing in the minors to warm up.

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  2. I would have been thrilled out of my mind to get a free Joey Cora card at a game!

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