On the Yankees beat

The Yankees called up Terrence Long after last night's game, and if the former Mets farmhand is in the outfield tonight at Fenway Park, that will bring me back to one of my favorite memories as a fan. I'll warn you. You may think I'm a little nutty as you read this.

Back in the summer of 2002, two friends and I decided to see if it's possible to see all 30 major-league teams in 15 straight nights in 15 different stadiums, without the use of an airplane. Sorry to say, but the baseball schedule didn't allow for it. I worked every which combo, but couldn't get it done. However, we did manage to see 11 games in 11 different stadiums plus a trip to Cooperstown in 12 days. Not too shabby, eh?

(In case you're wondering, the trip put 3,008 miles on my trusty Camry.)

Anyway, now what does this have to do with Terrence Long? Glad you asked.

On our second night, we saw the Athletics face the Red Sox at Fenway. The Red Sox were down 3-2 in the ninth but threatened, and Manny Ramirez came up with two on and two out to face closer Billy Koch. And what do you know, Ramirez smashed a fastball to right-center, and it definitely looked as if he hit a game-winning three-run walkoff home run into the Red Sox bullpen ... except ... Long made a remarkable leaping grab, reaching over the wall to snag it and end the game. I still remember myself marvelling at how Fenway Park went so mute in less than a second.

Okay, I apologize for the trip down memory lane... I will log back on later with a more Yankee-related blog item. No more memories. I promise.