One Knight in Charlotte

Before we get to the pitch clock — which was the main reason we as a family went to the Class AAA Charlotte Knights-Durham Bulls game on Wednesday night — let’s talk for a moment about a 32-year-old pitcher named Mike Wright Jr., who unknowingly became my daughter Elizabeth’s new favorite player for the oddest reason.

Elizabeth has always seen baseball through her own prism. When she was young, she would come to the ballpark armed with a book to read. It was always funny to watch her get lost in the book only to get jolted from her reverie by a loud cheer from the crowd. She would glance up with this slightly annoyed look on her face, a look that said: “Hey, I’m trying to read here.”

A bit later, she discovered the simple but undeniable truth that a hot dog and nachos taste infinitely better at a ballpark than anywhere else on earth. Humphrey Bogart used to say that a hot dog at the game beats roast beef at the Ritz.* Elizabeth made this discovery in Toledo, at a Toledo Mud Hens game, and her life was forever changed. She started wanting to go to baseball games whenever and wherever, as long as she could get her hot dog and nachos.