The Portal

Chapter 9

     Just to hear that name caused David's heart to skip a beat. It had never occurred to him that they might be there to see the Brooklyn Dodgers. David's family had been big followers of the national pastime for as long as he could remember. The thought of visiting an old ballpark that no longer existed in his time would be mind blowing for any fan of the game.

     "What's so special about this date?" David asked, as he couldn't remember. "Why did you want me to be here with you?"

     "And spoil the surprise?" Ricky replied, "Let's get some tickets and I'll show you when we get there."

     Ricky hailed a cab, and it took them only a short time to get the ballpark and when they got out, Ricky had no trouble buying two tickets to catch the game. Once they were in the ballpark, David was beside himself in awe. He had read a lot of articles about the ballpark but he was never able to see it with his own eyes as it had been demolished in nineteen sixty, long before he was even born. He had read about how short the wall was in left, but to actually see it was amazing. The right field cover was over fifty feet shorter than the corner in left, dimensions that he rarely saw in his time's modern ballparks. The architecture had more to do with the space the ball park hard to work with rather than trying to look fancy. And the dirt behind home plate was just infinite, going almost to the backstop. The seats Ricky had bought were on the first base line, about twenty rows back. Their spot in the field was about ten feet past first base so they were on the right field side. David had took in the view and then looked back to his brother.

     "This is amazing," David said, smiling at his brother. "Why couldn't we get closer to the field?"

     "We can't get too close," Ricky replied, "We don't want to accidentally photo bomb a historic picture. We have to hang back."

     "Fair enough," David said, "Is your first time being here too?"

     "Oh no," Ricky said, laughing. "I've seen at least a dozen games here. I've saw half of them with Dad, which is why he told me to bring you here. Do you remember hearing Dad tell me to take you to a game?"

     "I do remember," David said, as he did recall the old man saying that. "So what makes this date so special?"

     "Because of him," Ricky said, as he pointed to someone on the field.

     David turned around and realized who his brother was pointing to almost immediately. Since the guy on the field was the only black man standing out there, he stuck out like a sore thumb. David's jaw gaped open when he finally realized who he was looking at.

     "Holy shit!" David called out, "That's Jackie Robinson!"

     "Yes it is," Ricky said, "And watch your language. There are kids here and they'll kick you out for something like that."

     "Okay, I'm sorry..." David said, toning down to a whisper. He stood there in awe and watched Robinson take some warm up grounders at first, getting ready for the game. David thought about it for a moment and then smiled when he finally realized the significance of the date Ricky picked.

     "This is his first game, isn't it?" David asked.

     "Yes," Ricky confirmed, as he was just as excited. "Yes it is."

     "This is awesome," David said, as he was really excited.

     "Listen carefully," Ricky said, whispering to his brother. "Regardless of what happens, don't respond too loudly. Just let history play out like it did before. We're here to watch the game, not interfere in how it played out."