Making memories at Rosenblatt Stadium

August 10, 1981 was an eventful day in baseball.

Kansas City played their first game on that date after the 1981 strike ended. Cal Ripken, Jr. made his Major League debut against the Royals that day – coming into the game as a pinch-runner for Ken Singleton in the bottom of the 12th inning and scoring the winning run.

George Brett appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with Mike Schmidt (they were the reigning MVPs at the time) under the banner “Here We Go Again!”

Pete Rose recorded his 3,631th career hit, breaking Stan Musial’s NL hit record.

And, while all of that was going on, I attended an Omaha Royals baseball game at Rosenblatt Stadium with my best friend’s family. It turned out to be quite a day.

I can’t remember how we found out, but when my best friend and I heard that Mickey Mantle was in the stadium and he was signing autographs, we scrambled to find him. It wasn’t that hard because he was seated behind home plate, a little toward first base, and a line of kids was forming up the aisle.

I was only 14 at the time and had no real understanding about Mantle’s relevance to the game. In fact, as a Royals fan, I couldn’t stand the Yankees. But somehow I knew Mantle’s name was bigger than the rivalry. So I got in line with my friend.

Mantle signed a sheet of paper for me (why didn’t I have him sign a ball?), I added the date, folded it, and stuck it in my pocket. When I got home, I had enough sense to remove it and place it in plastic. Although, for some bizarre reason, I colored in the date with a pen (see the photo).

I cannot remember who the Omaha Royals played that day. In fact, I cannot even find a box score online for that particular game. Thanks to Baseball-Reference, I can see that guys like Onix Concepcion, Ron Johnson, Darryl Motley, Ken Phelps, Bombo Rivera, Pat Sheridan, Don Slaught, Jerry Cram, Atlee Hammaker and Mike Jones played for the O. Royals in 1981. But as for the game itself, I cannot remember a thing.

What I do remember is a brief encounter with Mickey Mantle at Rosenblatt Stadium with my best friend by my side.

The Omaha Royals have 25 regular season home games remaining at Rosenblatt Stadium. General manager Martie Cordaro and his staff have promotions planned nearly every one of those nights.

Players often take time to sign autographs. Casey and the other mascots roam the stands. There are planned giveaways, fireworks, concerts after games, a night dedicated to honor the 1970 championship team (August 21), and the team is playing pretty good baseball right now – they are just 0.5 games out of first place in the PCL American North division.

Pick a night or two, bring your family out to the ballpark, and make a memory – one that maybe they’ll be talking about some 29 years later.

Miss Nebraska 2006 throws out first pitch

Emily Poeschl, Miss Nebraska 2006

Last night was Ladies Night at Rosenblatt Stadium. The first 100 ladies who signed up for the postgame diamond dig were able to dig around in the infield with a spoon, looking for a pair of diamond stud earrings, in addition to other prizes.

The promotion was enough to draw Emily Poeschl, Miss Nebraska USA 2006, out to the ballpark in hopes of finding the grand prize.

“I want to win those $2,000 earrings that are down on the field tonight,” Poeschl said before the contest began. “We’ve got my sister and my mom, my aunt and I are all here. So we’ve got a four in one hundred chance of finding the diamond.”

She didn’t win the earrings, but she was one of ten women to find a box with a certificate for a “Remember Rosenblatt” commemorative plate.

Before that, Poeschl had the chance to throw out one of the ceremonial first pitches of the game between the Omaha Royals and Albuquerque Isotopes – a game that Omaha won 4-1 behind a strong pitching effort from starter Gaby Hernandez.

Poeschl was pumped up about the opportunity to throw one of the ceremonial first pitches – something she had not planned on when she came to the park, but was happy to do when one of the 100 women who won the opportunity declined it.

As a former intern for the Lincoln Saltdogs, Poeschl knows her way around the baseball diamond. She’s also a fan of the Omaha Royals.

“I’m a huge Omaha Royals fan,” Poeschl said. “Here’s an interesting fact for you – I actually went to grade school, and to middle school, high school, college with Alex Gordon. We’re friends from way back. But I’m a big Omaha Royals fan. I think it’s great for the community.

“I previously worked for the AHL team – the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights hockey team that was here in town. Things didn’t work out so well. So it’s great to see an actual professional sport that’s been able to stay here in Omaha for so long and have so much success. Hopefully that will continue on at the new stadium.”

Poeschl says being Miss Nebraska USA 2006 was the most amazing year of her life. She loved participating in community events, meeting a lot of people and working with kids. She recalled being part of the process of making one girl’s dream come true.

“Here in Omaha, I volunteered with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and modeled in a few different charity fashions shows,” Poeschl said. “It’s one thing to model in a charity fashion show, but it’s another thing to actually meet the kids who this is impacting.

“One of the girls wanted to be a model, so she wanted to be in the show and she wanted to meet Tyra Banks. So, we were able to make that wish come true for her.”

Local actor reenacts Lou Gehrig's speech at Rosenblatt

Actor Kevin Ehrhart portrayed Lou Gehrig

After reenacting Lou Gehrig’s famous “luckiest man” speech at Rosenblatt Stadium last night for the ALS Association, actor Kevin Ehrhart – who was donating his time for the event – exited the field behind home plate and walked up the steps to the main concourse. Fans high-fived him as he went and one woman stopped him with tears in her eyes to thank him.

His work with kids at the Rose Theater was his motivating factor for donating his time to give the speech.

“I’ve been an actor with the Rose Theater for 22 years and I just worked with kids, you know, I’ve spent my entire career doing that,” Ehrhart said. “And just knowing what ALS does – I’m just happy to do a little part to help out the association.

The full text of Gehrig’s speech exists, but only four lines exist on video, so reenacting mannerisms of the speech can be a challenge.

“The only footage they have is just a little of the beginning and a little of the end, so I got a little bit of that from him,” Ehrhart said. “I just made up the rest. All the emotion is kind of clear right in the text of the speech.

“Because of the fans who adore Lou Gehrig, I wanted to do it justice and make sure I did it right. Hopefully, everyone feels good about it. But it’s fun to do. It’s exciting.”

You can watch Ehrhart’s reenactment of the entire speech here: