A Game of Numbers: The Odd Coincidences of My Friend’s Baseball Birthday
There were so many strange coincidences that day and it all lined up
30th birthday celebration for my friend
September 21, 2008. The game was the Oakland A’s versus the Seattle Mariners. This isn’t going to be the only time that stuff gets memorable. Throughout this story, there are odd numerical coincidences that’ll line up with the main theme. It was just one of those days. It starts with one of my best friends at the time, Billy.
He was turning 30 on the day of the game. It was a big one to celebrate as it is considered a large milestone for most people. At the time of the game, I hadn’t experienced that milestone just yet as I was four years younger than my friend and I was just excited to be a part of the celebration, the experience, and going to Oakland with him to watch his favorite baseball team with him and his family.
A delightfully fun and festive celebration and family time
His family sure knew how to celebrate game day right. We had a little bit of tailgate before the game and came in right as the game would start. I remember drinking a few beers before the game that day and the weather was perfect in the early autumn for an occasion such as this. It was warm, but not too warm. We all had our A’s gear on, that was except for me.
I didn’t really have anything to wear. My friend, Billy, had a surprise for me that day. It wasn’t mine, at least not yet, but he gave me an A’s hat to wear for the occasion. I was eternally grateful. I should’ve been the one giving him a gift this day. Now I wouldn’t feel left out and the game wouldn’t seem so distant from me.
Jays fan is not so out of place now
I’m a long-time Blue Jays fan, but since my Jays weren’t playing that day, I could root for the same team as my friend. We got into the stadium with all of our gear on and ready to go. The cool thing about the Oakland experience is that the ballpark is very fan-oriented. There is a dedicated section of banner wavers in the left to center field section of the park. We had our seats there, just over the 330-foot mark in left field.
We were maybe three to six rows back from the wall, close enough to be close to the dedicated fan wavers but far enough back to also see the action on the baseball diamond. Before the game had started, I hadn’t really followed the A’s but I knew so much about baseball that I knew all of the players. After all, I did live in Sacramento and the River Cats, who were the A’s minor league team at the time, played just across the Sacramento River from the city in West Sacramento.
Former River Cats players and recognizing A’s players that day
The names I recognized on the A’s team that day were mostly players I’d seen from attending River Cats games. One name stood out to me in particular and he’d play a big role in the game that day. His name is Jack Cust. He was the designated hitter for the Oakland A’s that day and before the day started, he was sitting on 29 home runs. He was due for another and that would give him a late-season push to 30 or more.
Wouldn’t that be quite special if something like that happened on my friend’s 30th birthday? Well, enough suspense already…
The game, well now we’re late in the game since nothing really exciting happened early
Seattle was up 3–0 in the game going into the seventh inning. I thought for sure that the game was going to go Seattle’s way and that everyone in attendance at our party was going to go home disappointed. I was sending out positive vibes and hoping for a miracle that day. I don’t know if what happened in the next two innings was a miracle, but it was certainly a perfect end and the perfect coincidence.
First, Bobby Crosby hit a double that scored a run, then Daric Barton walks, and Aaron Cunningham ends up knocking in both Bobby Crosby and Daric Barton which ties the game. I was hoping for a game-winning rally but a game-tying rally in the ninth was just as good. The A’s had tied it 3–3 going into the eighth.
The A’s got themselves three quick outs in the top of the inning and then Seattle reliever Miguel Batista came in for starter Brandon Morrow. He was the one Seattle was looking to so that the score would stay tied. In the eighth inning, Ryan Sweeney walks. Now it’s Jack Cust’s turn up to bat, he hadn’t had a hit all game, and he was one of the better power hitters that year for Oakland. He was due for another home run.
“Was the magical number 30 meant to be?’’ and the strange coincidences
Then, all of a sudden, almost out of a storybook, something spectacular happened. He hit the ball deep. Is it fair? Wait, it’s coming towards our group? We’re in the fair territory over the 330-foot wall in left field for Jack Cust’s 30th home run of the season to take the lead and possibly cement the victory for the Oakland A’s.
Obviously, there was still going to be the formality of the ninth inning, but this rally and the game momentum seemed to have shifted to the A’s. My friend’s 30th birthday was 9/21, I don’t want to sound like a lunatic here but 9+21=30, the ball traveled over the 330-foot wall and cleared it. It was the winning run and the player’s 30th home run of the season. One more strange coincidence, Jack Cust’s average at the end of that game? .230.
I was the only one at first who put this all together.
Getting everyone to realize how special that moment truly was and a special gift for my friend on his birthday
Everyone else in the group had a nice buzz going and just enjoyed the ultimate A’s 5–3 victory that day over the Mariners. The numbers game and the analysis for a numbers guy haunted and amazed me well after the game. I got my friend to see it finally and he found it to be a special moment all around. We still occasionally talk about the weird coincidences of that day and how it was special for him in his own life.
I’m glad I got to be a huge part of that and the one who helped him make a special connection to the numbers that lined up for his team and for him on the game on the day of his 30th birthday. This wasn’t just a victory for his team. This was a once-in-a-lifetime moment in a once in a special lifetime alignment. By the way, I got to keep the hat and I eventually got Jack Cust’s signature on it at some point in the future after I’d told him the crazy, special tale of his special game-winning home run that day.
