I think it’s safe to say spring has arrived in Prince George, and I’ve got spring fever, so this week it’s going to be some random stuff.
I have a suggestion for people who drive the extended trucks, whether they’re extended cabs or extended beds: Try to park as close as possible to other vehicles, especially in parking lots. I was at Spruceland Shopping Centre last week and was driving down one of the lanes in the parking lot.
There was a large truck parked there, and I could see the front of the truck was at least a foot away from where the space ended. That meant the back of the truck was close to halfway out into the traffic lane. Not the safest situation.
On that same trip, strangely enough, I found myself coming up behind a cyclist. He was riding close to the curb on the correct side of the street and wearing a helmet. In short, he was doing everything right.
Then he leaned down for some reason and swerved out into the traffic lane. I was far enough back that it wasn’t a problem and he recovered quickly and got back near the curb, but it was still a little unsettling.
The first two no-hitters of the 2021 baseball season were five days apart. The first one was the first no-hitter in the history of the San Diego Padres, who entered the National League in 1969. The Montreal Expos (remember them?) entered the league the same year. It took them nine games to throw their first no-hitter.
The thing this year’s first two no-hitters had in common was quite unusual. In both games, there was only one baserunner. In each case, he got on by being hit by a pitch.
There was another baseball occurrence this week with a Canadian connection. The Cleveland Indians had runners on first and third base against the Cincinnati Reds with nobody out.
The next batter hit a hard line drive up the first-base line. First baseman Joey Votto, out of Toronto, snagged the line drive, then dove and tagged the runner before he could get back to first.
The runner who had been on third, for some reason, took off as soon as the ball was hit, slid across home plate, then headed to the dugout.
Votto got to his feet, saw the runner sliding into home and realized there was no way the runner could have waited on third base until Votto caught the line drive and still have gotten to the plate that quickly.
On the highlight that I was watching, you can see Votto check with a teammate to make sure the runner had left early, then throw the ball to third base. Base tagged, triple play completed.
I’ve often said, I love baseball because no matter how many games you watch, the next one might have something you’ve never seen before.