I have a Franklin Gutierrez bobblehead doll

Last night my wife, daughter, and I went to see the Seattle Mariners lose 9-0 to the Cleveland Indians. It was also Franklin Gutierrez Bobblehead Night (see picture, above). Earlier this week, Manny Ramirez hit a pinch-hit grand slam for the Dodgers at Manny Ramirez Bobblehead Night, and we were hoping for something similar from Franklin Gutierrez. It didn't happen, though-- he went 0-for-2 with a walk (see picture, below).

Gutierrez also tried, but failed, to catch a home run hit by Travis Haffner in the 7th inning. (see picture, below).

Also at the game were such celebrities as Flo Rida and members of the Everton FC squad, including Tim Cahill (below, holding the baseball), who has the same birthday as I do.

Historically significant baseball games I have attended #2

Who was playing? Cleveland Indians versus Seattle Mariners

Where did they play? The Kingdome, Seattle, WA

When did they play? May 2, 1996

Did I know this game might be significant before it started? No. I was just looking forward to seeing the Indians play the Mariners, a rematch of the previous year's American League Championship Series.

What happened? Ken Behring, owner of the Seattle Seahawks, had been publicly demanding a new stadium for his football team. If not given one, he threatened to move the Seahawks to some other city where they appreciated and supported football. Behring claimed that the Kingdome would collapse in the event of an earthquake. King County owned the stadium, and their officials and engineers insisted that the Kingdome was completely safe, even though there had already been serious problems back in 1994 - collapsing ceiling tiles, cancelled baseball games, and two deaths during repair work.

On May 2, 1996, in the 7th inning of the Indians-Mariners game, Seattle was struck by an earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale.

Ken Behring doing charitable work.

What do I remember? My friend Jeremy was visiting from New York, and we wanted to see the Indians play, mostly because they had Albert Belle. (For those of you too young to remember Albert Belle, just imagine Milton Bradley on steroids.)

Jeremy and I had seats pretty high up on the third base side. The box score shows that Albert Belle hit a home run, but I don't remember anything about that. All I remember is that Orel Hershiser pitched well for Cleveland until the 7th inning. Indians manager Mike Hargrove was walking out to the mound to replace Hershiser when the earthquake struck.

I remember how the entire row we were sitting in suddenly started rocking forwards and backwards and a little bit to the right. When I looked around to see what kind of moron was kicking the seats so hard, I saw that all the seats everywhere were doing the same thing. My next thought was that the building was spontaneously collapsing (it happens sometimes). Finally I either heard or thought the magic word - "earthquake" - and figured out what was happening. Jeremy later told me I had a big smile on my face. I remember mostly just wondering who was right - Ken Behring or the King County engineers.

The earthquake was over pretty quickly. It was very quiet, and there was no noticeable damage. Everyone evacuated the Kingdome in a calm and orderly fashion, except for one short, agitated woman who came shoving her way down the exit ramp - "There's an earthquake! Earthquake! Earthquake! Everyone out of my way! Earthquake! Earthquake!" We all stepped aside and let her go through and then continued our own evacuation.

Was there an aftermath? The game was obviously suspended at that point, and the Kingdome was declared safe by the engineers and inspectors in time for the next day's game. The two teams finished the suspended game (the Indians won) before playing their regularly-scheduled game (the Indians won that, too). I didn't go see the ending of the game, but I have enjoyed telling this story for many years.

Albert Belle shows the Boston Red Sox where his power comes from during the 1995 playoffs.

Abandoned Books and/or Movies #2

Becoming Manny: Inside the Life of Baseball's Most Enigmatic Slugger; written by Jean Rhodes (professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts in Boston) and Shawn Boburg (reporter at The Record in Bergen County, New Jersey); authorized by Manny Ramirez (leftfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, formerly of the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians).

Fun facts you might learn if you read this book:

• As a child, Manny Ramirez suffered from an "intense fear of the dark." (page 23)
• Manny Ramirez's great-grandmother worked as a nanny for the children of the Dominican Republic's "tyrannical dictator, Rafael Leonidas Trujillo." (page 15) (Trujillo pictured below)

• In high school, rather than attend class, Manny Ramirez enjoyed hanging out in the lunchroom and talking to his girlfriend Kathy, friends, baseball fans, security guards, and cafeteria workers. (page 73)

Above, Manny Ramirez versus a fly ball

I read up to page 91 (out of 304) in this book, when Manny Ramirez was a junior in high school. At that point, I stopped reading, because I decided that the book was boring.

Note: Becoming Manny was published in early 2009, so it does not cover Manny Ramirez's 50-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. Manny Ramirez returns from his suspension tonight, in a game against the San Diego Padres.

Best baseball news from Monday that you might have missed

Back in 2005, then Seattle Mariners catcher Miguel Olivo hit a home run into the left field bleachers that hit my aunt in the leg and left a large bruise. Last Monday night, Olivo, now playing for the Kansas City Royals, had another big night. Olivo tripled and homered against the Minnesota Twins to help lead his team to a 4-2 victory.

Above, Olivo receives congratulations from his teammates.

Below, Olivo's home run leaves the ballpark.

In other news, former Cardinals reliever Chris Perez (below) celebrated his recent trade to the Cleveland Indians by hitting the first two batters he faced - Alexei Ramirez (in the head) and Jermaine Dye (in the hand).

Below, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and other interested parties examine Alexei Ramirez after he was hit by Perez's pitch.