Star Wars Wednesday - A (not so) Random Email

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Last week, Star Wars: The Weapon of a Jedi author Jason Fry dropped by KC to take in a Royals baseball game. Jason is an avid Mets fan, and blogs about the team. The Mets weren't in KC (but they will be Opening Day next year....because baseball). It turns out, Jason is on a quest to visit every Major League Baseball park and found an opportunity to knock a couple off of his list. He dropped me a message the week before, or as he later called it, a random email. 

It was great to see Jason again. We see each other at Star Wars Celebration...the last three...and keep in touch online. At the first one, we talked about how terrible the Royals and Mets were, so it's now weird to think about where the teams are now. Jason has obviously been tremendously busy in the Star Wars realm with the just-released Journey to the Force Awakens products The Weapon of a Jedi and Moving Target (with Cecil Castellucci). It was fun to talk some shop about the newly released books, though due to day job and other deadlines, I still need to finish Moving Target.

However, the main order of business was baseball and Kansas City. First was a late lunch/early dinner at historic Arthur Bryant's Barbecue, a KC icon. Then it was off to the nearby Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. It's a destination for baseball fans and, like all good destinations in your home town, one I somehow hadn't been to in all of these years. KC had a substantial history with the leagues. One of the museum's major features is a mock infield with statues of several famous players. 

 

 

After that, we headed out to Kauffman Stadium to see the Royals play the Seattle Mariners. I'd been watching the potential situations developing all week and they all came together in that game. I knew at a minimum that recently acquired (if struggling) star pitcher Johnny Cueto was on the mound for the Royals. Well, everything lined up so that with a Royals win and a Minnesota Twins loss, the Royals would clinch their first division title since 1985.

This was just for the view. Our seats were much better.

Everyone had one eye on the Twins score, and by the 8th inning or so, we knew they had lost. Now the recently struggling Royals just had to pull off the win....and they did! So, thanks to Jason's "random email" I got to see it in person, which almost certainly wouldn't have happened otherwise. It was a great game and a fun day. 

Jason followed it up by driving over to St. Louis and catching a Cardinals game. After he got home, the Mets clinched the NL East division title, so there's a chance our teams could meet in the World Series. Tonight was the one year anniversary of the incredible Wild Card game that rocketed the Royals through the playoffs to the World Series last year. 

You can catch up with Jason on twitter (above) or on tumblr. His Mets blog is Faith and Fear in Flushing. Jason posted his thoughts and a few pictures of his trip. 

So, for a bit more actual Star Wars material this week, FFG posted a couple of things of late:

  • A preview of the new Armada Rogues and Villains pack, awsomely designed to effeciently take more money from my wallet. Really, the ship selection is great. 
  • Another preview for the Force and Destiny adventure Chronicles of the Gatekeeper, highlighting how to use the adventure with Edge of the Empire and Age of Rebellion characters as well.