In honor of our the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I present you with this photo of a giant flag, which I had the honor of holding at Wrigley Field on Memorial Day 2025. If you are looking, I am the largish, small blob just to the right of the guy holding up his phone.
Tag / Memorial Day
Fitbit 12 – Week 19
Nearly two years ago, Google did away with the web interface for Fitbit, leaving the mobile app as the only way to access one’s data. Last week, they revamped the app once again, doing away with the Fitbit name and rebranding it as Google Health, losing even more functionality along the way. The new graphical representation of the weekly step totals looks a little ridiculous and, with the battery on my current device slowly failing, it may once again be time to revisit my step-counting solution going forward.
Another great week as I pushed my 30,000-step week streak to sixteen despite a lingering cold. The week got off to a decent start on Sunday, as a visit to my sister’s house to celebrate Danny’s upcoming move left me with 4500 steps. A Memorial Day trip to the ballpark on Monday pushed me up to 4900 steps. A small decrease on Tuesday, ended just 17 steps away from 4900. Wednesday was the best day of the week, thanks to a walk to Walgreens to pick up some cough medicine which left me 34 steps shy of 5900. A busy day of work on Thursday dropped me back to 4400 steps. Friday needed only 7 additional steps to reach 5000. The week wrapped up on a high note on Saturday thanks to another visit to Rate Field, falling just 17 steps short of my daily goal of 7500.
Total steps: 37,061
Daily average: 5294.4
Rockies All Time Leaders – Through 2025
To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball. With a little more than a month until regular season baseball, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Colorado Rockies.
The Rockies joined the National League as an expansion team, along with the then-Florida Marlins, in 1993. I’ve seen 154 players don the Rockies uniforms in the 20 games of theirs that I’ve attended live, first in 2002 at Wrigley Field and, most recently, this past Memorial Day when I took the field to help hold the giant flag for the national anthem.
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Preston Wilson | 2 |
| Charlie Blackmon | 2 |
| 16 tied with | 1 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Matt Holliday | 9 |
| Brad Hawpe | 8 |
| Willy Taveras | 8 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Brad Hawpe | 4 |
| Garrett Atkins | 4 |
| Todd Helton | 4 |
| Charlie Blackmon | 4 |
| Brendan Rodgers | 4 |
RBI
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Troy Tulowitzki | 4 |
| Preston Wilson | 3 |
| Jamey Carroll | 3 |
| Jay Payton | 3 |
| Luis Gonzalez | 3 |
| D.J. LeMahieu | 3 |
| Charlie Blackmon | 3 |
Doubles
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Charlie Blackmon | 3 |
| Willy Taveras | 2 |
| Todd Helton | 2 |
| Jamey Carroll | 2 |
| Matt Holliday | 2 |
Triples Continue reading →
Fitbit XI – Week 19
A great week, as I posted my highest total since my trip to Amsterdam last summer and my highest total in the US in over a year, since Angelina’s graduation last May. The week got off to a good start on Sunday, garnering 5600 steps while preparing for a garage sale the following weekend. A trip to Wrigley Field, where I got to hold the big giant flag on the field for Memorial Day, helped Monday finish well over my daily goal, coming 27 steps shy of 8400. Tuesday saw a big drop-off, finishing with 3900 steps. More garage sale prep on Wednesday left me a single step away from 5400. Thursday was the first day of the garage sale, which I visited while working, racking up 4700 steps. Things were slower on Friday, which dropped my back down to 3900 steps. The final day of the garage sale, plus a trip to the Museum of Science & Industry to see a new Spider-Man exhibit, wrapped up the week on a high note, falling just 23 steps shy of 7300.
Total steps: 39,229
Daily average: 5604.1
FB10: Week 19
A bit of a drop from the previous week, but I still managed to land on the good side of 30,000 steps. Despite rain and an aborted attempt to attend the afternoon’s White Sox game, things got off to a decent start on Sunday with 4200 steps. The Memorial Day holiday on Monday left me just 3 steps away from 3300. A trip to Guaranteed Rate field for a baseball game on Tuesday night helped push me back up, finishing 3 (again!) steps shy of 6400. I dropped back down on Wednesday, needing 32 steps to get to 4200. Another slight drop on Thursday left me 18 steps short of 4000. A walk down to the end of the block and back on Friday pushed me higher again, needing just a single additional step to reach 4500. Another rainy day on Saturday left me 20 steps shy of 4100.
Total steps: 30,634
Daily average: 4376.3
Fitbit IX – Week 19
A decent enough week, as I managed to extend my streak of 30,000-step weeks to three even though my 4000-step day streak was snapped after seventeen days. Things got off to a decent start on Sunday, which ended with 5300 steps. A small decrease on Monday wrapped up the Memorial Day weekend with 4700 steps. I made my first trip to the office for 2023 on Tuesday, which helped put me at 5400 steps. Back at home on Wednesday, I dropped down to 4000 steps. My 4000-sted day streak came to an end on Thursday, as I finished 7 steps shy of 3700. Friday was even worse, dropping down to 3000 steps. A record-breaking White Sox game on Saturday left me just 23 steps away from 4800.
Total steps: 31,021
Daily average: 4431.6
Keeping Our Eyes On Next Year’s Prize
With a little more than 8 weeks remaining in the 2020 season, Major League Baseball released their tentative 2021 schedule yesterday. For the first time in quite a while, the White Sox will be looking to compete for a title while the Cubs will be “retooling” after trading off all of their stars last week. Assuming, of course, that the 2022 season goes off as planned and the end of the collective bargaining agreement doesn’t lead to a long work stoppage. So, for one day, at least, let’s turn our attention to next summer for both teams.
The White Sox open their season at home against the Twins on March 31 for a three game tilt before heading on the road. Nothing like a potential snowstorm to get the season off to a good start. They face the Guardians for the first time on April 18 in Cleveland.
The interleague schedule pits the White Sox against the NL West, with trips to San Francisco, Colorado, and San Diego and home series against the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Rockies. The rivalry with their north side foes continues with a 2-game series at Wrigley at the beginning of May and a follow-up at Guaranteed Rate Field Memorial Day weekend.
The season ends with a 6 game road trip to Minnesota and San Diego.
On the north side, the Cubs open their season up on the road in Cincinnati, also on March 31. They come home the following Monday to open their home slate against the Cardinals.
The interleague schedule pits the Cubs against the AL East, with trips to Baltimore, New York, and Toronto and home series against the Rays, Red Sox, and Orioles.
Of their 28 games in September/October, only 7 are against their NL Central rivals, though, with the Cubs not likely to contend, that shouldn’t make much of a difference. They end the year with a 6 game homestand, facing the Phillies and the Reds.
Fitbit VII – Week 19
A move in the right direction this week, thanks in part to multiple baseball related outings. Things got off to a decent enough start on Sunday, as I traveled to Guaranteed Rate field and finished with 4700 steps. I celebrated the Memorial Day holiday on Monday with a trip to Wrigley Field, which left me with 6400 steps. Tuesday’s return trip to Wrigley Field left me over goal with 7600 steps. Left to my own devices on Wednesday, I managed only 5200 steps. Thursday was the lowest day of the week, but still had 4400 steps. Friday was back over 5000 steps, thanks to a trip out with friends after work. Saturday sent me back to the ballpark followed by a trip out for dinner, ending with 5700 steps.
Total steps: 39,311
Daily average: 5615.9
May All Time Leaders – Through 2020
With a full year of baseball on tap after last year’s troubles due to a combination of the corona virus and needless labor squabbles, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for each month in games that I have attended.
As the weather starts to turn for the better, Memorial Day weekend has played a part in my attending 160 games during the month. I’ve managed to see a game on every day of the month of May, with 10 games on the 22nd and a single game on the 11th.
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Paul Konerko | 12 |
| Sammy Sosa | 7 |
| Corey Patterson | 7 |
| Alfonso Soriano | 7 |
| Derrek Lee | 7 |
| Jermaine Dye | 7 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Alexei Ramirez | 49 |
| Paul Konerko | 47 |
| Derrek Lee | 47 |
| Alfonso Soriano | 47 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Paul Konerko | 29 |
| Alexei Ramirez | 23 |
| Derrek Lee | 23 |
RBI
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Paul Konerko | 41 |
| Aramis Ramirez | 28 |
| Alexei Ramirez | 25 |
Doubles
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Alexei Ramirez | 11 |
| Alfonso Soriano | 10 |
| Aramis Ramirez | 9 |
| Jose Abreu | 9 |
Triples Continue reading →
Fitbit 6: Week 18
Week 11 of sheltering in place due to the corona virus saw my highest step total since leaving work in mid-March. The week got off to a decent enough start on Sunday, where I came in 5 steps under 4700. Monday, thanks in part to the Memorial Day holiday, I managed to surpass my daily step total for the first time in nearly a month, finishing with 7700 steps. Tuesday was slightly worse, but still a pandemic decent 7100 steps. Wednesday fell back down to Earth, as the workers returned to start installing the new hardwood floor and I ended up with 3900 steps. Work continued on Thursday, and I came in 16 steps shy of 3700 steps. Friday moved to the sanding of the floor, and I finished the day 3 steps away from 3800. Saturday was the low point of the week, as I left home for the new floor to be stained and stayed in a hotel, which left me with only 3600 steps.
Total steps: 34,551
Daily average: 4935.9