Looking back at Majewski’s time with the Ironpig’s can be bittersweet. With the Nation cheering him on, it seemed he couldn’t get a break on the mound. Many showings ended poorly, errors added with walks and then a bloop base hit doomed him as the Ironpig’s closer for the 2009 season.
While his performance on the mound made many cringe, he quickly became a fan favorite especially for those in the Noise Nation. Sporting a long mustache early in the season led to the formation of “Majewski’s Militia.” The Militia planted themselves out by the bullpen with a big sign and fake mustaches but soon found their way over to right center field with the Noise Nation.
What did we learn from Gary Majewski?
We learned to have fun regardless of results.
We also learned that you shouldn’t throw water on the grounds crew as they drive by for various promotional tshirt launches.
If you’ve never been to Coca Cola Park or just didn’t take notice of this new found tradition, I will explain. Usually between the bottom of the 4th and top of the 5th innings, the grounds crew would hop in the back of a pickup truck loaded with tshirts and an air cannon. As they circled the track around the playing field, they would toss tshirts and other items into the stands and noticeably never seemed to send a souvenir towards the Noise Nation. I suppose Gary noticed this and started tossing water on the truck as it passed by the bullpen. It started with a cup of water, then to a bucket of water and eventually we come to the video clips below.
Towards the end of the season, the grounds crew had enough. They conspired with Gary’s teammates and got ahold of Gary’s prized pickup truck. Loaded with squirt guns, fire extinguishers and a big sign emblazoned with “Gary Majewski’s Truck!” they passed by the bullpen to a surprised Majewski wearing a raincoat realizing he had just thrown water into his own truck.
Gary was not to be outdone. On the last homegame of the season he enlisted his own team, the visiting team and the Noise Nation to assist. Buckets of water and flour came from every angle of the 360 degree concourse at Coca Cola Park. The below video only catches the first few hits, but you get the idea.
So when we look back at all the good times last summer, we have to thank Gary Majewski for helping us to have a good time during the season. Good luck with the Astros Gary, you will be missed! (Well, maybe not by the grounds crew…)
Video by Noise Nation member George Kordalski
noisenation.mlblogs.com 