We just received a package of Christmas gifts in the mail from my folks.  Tucked in the bottom of the box, my folks had stashed a little surprise from the past:

Yes, an “Official Speed Pitch Certificate” from the Kingdome.

Clicking on the picture will enlarge the certificate and display this explanatory note:

“The pitch was clocked by a Radar Gun, an instrument used to measure Major League pitchers.  This speed-measuring equipment has been verified to be accurate within one percent.”

So, that’s right, as a nine year old phenom, I lit up that official “Radar Gun” at a blazing 46 miles per hour (or at least within one percent of 46 miles per hour).

I remember the old Kingdome speed pitch.  It was just inside the Dome’s northern gate — just off to the right in this picture.  I couldn’t heat up the gun then, and I can’t heat it up now.  But its always been fun trying.

As you can see at the top of the certificate, there are a bunch of holes from where I tacked this “Official” certificate to the wall of my boyhood bedroom.  You will also notice that I did my best to obliterate one of the speed pitch sponsors.  I was a coca-cola drinking kid, and I didn’t want this “new generation” inspired soft drink logo muckin’ up my bedroom walls (FYI, I still prefer coke products).

Its cool to get back this little momento of past feats.  But what is even cooler is getting confirmation of a random date of a game I attended in the first few years of my Mariners fandom:  May 4, 1985.

With the help of Baseball-Reference.com, I was able to review a detailed description of this game – and it was a great one for a young Mariners fan.

The higlights:

• The Mariners won the game by a score of 8-1 over the Blue Jays.
• My favorite Mariner, Spike Owen, hit a 2-run homerun — his first of the season and sixth of his career.
• Matt Young pitched a 1-run complete game for his second win of the young season.

Hey, what more can you ask for in a night at the Kingdome.  Good times.