Meet the Fan-ily: The Smiths!
We keep going. That's what the team's about. That's what the games are about.
by Joe Horton
If you don’t know them, you’ve seen them. Right at the end of the left field bleachers, flag proudly unfurled, at every game (almost). Kime and Drake Smith are the father-and-son superfans whose love of the Ballers and Raimondi Park runs deep. We chat about making quality time, knowing players as people, flags catching foul balls, seeing 100 home games, and knockerball—all during a game, of course, in their favorite seats. They are everything that’s good about B’s baseball and this fan-ily.
You guys are super-super fans. What makes you fans of the Ballers?
Kime: I think we found out about the Ballers around the time that Oakland A’s were leaving, or we found out Oakland was leaving. Growing up in the Bay Area, Oakland was our team, and I really as a child looked forward to going to the games, and I wanted to share that experience with my son. We got that opportunity stolen when the team left. That made us fans of the Ballers from the start.
I think that's a lot of folks' stories, certainly mine with my son. So that gets you in the door; you might come a couple times a year, but you two are deep and abiding and for me inspirational fans. So once you got here, what did you like about it to keep coming back?
Kime: Our first game was, I think, the Father's Day game of the first season. And that really kind of cemented the idea that this was gonna be a thing for me and my son. He’d just started playing Little League baseball that season too. So it was just a really good combination. It was stars aligning. I spend a lot of time at work, and this is a real good opportunity for us to bond. The other thing was the sense of community. Meeting people and seeing the same people sit in your section, game after game, we just really enjoyed it. It’s a really good opportunity to spend time with my son and get away from work and get disconnected—try to get him off his phone, too, and keep him interested in the sport.
And Drake, what's it like for you to be a baseball player and to watch baseball as a fan here?
Drake: I feel like watching as a fan can help me understand tactics. That can help me in my level of play, because we're not really that good yet, so seeing how they cut off at different positions to impact the play, it just like helps me. I can see what the pros are doing, so I know what to do in my own game.
What your dad says about having some time to spend with his son rings true to me as a dad, but I want to hear your side of it. Do you say, well, dad wants to go, so I’ll go, or what’s your take on it?
Drake: I like having the time to spend with my dad, because he's always working and I'm at school, and, like, when he’s not working, I'm playing with my friends. So having a couple hours to spend with him each day—there you go.
What do you appreciate coming to game after game? What small things do you pick up on?
Kime: Boy, that's kind of a trick question. Part of the whole experience of a baseball game is that every single game is unique on the field and off the field…So it's just kind of the enjoyment of something new and seeing amazing plays that you might miss if you're not there.
On your Instagram, you have a funny post about being a B’s addict. Is that kind of what it feels like? I know I can empathize with that.
Kime: Yeah, I guess in a sense, it is an addiction. It's like, it's not really an option not to go to the game unless it's completely impossible. Like, I'm out of town. Yesterday was the first game I missed since somewhere in the first season, and that was because I was out of town. It's just kind of a dopamine hit, you know? There's a product, and you know what you're gonna get. There's some surprises along the way, some different faces, but every time you're gonna enjoy it and leave happy, even if the team doesn’t win.
And so I make sure I have that right—you went to all the games last season, and yesterday is the first one you missed this season?
Kime: I missed one of the playoff games last season because I was in LA for a wedding. But made every other home game.
That's amazing. And Drake, what about you?
Drake: I think I missed, well, because my dad missed one, he couldn’t take me. So that one. And I had two birthday parties on a Saturday and Sunday, and because those are like earlier games, I had to miss them. So I’ve missed only three this year.
Kime: I think I did a rough calculation. We’ve been to over 100 home games.
That’s incredible. And you two are very iconic over here in this spot; even if folks don’t know you, they know you from where you sit and your flag. What was that decision? How did you settle on this spot?
Kime: It came over time. We sat all over, every single section, I think, except the singles section. But we kind of settled here because this is a great view of the entire game. We get to chat with whoever's playing left field. We get to hang our flag without it being obstructed. I know the players can see it. One of the coaches came out once because he was wondering who the heck is hanging this flag out here. It's been a best of both worlds kind of thing: roomy and a good view. And the seats are always here.
Do you have a favorite memory or a couple of memories that you can pull out of all these games that you've been to?
Drake: I remember when we were sitting down there and a light shattered recently. I remember when a ball hit our flag and our flag caught it.
Kime: Yeah, our flag actually—right in the center of the B, a foul ball hit, and the whole flag collapsed around it. Then we were pulling the flag back apart, the ball kind of dropped out.
That's amazing. And you still have that ball?
Kime: Uh, do we?
Drake: We must, somewhere.
Kime: Sitting here, we get so many foul balls and players throwing balls up. We literally have probably over 200 balls…But that was a special one. We have other special things: Drake got a bat from [Dondrei] Hubbard the first year, so that's on the bookshelf next to his desk. And just getting to interact with the players, having that opportunity, how they're very approachable and willing to talk to you for a little bit. That's another level of this being a special place for us. Because you get to actually know the players, and being able to see the effort they put out, because you know they're trying to get to that next level, and being able as a fan to not just encourage their play, but encourage their career.
When I post stuff, part of it is to try to help promote them and hype them up, because I know a lot of them look at social media, and when they see stuff, it's encouraging for them. We got to know Zach St. Pierre pretty well, and I made Drake a shirt with a picture I took of Zach up in Davis and it said, ZSP. We showed that to Zach and he got a kick out of that. Yeah. Just getting to know the players as people has really been special.
Most important of all: you recently competed against your section-mate John in knockerball, the holiest of holies here at Raimondi Park. Why did you decide, now, to do that?
Kime: We’ve been watching it since the first season and we always kind of, you know, joust about who would do it first and who we'd want to go against. And [Drake’s] always wanted me going against Kenny, and then John here started sitting in our section so he wanted me to go against John. So today, I guess, was a dream come true for Drake, until he watched me lose.
What is your advice if someone is planning on doing knockerball?
Kime: If you're planning on doing knockerball, you should definitely stretch ahead of time. I was only stretching my right leg, and it was my left leg that kind of went out on me. So I think if I had stretched a little bit, that would have helped. It was a lot of fun. Win or lose, a lot of fun.
Drake, was it everything you'd hope for?
Drake: I hoped my dad would at least, like... run, or knock them down.
He got a knock down!
Drake: Barely.
Kime: He said there's an asterisk on it. He thinks John just lost his footing.
Drake: Yeah, yeah, I think John just stumbled. You said you hurt your leg—
Kime: Yeah, I pulled a hammy on the first one.
—But you kept going?
Kime: I kept going. That's what the team's about. That's what the games are about.
Joe Horton is the editor of Dispatches from Raimondi.
