Tim Byrdak also drove up to the Space Coast to witness Discovery’s launch. Either because he planned in advance or because Major Leaguers just have way more access to cool stuff than most of us do, he got to watch it from about 3.5 miles away, about as close as you can be if you’re not yourself lifting off. Plus he got to ride on a bus with astronauts and talk about robots and stuff.

Byrdak confirmed that the space shuttle launch was awesome. Apparently from that close, you can feel the rumbling of ignition and everything. Josh Stinson overheard us and said he caught a launch last year from a golf course here in Port St. Lucie. He said he went out to a Par-5 and laid down on the fairway. Not a bad plan.