On Perspective
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| Metro Bank Park, 2013 |
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) vs.Harrisburg Senators (Washington Nationals)
Metro Bank Park
Eastern League (AA)
Harrisburg, PA
7:00 PM
Outside of the Game:
I-78.
Again.
This was seriously in danger of becoming a "thing."
This weekend, I was out to points further west, but for most of the trip, I was following the previous week's journey. It was all seeming very familiar, if with an extra hour tacked on.
Possessing only a half tank of gas, I knew I was going to have to stop during the drive, and I somehow forgot to have lunch before I left, so I was also going to need to grab some food. Knowing this, in addition to some weird premonition I had, I gave myself an extra half hour for drive time and set out without a nap. We are deeply, deeply into First World problems at this point.
Everything was going swimmingly, and speed limits were being casually referenced. I planned on getting to around Allentown and dumping off for food and gas. Except that traffic all of a sudden stopped dead about four miles from the first Allentown exits. I'm talking from 75 to zero in a quarter mile. As I nervously looked at my gas gauge and my stomach let me know its opinion, there was just nothing that could be done about it. The way the traffic was proceeding in small fits and then inactivity, there was clearly something serious up ahead and people were just squeaking past it, and the small gains were rippling back in minor advances.
By the time I got to the end of it after twenty minutes or so, I was getting nervous about gas, but I immediately stopped being concerned about that when I saw the first fireman ahead who was diverting traffic into the leftmost lane. I know enough firefighters to know the look that he had. There was something not good ahead.
A little further down the road was a pick-up truck upside down on the side of the road, completely burned out. There was an ambulance on the scene that was not moving. None of it pointed to anything positive.
The road immediately opened up after, though the east-bound side of 78 was backed up for miles with rubber-neckers on the other side. I eventually got off at the next exit, and with the lost time, I was only able to get gas and jump back on the road. The gas pump kept kicking out and wouldn't stay depressed until my entire tank was full, and the only thing semi-edible in the gas station mart was a bag of trail mix, but my troubles ultimately seemed a little less dire, given the circumstances.
The rest of the trip went without incident, and I found my way with little effort onto City Island Park, where the ballpark was located. Slightly punch-drunk from the driving, I think the parking attendant might have thought I was challenged or drunk, depending on how charitable she was being. I eventually was able to park without killing anyone and go on my way.
City Island Park was this nifty little island in the middle of the Susquehanna River, located right across from downtown Harrisburg. There was one car bridge and a few pedestrian bridges that took you straight back into downtown or across to the other side. The whole island was a big family park, and in addition to the ballfield, there was a soccer field, an arcade and batting cage complex, a riverboat ride, a horse and carriage ride, a big mini-golf course, and a canoe and paddleboat rental place. There were also several little education spots on the island. Seemed like a good place to take the family for a day.
After the game, I cut out before the fireworks, of which I was getting a little sick at this point in the year. I got out to my car and was on my way as the show started, and since it was just before 10 PM, I had a good shot of getting home significantly before 1 AM.
The ride back was seamless, and I was flying all the way, mostly just to keep up with the traffic on the road. Hugging the "E" on my gas meter again since I only got a half-tank near Allentown, I pulled into Hoboken at about 12:40, gassed up, put my car in the garage, and passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow back home.
The Stadium & Fans:
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| Home plate to center field, Metro Bank Park |
Frankly, anything was going to pale in comparison after Baseballtown the week before, but Metro Bank Park wasn't a slouch. The unique location on the park on the island was interesting to begin with, and the way the park itself was oriented was also out of the ordinary. This was another (relatively) old park that had undergone a ton of renovations, but here, as opposed to Reading, you really couldn't even see any of the old park anymore. The main entrance was out in right field, as home plate was butting up against the soccer field next door. There was only one other regular entrance to the park, which was by first base in the handicapped parking lot. I went in that way, because the main line was out to the batting cages when the gates opened.
The main grandstand, which was once the old ballpark, was still behind home plate. It was separated into two seating areas by a main promenade halfway up. The Stadium Club was located on the promenade behind home plate, and two stairways on either end of the grandstand led up to the luxury suite level at the very top of the grandstand on either side of the broadcast booth.
Along first base and right field was a row of bleachers extending up from a walkway, and a smaller set of seats extended down from there. The Giant Picnic Pavilion was off in right field. Also behind right field was a large plaza, reminiscent again of a similar area in Reading. There were a row of specialty concessions, a grill stall, a small stage, and a speed pitch.
In the corners of each outfield were the entrances to the "boardwalk" in the outfield. Both outfields had a line of barstool seating, and there was the Bud Light Bulls Eye bar underneath the scoreboard in center and a better-than-average buffalo wings place in left. Also in left were a set of "Cheap Seats" bleachers sponsored by Ollie's Bargain Outlet, complete with a big inflatable version of Ollie. The team store and food concessions were also on the left field patio.
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| "Why?" screams Decency. |
By the main entrance in left, they had a lifeguard for the "boardwalk," along with a bunch of food concessions, a program stand, and the guest services booth. The boardwalk extended down the third-base side, with a bunch of tables for charities and the like. Picnic tables lines the third-base boardwalk, and a small section of seats over-hangs the field. Dugout-level seating is on the field down the third-base side, as well.
There is a lower level to the third-base side, where the Kids Area lives. It extends around under the grandstand, where the smoking area and a couple of concession stands are located, and opens out to the right field plaza.
The Senators mascot is Rascal the river monster, seemingly an excuse to have a Sesame Street-looking thing run around the park all night. The between-innings activities were mostly minor-league standards, with the exception of a rather suggestive balloon popping race (where couples have to race to get balloons and then pop them on their partner in increasingly provocative ways) and an animal-acting event where kids gets animal masks and then have to act like their animal, which always seems to bring the adorable. There was also an air guitar competition that showed, beyond any shadow of doubt, that the fan squad members have no idea what a guitar is.
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| Rascal, the river monster |
The place was packed beyond capacity the night I went, and while there were a lot of families, there was a respectable level of hard-core baseball fans in the bunch, as well. There was a very small contingent of far-off Maine fans representing the opposition.
Another note on atmosphere, there is a crap-ton of bugs in it. Seemingly out of nowhere, a pestilent swarm of calendar-challenged mayflies descended on the field. They were thick for an inning or so and then thinned out, but I heard that one time a game had to be cancelled because of them. I wonder if Joba Chamberlain ever had to pitch here coming up with the Trenton Thunder?
At the Game with Oogie:
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| Boneless wings and Gatorade |
I once again secured a ticket via phone before heading out. I got a seat right behind the home dugout, as that seems the thing to do these days. The seat was right on top of the field and right behind the dugout, so I got a front-row view of most of the dugout activities between-innings. One of the camera men plopped himself in the seat right in front of me for most of the game. He was mostly taking crowd shots and helped out showing all the games that happened on the dugout for the main scoreboard feed. By getting a pretty good look at his camera for most of the game, I'm pretty sure I could pick up and use it if I had to. So there's that.
I was surrounded not by families, but by older couples in what I imagined was the season ticket section. All of them were quite into the game, which was nice. The wife of the couple to my left was particularly fervent and even after being staked to a big lead was having kittens in the bottom of the ninth when runners got on base. Her husband was particularly not fond of the number nine man in the Senators' order, and he gave him a hard time whenever he came back to the dugout without a hit.
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| A few bugs |
When the mayfly infestation came down in the sixth, she helpfully explained to me that my light-colored clothing attracted the flies, which would explain why I became quite covered with them for the innings of the heavy swarm. Good to know for the future, I guess. I was just happy that I had finished my boneless chicken wings before the game. I can't imagine the horror show that would have resulted if anyone had an open beverage cup or sticky food when the mayflies showed up. shiver
The Game:
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| First pitch, Sea Dogs vs. Senators |
The Senators have already clinched their division and were playing the middle-of-the-road Sea Dogs. It would seem that the Senators would walk away with it, and they did, but only after the game looked to be going dramatically in the other direction.
The Sea Dogs started it off with back-to-back, two-out singles in the top of the first, but the threat ended with a ground-out to second. The Senators were simply obliterated in the bottom of the first. I have never seen any team so dominated in my life. The Sea Dog starter blew away the order, pitching in the mid-nineties. The batters weren't even close during their strikeouts. I was thinking this game would be over in an hour, and I was wondering how good the Red Sox's rotation was that this guy wasn't in the bigs already.
In the top of the second, the Sea Dogs continued the two-out hits with a two-out triple, but this one was stranded by a strikeout. The Sea Dogs pitcher got two quick ground-outs to start the second, but the third batter in the inning got some wood on a fastball, and sent it to left for a single. A wild-pitch moved him to second. The next batter doubled to center to bring in the run, and the batter after him walked. So the Sea Dogs starter was bad with guys on base. That was flaw one that was likely keeping him down here. He did whiff the next batter to end the inning with the Senators up, 1-0.
The Sea Dogs went in order in the third, and the Senators had a leadoff single erased on a stolen base attempt, and that was it for the inning. The fourth was a repeat of the third for the Sea Dogs, and all the Senators managed was a batter reaching first on a two-out error by the third baseman. Both teams went in order in the fifth, as it seemingly settled down to a pitcher's duel.
In the sixth, a bunch of things happened. The Sea Dogs managed a single in their half of the inning, but it also marked the beginning of a swarm of mayflies that just carpeted the field and stands. I'm not sure if it affected the Sea Dogs pitcher or not, but he fell apart in the bottom of the inning. He started off allowing a walk, then a single, then another walk to load the bases. (As this was the "Grand Slam" inning, the crowd was getting interested now.) Another single brought in two runs and left it first and second with no outs and chased the starter. Another single loaded the bases again, but a scorcher to second was caught, making it one out. A walk kept the bases loaded and brought in a run. Another single to left brought in two more runs, and then a throwing error from left let another run come in on the play and put the batter on second. Another single brought him in. Batting around now, another scorcher was caught by the shortstop for two outs, but the next batter singled, to make it first and second again. But the next batter struck out to end the half, but not before the Senators blew the game open, 8-0.
The defeated Sea Dogs went in order in the seventh and eighth. The Senators had a leadoff double in the seventh that got stranded and a hit batsman in the eighth that was also stranded. The Sea Dogs showed some life in the ninth, with a one-out single that went to second on a passed ball. The next batter walked to make it first and second, but a strikeout and groundout closed up the Senators' win.
The Scorecard:
Sea Dogs vs. Senators, 08/17/13. Senators win. 8-0.
The scorecard was part of $2 program that didn't quite justify the costs. It was a magazine-sized program on good paper, but the content didn't back up the price tag. The scorecard itself was quite nice, however. It was on the two-page center spread with big boxes and only minor ads at the bottom and fully customized to the opponent. The layout was a little strange, though. Firstly, the home team was on the left side instead of the right. Secondly, they didn't have any totals columns at all, which was odd. And finally, they had separate entry lines for the date on both the home and away sides of the card. Are they imagining that the two sides would play on different days in some scenario? I can't imagine what that would be.
As far as the game went, it was pretty straightforward. I had to make a note of the mayfly infestation in the sixth, but beside that, the only thing of interest was the Sea Dog starting pitcher's line:
5 IP, 5 Hits, 5 Runs, 3 Earned Runs, 3 Walks, and 6 Ks
Gotta love AA.
The Accommodations:
Late, but Hoboken.
2013 Stand-Alone Trip
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