On Comings and Goings
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| McKechnie Field, 2015 |
Friday, March 13, 2015
McKechnie Field
Grapefruit League (Spring Training)
Bradenton, FL
1:05 PM
Outside the Game:
After going to bed so early the night before, I was awake with a lot of sleep under my belt at 7 AM, which led to my lying down in bed "for a minute," and getting up an hour later.
The expanded canine contingent was there to greet me in the morning. As always, they showed great concern that I might have disappeared forever when I went upstairs the night before. Everyone got scratches and pets before I left, especially Josie, and, after making sure that they weren't going to make a break for it, I let myself out through the garage and used the magic keypad to close up after I left.
Packed up in the car, I set out for the park, in perhaps the shortest drive of the trip. Past morning rush hour, the drive was slightly more than a half hour, and I was parking in the lot behind the outfield (after sheepishly having to ask a police officer for directions to the parking lot from the parking lot because the entrance was hidden at the back of a municipal lot.
I did my walk-around of the park, and like many so far on this trip, it was smack-dab in the middle of a residential area, with a school providing a buffer to the practice fields in back. I was a little concerned because the first staff person I asked said that the gates weren't going to open until noon, but upon making it to the main gate after my walk-around, I found out that number was actually 11:00 AM. A brief wait on line, and I was off and running.
On the way out, it was a more leisurely affair. I slinked my way through the crowd to get to my car, GPS already pre-programmed with my parents' condo. I handed off my winning cigar coupon (see below) to a parking attendant on the way out, and I was on my way.
… to traffic. There was a bit of post-game congestion getting out of the park, but the real problems were on the highways south. The was first an accident and then another accident and construction that hung me up for a half hour or so.
But eventually, I was speeding down Florida, both figuratively and literally. After a brief stop off for food and gas, I was back at my parents' condo a little before 9 PM, and I got myself showered and situated for the game the next day.
The Stadium & Fans:
McKechnie Field is firmly in the “directly in the middle of the suburbs” school of Grapefruit League parks, nestled inside sleepy Bradenton in a way more reminiscent of a high school football stadium than an MLB Spring Training ballpark. Glimpses of the park peek out in the surrounding streets, but outside of the main façade on the street and the only sizable parking lot behind the outfield, the park is mostly lost in the suburban sprawl. As is often the case, parking is a big deal for these kinds of parks, and decidedly unfriendly signs about no street parking for game patrons heavily line the streets around the facility. There is only one main entrance to the park, in a small entrance plaza behind home plate with the ticket booths. The only other way in a staff entrance in the fence by third base. There is only one practice field and a skills area in the back of the park, which doesn’t have direct access by the fans.
The entrance to the park empties into a promenade that wraps around the entirety of the park, joining up with walkway at the base of the grandstand seating at the breaks in said grandstand by the dugouts and at the bases. The promenade circles the entire park, thanks to a raised area in the outfield accessed by a long set of stairs, or a convenient elevator. The main grandstand behind home plate is a little unusual in that it is broken up into three sections with a space in between for ramp access to the seating bowl. The main three sections are covered by an overhang, and the press box sits on top of the overhang in the center section. Additional sections of bleachers run down the outfield lines to the outfield corners. There is an additional bleacher section in left-center, and a special table section in dead center with its own tropical bar. There are party decks in both outfield corners as well.
As with many older parks, it has expanded out, not up, and there is a large plaza behind the right field line, housing lounge chairs, concessions, and stores. The promenade under the home plate grandstand houses several memorabilia dealers and further concessions. The main digital scoreboard in uncommonly located in the left-center field wall, although several smaller ball/strikes digital boards are found around the park. The new pitch clock is on the outfield wall, as well. Rows of palms trees line the blue sky over the outfield wall, a single row of panels covered in local ads.
The Pirates drew a big crowd for a weekday game, with most of the stands filled and a lot of the standing room territory taken up with various rambling Pittsburgh backers who were probably glad not to be in the snow anymore. The minor-league mascot the Marauder, as well as The Parrot from the big team, make appearances throughout the game schmoozing and running the limited between-inning entertainment. Even the Pierogi Race takes the trip south for the winter.
At the Game with Oogie:
Not having had breakfast, I immediately had a stadium breakfast of a hot dog and souvenir drink when I got let in. I would supplement that later with a pulled pork sandwich meal and a Gatorade for my sitting needs.
I was correctly or incorrectly pegged as a journalist several times today. The first was by the woman who sold me my pulled pork. And then there was the videographer who was working with Fans for the Cure (Ed Randall's prostate cancer charity). So, there's that.
I was sitting at the top of the 3rd base infield grandstand, in one of the two seats in that row that jutted out into the top of the stairs. Because of the way the sun hit the stadium, even though the area was covered, the first three seats in the row got direct sunlight, so I was sweating for most of the game. There was a row of Pirates' die-hards in my row, and a family with kids who were a little more interested in snacks than the game in front of me. I talked a bit with the people in my row, who would continue to check with me about who was in or out of the game.
Of note in the row was a kid in the group further to my left who spent the whole game cheering on the Pirates (even through their futility) and wishing violent vengeance on the Twins. He even got most of the row chanting with him at one point.
After Rochester, I figured I'd never win a program contest again, but I had a stamp on the local cigar shop ad, so I ran down to the Guest Relations booth between an inning and retrieved my prize bag, which turned out to be a gift certificate, a t-shirt for a local store, and a flavored lip balm. So now I'm 2 for about 140.
The Game:
The Minnesota Twins and the Pittsburgh Pirates squared off in this meaningless Grapefruit League game, where the home team would get buried early, not that any of that matters.
The Twins got right out to it with a leadoff double scoring on a subsequent error by the second baseman, and a home run to left cleared the bases to give the Twins a very early 3-0 lead. Pittsburgh went in order despite a leadoff single thanks to a caught stealing. Minnesota had a leadoff single in the second get to second on another error, but he was stranded there. The Pirates had a two-out double followed by two walks to load the bases, but the next batter stranded everyone with a strikeout. The Twins got back to scoring with one in the top of the third with a walk and three straight singles to pull out to a 4-0 lead. Pittsburgh again went in order despite a one-out single thanks to a double play.
Minnesota managed to somehow strand a one-out triple in the top of the fourth, while the Pirates scattered two singles to no effect. The Twins blasted three more runs in the top of the fifth with a single, a double, and a homer to left, leaving them a 7-0 lead. Pittsburgh retaliated with a lone single in the bottom of the frame. Minnesota picked up on the Bucks trick by going in order in the sixth despite a one-out walk thanks to a double play. The Pirates finally got on the board in the bottom of the inning with a double and two wild pitches, and then a walk, double, and single to end up with three runs, cutting the deficit to 7-3.
The Twins got one back in the seventh with a one-out walk and two singles, to extend their lead back to 8-3, while Pittsburgh just had a hit batsman in the bottom of the frame. Minnesota went in order in the eighth, while the Pirates managed to get a walk and a hit batsman in between three strike outs looking. The Twins finished up with reaching on an error in the top of the ninth, and then going in order anyway thanks to a double play. Pittsburgh went quietly in order in their last licks, ending the Twins meaningless 8-3 victory.
The Scorecard:
The scorecard was part of the $5 full-color magazine program in the centerfold. It was on semi-gloss paper which made it a little difficult to write in pencil, and the printing was raised, which made the scoring boxes smudge and erase easily, and especially the right side of my scorecard was a mess by the end of the game.
Each batting line had undesignated space for a replacement (that I drew in) with batting total at the end of each line and inning totals at the bottom of each column. The scoring boxes were empty with no background printing, so there was room to score. The pitching lines were at the bottom of each side's scorecard, and team totals were in the box next to the pitching lines. The scorecard took up about a half of the spread, with whitespace headers at the top and a strip ad at the bottom, so there was plenty of space for notes.
Outside of there being more errors than expected and the fact that the first run for the Pirates in the bottom of the sixth scored after two wild pitches, there weren't many odd plays of note. The ceremonial swapping out of the lineups happened between the fifth and sixth innings for both teams, and everyone except the Pirates DH had a replacement in the game.
The Accommodations:
After several days with friendly people and friendlier dogs, I was back with my parents. The difference was noticeable.
Outside the Game:
After going to bed so early the night before, I was awake with a lot of sleep under my belt at 7 AM, which led to my lying down in bed "for a minute," and getting up an hour later.
 |
| Derp |
The expanded canine contingent was there to greet me in the morning. As always, they showed great concern that I might have disappeared forever when I went upstairs the night before. Everyone got scratches and pets before I left, especially Josie, and, after making sure that they weren't going to make a break for it, I let myself out through the garage and used the magic keypad to close up after I left.
Packed up in the car, I set out for the park, in perhaps the shortest drive of the trip. Past morning rush hour, the drive was slightly more than a half hour, and I was parking in the lot behind the outfield (after sheepishly having to ask a police officer for directions to the parking lot from the parking lot because the entrance was hidden at the back of a municipal lot.
I did my walk-around of the park, and like many so far on this trip, it was smack-dab in the middle of a residential area, with a school providing a buffer to the practice fields in back. I was a little concerned because the first staff person I asked said that the gates weren't going to open until noon, but upon making it to the main gate after my walk-around, I found out that number was actually 11:00 AM. A brief wait on line, and I was off and running.
On the way out, it was a more leisurely affair. I slinked my way through the crowd to get to my car, GPS already pre-programmed with my parents' condo. I handed off my winning cigar coupon (see below) to a parking attendant on the way out, and I was on my way.
… to traffic. There was a bit of post-game congestion getting out of the park, but the real problems were on the highways south. The was first an accident and then another accident and construction that hung me up for a half hour or so.
But eventually, I was speeding down Florida, both figuratively and literally. After a brief stop off for food and gas, I was back at my parents' condo a little before 9 PM, and I got myself showered and situated for the game the next day.
The Stadium & Fans:
 |
| Home plate to center field, McKechnie Field |
McKechnie Field is firmly in the “directly in the middle of the suburbs” school of Grapefruit League parks, nestled inside sleepy Bradenton in a way more reminiscent of a high school football stadium than an MLB Spring Training ballpark. Glimpses of the park peek out in the surrounding streets, but outside of the main façade on the street and the only sizable parking lot behind the outfield, the park is mostly lost in the suburban sprawl. As is often the case, parking is a big deal for these kinds of parks, and decidedly unfriendly signs about no street parking for game patrons heavily line the streets around the facility. There is only one main entrance to the park, in a small entrance plaza behind home plate with the ticket booths. The only other way in a staff entrance in the fence by third base. There is only one practice field and a skills area in the back of the park, which doesn’t have direct access by the fans.
The entrance to the park empties into a promenade that wraps around the entirety of the park, joining up with walkway at the base of the grandstand seating at the breaks in said grandstand by the dugouts and at the bases. The promenade circles the entire park, thanks to a raised area in the outfield accessed by a long set of stairs, or a convenient elevator. The main grandstand behind home plate is a little unusual in that it is broken up into three sections with a space in between for ramp access to the seating bowl. The main three sections are covered by an overhang, and the press box sits on top of the overhang in the center section. Additional sections of bleachers run down the outfield lines to the outfield corners. There is an additional bleacher section in left-center, and a special table section in dead center with its own tropical bar. There are party decks in both outfield corners as well.
As with many older parks, it has expanded out, not up, and there is a large plaza behind the right field line, housing lounge chairs, concessions, and stores. The promenade under the home plate grandstand houses several memorabilia dealers and further concessions. The main digital scoreboard in uncommonly located in the left-center field wall, although several smaller ball/strikes digital boards are found around the park. The new pitch clock is on the outfield wall, as well. Rows of palms trees line the blue sky over the outfield wall, a single row of panels covered in local ads.
 |
| Hands up |
The Pirates drew a big crowd for a weekday game, with most of the stands filled and a lot of the standing room territory taken up with various rambling Pittsburgh backers who were probably glad not to be in the snow anymore. The minor-league mascot the Marauder, as well as The Parrot from the big team, make appearances throughout the game schmoozing and running the limited between-inning entertainment. Even the Pierogi Race takes the trip south for the winter.
At the Game with Oogie:
 |
| Sun scoring |
Not having had breakfast, I immediately had a stadium breakfast of a hot dog and souvenir drink when I got let in. I would supplement that later with a pulled pork sandwich meal and a Gatorade for my sitting needs.
 |
| Hot dog and souvenir soda |
I was correctly or incorrectly pegged as a journalist several times today. The first was by the woman who sold me my pulled pork. And then there was the videographer who was working with Fans for the Cure (Ed Randall's prostate cancer charity). So, there's that.
I was sitting at the top of the 3rd base infield grandstand, in one of the two seats in that row that jutted out into the top of the stairs. Because of the way the sun hit the stadium, even though the area was covered, the first three seats in the row got direct sunlight, so I was sweating for most of the game. There was a row of Pirates' die-hards in my row, and a family with kids who were a little more interested in snacks than the game in front of me. I talked a bit with the people in my row, who would continue to check with me about who was in or out of the game.
Of note in the row was a kid in the group further to my left who spent the whole game cheering on the Pirates (even through their futility) and wishing violent vengeance on the Twins. He even got most of the row chanting with him at one point.
 |
| Great victory, I guess |
After Rochester, I figured I'd never win a program contest again, but I had a stamp on the local cigar shop ad, so I ran down to the Guest Relations booth between an inning and retrieved my prize bag, which turned out to be a gift certificate, a t-shirt for a local store, and a flavored lip balm. So now I'm 2 for about 140.
The Game:
 |
| First pitch, Twins vs. Pirates |
The Minnesota Twins and the Pittsburgh Pirates squared off in this meaningless Grapefruit League game, where the home team would get buried early, not that any of that matters.
The Twins got right out to it with a leadoff double scoring on a subsequent error by the second baseman, and a home run to left cleared the bases to give the Twins a very early 3-0 lead. Pittsburgh went in order despite a leadoff single thanks to a caught stealing. Minnesota had a leadoff single in the second get to second on another error, but he was stranded there. The Pirates had a two-out double followed by two walks to load the bases, but the next batter stranded everyone with a strikeout. The Twins got back to scoring with one in the top of the third with a walk and three straight singles to pull out to a 4-0 lead. Pittsburgh again went in order despite a one-out single thanks to a double play.
Minnesota managed to somehow strand a one-out triple in the top of the fourth, while the Pirates scattered two singles to no effect. The Twins blasted three more runs in the top of the fifth with a single, a double, and a homer to left, leaving them a 7-0 lead. Pittsburgh retaliated with a lone single in the bottom of the frame. Minnesota picked up on the Bucks trick by going in order in the sixth despite a one-out walk thanks to a double play. The Pirates finally got on the board in the bottom of the inning with a double and two wild pitches, and then a walk, double, and single to end up with three runs, cutting the deficit to 7-3.
The Twins got one back in the seventh with a one-out walk and two singles, to extend their lead back to 8-3, while Pittsburgh just had a hit batsman in the bottom of the frame. Minnesota went in order in the eighth, while the Pirates managed to get a walk and a hit batsman in between three strike outs looking. The Twins finished up with reaching on an error in the top of the ninth, and then going in order anyway thanks to a double play. Pittsburgh went quietly in order in their last licks, ending the Twins meaningless 8-3 victory.
The Scorecard:
Twins vs. Pirates, 03/13/15. Twins "win," 8-3.
The scorecard was part of the $5 full-color magazine program in the centerfold. It was on semi-gloss paper which made it a little difficult to write in pencil, and the printing was raised, which made the scoring boxes smudge and erase easily, and especially the right side of my scorecard was a mess by the end of the game.
Each batting line had undesignated space for a replacement (that I drew in) with batting total at the end of each line and inning totals at the bottom of each column. The scoring boxes were empty with no background printing, so there was room to score. The pitching lines were at the bottom of each side's scorecard, and team totals were in the box next to the pitching lines. The scorecard took up about a half of the spread, with whitespace headers at the top and a strip ad at the bottom, so there was plenty of space for notes.
Outside of there being more errors than expected and the fact that the first run for the Pirates in the bottom of the sixth scored after two wild pitches, there weren't many odd plays of note. The ceremonial swapping out of the lineups happened between the fifth and sixth innings for both teams, and everyone except the Pirates DH had a replacement in the game.
The Accommodations:
After several days with friendly people and friendlier dogs, I was back with my parents. The difference was noticeable.
2015 Grapefruit League
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