Kissimmee (Astros)

On Running on Empty  

Osceola County Stadium, 2015

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Washington Nationals vs. Houston Astros
Osceola County Stadium
Grapefruit League (Spring Training)
Kissimmee, FL
1:05 PM

Outside the Game: 

To add insult to injury, my father saw fit to christen the day at 4 AM by dropping a metal bowl on the floor and then noisily cleaning it up. It is a testament to my charitable nature that I did not join Bierce's Patricide Club this morning.

After some fitful additional attempts at sleep, I decided to get up anyway and head out into the morning. I had a semi-sizable 2.5 hour drive up the coast and figured I might as well set out to avoid the traffic.

Except that it was Sunday, and if I was in a better frame of mind and not a half-awake dullard, I would have known that. Regardless, I was off to the races on my first trip on the Florida Turnpike. After a half hour, I was on the pike, and I pretty much remained on the pike for the duration of the trip. I was down to a few Doritos of gas, so I left at the Port St. Lucie exit to grab some go-juice and get back on the Turnpike only to find out that literally a mile after my exit was the first of several service areas on the Pike itself. So, you know, noted for later.

The rest of the drive was uneventful, and I was eventually in beautiful downtown Kissimmee, such as it was. The talking box was telling me to go into a closed gate into the sports complex that housed the stadium, but a short drive down the block found an open exit, and I paid up for parking and followed a familiar long string of people in reflective jerseys, eventually dropping me off at the far end of a large lawn.

I gathered up my belongings and headed out into the early morning. Some initial reconnoitering got my outside shots done and the information that the gates weren't going to open until 11 AM. So I took a walk across that large field to find the entrance sign with the giant inflatable mascot for a couple pictures, crossed the street to get some breakfast and beverages at 7/11, and then walked back.

Eventually, I also found the practice fields and was informed that the Astros only do batting practice back there, but the front gates and the batting practice gates open at the same time, and there is no connection between the two. Despite easy Astros’ autographs dangled in front of me, I got in a (shaded) line to get into the stadium and prepared to do my appointed business.

After the game, the crowd languidly went out to their cars, clearly beaten by the insane heat. I, still a little more energetic than most (or, perhaps more likely, more duly entranced by the concept of the air conditioning in my car) managed to get out in front of the main group and into my car. With the blessed air conditioning anointing my atmosphere, I set out, and after next-to-no congestion, I was on my way out to the Turnpike and back on my return trip.

And on said trip, I hit the rumble strip at least three times, as I was even more exhausted than before thanks to the afternoon heat baked into my hide. I eventually pulled off at the rest area to grab some pick-me-ups, and then I managed to get back to my parents' condo with no further incidents.

Except that I finally saw the navigation system blink. I had been watching it like a hawk, looking for some sign of when it revised its times, and I eventually saw it quickly flash a revised trip duration from 10 minutes to 8 minutes as I exited 95. So, it clearly does some recalculation at major road changes. And so I finally at least had something to go on, because it had been driving me (har-har) crazy since I got the car at the start of the trip.

Back at the condo, I got everything ready for the next day's travels, and then went to the clubhouse to do some writing. After diner, I grumpily kicked everyone out of the living room so I could get some damn sleep.

The Stadium & Fans: 

Home plate to center field, Osceola County Stadium

The Astros’ Spring Training home at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, FL, is one of the two spring parks in the Kissimmee area, though this one is thankfully a distance away from the House of Mouse. The stadium projects a low profile, which makes sense given its location in hurricane alley, with a rolling curve of a façade housing entrances, offices, and the team store along its length under small archways. The practice fields are a short distance away just beyond left field and have a separate entrance. An array of practice fields sits around a central observation hub, allowing fans to congregate as the players move around and eventually enter the field through a gate at the end of left field.

The stadium is on a familiar Spring Training/minor league design, with all the entrances opening out to a promenade that runs around the outside of the grandstand, meeting up with a smaller walkway in the seating bowl at regular ramp-ways and at the end of the grandstand at the bases. The grandstand is low to the ground, with a small shade overhang running the length of the stands, except for right behind home plate, where the press box sits at the top of the stands. Box seats next to the field are separated from the regular seats by the walkway through the area that bisects them. A small walkway at the top of both seating bowls holds party decks and provides entrances to the few luxury boxes on either side of the press box.

All the major facilities are located on the main promenade, including the concessions and shops. A giant Astros cowboy boot sits by the entrance plaza behind home plate, near the dedication stone for the stadium. Right field ends with a kid’s zone, while left field ends with the players’ entrance to the park from the practice fields beyond. A large, semi-transparent batter’s eye sits in center field right next to the main digital board in right-center. Both rise above a single-tier outfield wall covered in local ads that frames the tree line and blue skies that provides the backdrop for the park.

You are watching a man die of heat stroke.

Orbit makes the trip down, and is active before, during, and after the game. The regular between-inning hi-jinks involving races, contests, and giveaways dominate, with a couple of home team flourishes, including the interminable Deep in the Heart of Texas played during the Seventh Inning Stretch. The Astros aren’t a big Spring Training draw, but there was a decent crowd at this afternoon game, though everything was pretty low-energy, especially given the roasting heat that settled on the game early and never quite went away.

At the Game with Oogie: 

Hot dog and soda

I talked with a bunch of season ticket holders in line while we were waiting, and they got me suitably scared about whether or not my seat was in the shade. Given the state that I was in and the prospect of an afternoon in the 90s in the sun, I took a trip to the ticket office to find that my seat was, in fact, in the sun, and no, in fact, they would not exchange my ticket, but if seats open further up in the stadium that I was welcome to take them.

Upon entering, I got my drink and regular hot dog first thing, but I quickly found out that the only souvenir cup was for the beer, which struck me as odd. I also grabbed a BBQ brisket sandwich to tide me over, along with several drinks, because I feared a dry death this afternoon.

When I did get to my seat on the upper level behind the visiting dugout, I happily found that it was in the shade, but that the shadow was creeping ominously in the wrong direction. Safe for the moment, however, I hunkered down for a nap. I was awakened by a row of Nationals fans in front of me coming to their seats. They were joined by more Nationals fans behind me, who seemed to know/be related to one of the Nat's players. The seating arrangement was filled out by a group in my row to my left, and they thought it was the height of wit to tell me that I resembled Steven Speilberg. My cold reception to the joke left them confused, and they didn't seek to engage me after that, thankfully.

Before the game, the youngest adult in the row in front of me saw fit to engage the Astros' mascot, Orbit. The mascot was making fun of his hat, so he took the mascot's hat and threw it into the walkway. This led to a standoff that was eventually resolved by the mascot hosing down the offender in Silly String, taking his hat, filling it with Silly String, and putting it back on his head. I'm not sure what he was hoping to achieve with the confrontation, but everyone else was amused.

As the innings progressed, the shadow over my seat pulled back ominously. When the group to my left went to get concessions, I took the opportunity to go over and back a row in a big block of unclaimed seats to avoid the sun for a few more innings. Once situated there, I became the stats guy for the Asian guy behind me who was trying to explain things to what I supposed to be his wife. I also found two women behind me, one of whom who was in a t-shirt from my college. It turns out that she is from Boston and her daughter was graduating in a month or two. So I had another Lancaster chat in so many days.

The Game: 

First pitch, Nationals vs. Astros

This meaningless Spring Training game pitted the Washington Nationals against the "home" Houston Astros. Scoring was contained to two innings in a wonderfully brief game that kept the players and fans from bursting into flame in the Florida afternoon.

The game began symmetrically with each team getting a two-out double in the first inning. Washington got a single and walk in the top of the second, while the Astros went in order. The Nationals only had a single in the top of the third, while Houston had a leadoff walk in the bottom of the frame.

Washington had a leadoff walk make it to third in the top of the fourth on an error by the pitcher on a pickoff throw and a fly out to right, but he got no further than third. The Astros went in order in the bottom of the inning. The fifth was finally a scoring frame as the Nationals got a two-out homer to left to jump to a 1-0 lead. Houston answered back with three runs with two-outs, using a walk, a triple, a double, and a single to take a 3-1 advantage. Washington only had a walk to show for the top of the sixth, while the Astros squeezed out a single and a walk in their half.

The Nationals went in order in the top of the seventh despite a leadoff single thanks to a double play, and Houston went in order. Washington did the exact same thing again in the top of the eighth, while the Astros had a two-out single. The Nats started their last-licks in the top of the ninth well with a leadoff triple to right that came in on a ground-out to first to cut the lead to 3-2, but a fly to left and a strikeout ended the threat and the game and gave the home team a meaningless 3-2 victory.

The Scorecard: 

Nationals vs. Astros, 03/15/15. Astros "win," 3-2.

The scorecard was part of the $4, full-color magazine program. It was a one-page cardstock insert about 1/4th of the way into the program. The cardstock made writing in pencil a breeze, and although only a page, the scorecard took up nearly the entire page. The only setback was a colored background that left little space for notes.

Each batting line had a place for a replacement, batting totals at the end of the line, and each inning column had totals at the bottom of each column. The scoring squares were blank and white, a little small, but usable enough for scoring. The pitching lines were under the batting lines, and each team had a team summary statistics to the right of the pitching lines.

There were a couple of plays of note in the game. The symmetry of the first inning was mentioned above. There was a CS 7-1-3 in the bottom of the fifth, as a batter tried to stretch his single into a double and was caught in a rundown. And there was a 3-6-3 double-play in the top of the eighth, worth mentioning because the 3-6-3 is the best double-play ever, and current best practices is to send the pitcher over to cover first on this play these days, making the much inferior 3-6-1 DP.

The ceremonial swapping out of all the players happened between the fifth and seventh innings, with every last player except the Astros left fielder getting rotated out.

The Accommodations: 

My parents' condo again, but under a yellow card.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2015 Grapefruit League