On Indian Territory
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| Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, 2016 |
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Cincinnati Reds vs. Arizona DiamondbacksSalt River Fields at Talking Stick
Cactus League (Spring Training)
Scottsdale, AZ
7:05 PM
A rare-ish evening game provided me with a day to go and visit all the things I'd found out about over the course of the trip and hadn't had the opportunity to see. So I was still up at my normal time, getting my breakfast and taking my morning constitutional.
My first stop was in town at the Mesa Historical Museum, which was touted in nearly every program for its history of the Cactus League and Cactus League Hall of Fame. While those exhibits were there and interesting, my big find was an exhibit they had on local kids show, The Wallace and Ladmo Show. It seemed a local fixture a lot like Wonderama or Magic Garden, and it was an enjoyable look into so many locals' childhoods.
My next stop was an area outside of town called "Apache Junction." Not only a bad-assed name for a place, it was the home to a lot of Western-related memorabilia, so I was determined to check it out. After several false starts due to GPS issues, I made it out to my first stop, the Superstition Mountain Museum. It was a decidedly old-school museum, mixing overly dramatic animal-skin dioramas, to an exhibit on the different types of barbed wire, to local Native petrogylphs that a farmer's wife had insisted be brought into her yard. I suppose it is better than them being destroyed, but the white guilt was flowing pretty heavy here. There was also a ton on the lost Flying Dutchman mine, and although I had obviously heard about it before, I didn't really put two and two together until I was actually at the place that this was the heart of that mystery. There was obviously a great deal about the various theories and whatnot, and I did end up buying a book on the subject in the gift shop.
Also present was the remains of the Apache Movieland Ranch. The ranch was the place where they filmed hundreds of Westerns when they didn't just do it on a back lot. The original ranch was some distance from its current location, but had a fire and the lot burned down. The remains had been brought to the Superstition Mountain Museum. It was neat seeing all the old sets, as well as the Apache Movieland Walk of Fame in the big barn. While I was walking out to the remains of the Boot Hill, there were two things I noticed. One was the rattlesnake warning signs everywhere that had me a good bit on edge. I spend the rest of my visit not stepping anywhere that I couldn’t see completely. The other was that while standing in the beautiful desolation of the desert mountain, if I closed my eyes, I could actually feel the water being pulled out my system by the air.
After getting my fill there, I went to drive up to the Goldfield Ghost Town up the road. I stopped at a hole in the wall burger stand along the road for some lunch. While waiting for my burger, two people drove up for lunch that I was to find worked at the Ghost Town. We talked while I ate, and it is so rare that you have a nice conversation between people who have nothing in common, but we did, and it was indeed nice.
I went up the road to the Ghost Town, which was a tourist trap place of souvenir stores, Wild West brothel tours, mine tours, and shooting galleries. I loved it, and spent way too much money in the gift shops. They had a bullet knife, for the love of god. That was a bullet that they had made into a knife. How can you not buy that?
Eventually, it was time to head back for the game, so I drove back to the hotel, swapped out my souvenirs for my game bag, and drove out to the field. Even as early as I was, I ended up in a very far parking lot, but at least it was close to the exit. After the game, it was a bit of a walk to my car, but I was out the complex in a flash and back to the hotel for a night of proving out my scorecard and an early bedtime.
The Stadium & Fans:
My next stop was an area outside of town called "Apache Junction." Not only a bad-assed name for a place, it was the home to a lot of Western-related memorabilia, so I was determined to check it out. After several false starts due to GPS issues, I made it out to my first stop, the Superstition Mountain Museum. It was a decidedly old-school museum, mixing overly dramatic animal-skin dioramas, to an exhibit on the different types of barbed wire, to local Native petrogylphs that a farmer's wife had insisted be brought into her yard. I suppose it is better than them being destroyed, but the white guilt was flowing pretty heavy here. There was also a ton on the lost Flying Dutchman mine, and although I had obviously heard about it before, I didn't really put two and two together until I was actually at the place that this was the heart of that mystery. There was obviously a great deal about the various theories and whatnot, and I did end up buying a book on the subject in the gift shop.
Also present was the remains of the Apache Movieland Ranch. The ranch was the place where they filmed hundreds of Westerns when they didn't just do it on a back lot. The original ranch was some distance from its current location, but had a fire and the lot burned down. The remains had been brought to the Superstition Mountain Museum. It was neat seeing all the old sets, as well as the Apache Movieland Walk of Fame in the big barn. While I was walking out to the remains of the Boot Hill, there were two things I noticed. One was the rattlesnake warning signs everywhere that had me a good bit on edge. I spend the rest of my visit not stepping anywhere that I couldn’t see completely. The other was that while standing in the beautiful desolation of the desert mountain, if I closed my eyes, I could actually feel the water being pulled out my system by the air.
After getting my fill there, I went to drive up to the Goldfield Ghost Town up the road. I stopped at a hole in the wall burger stand along the road for some lunch. While waiting for my burger, two people drove up for lunch that I was to find worked at the Ghost Town. We talked while I ate, and it is so rare that you have a nice conversation between people who have nothing in common, but we did, and it was indeed nice.
I went up the road to the Ghost Town, which was a tourist trap place of souvenir stores, Wild West brothel tours, mine tours, and shooting galleries. I loved it, and spent way too much money in the gift shops. They had a bullet knife, for the love of god. That was a bullet that they had made into a knife. How can you not buy that?
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| Home plate to center field, Salt River Fields at Talking Stick |
Salt River Fields at Talking Stick is the only stadium in the Cactus League that is actually on Native American land, and is also the newest stadium in the league, built to draw back the Rockies and D-Backs from far-off Tuscon to get all the teams within a half-hour of each other. It also gives the Arizona Diamondbacks the shortest Spring Training commute in the majors (35 minutes, beating out the Rays and Marlins in Florida, who are an hour and an hour and a half, respectively). While in Scottsdale on paper, the stadium is on reservation land, right across the road from the Talking Stick Casino and Resort, also under tribal control.
The park is actual a sprawling complex, split fairly down the middle between the Diamondbacks and the Rockies, and in all places interwoven with the tribal history and imagery. For example, all the practice fields have significant Native names (such as "Jackrabbit" or "Whirlwind") with descriptions on how it relates to the tribes. The tribes' basket pattern is featured in the light rig supports around the stadium. The entire park is surrounded by a nature walk with descriptions of tribal views on land stewardship, as well as a "Circle of Honor" commemorating tribal war veterans in the context of a tribal gathering area.
The split in the park between teams is present in all things. There are two "neutral" entrances to the park: the main home plate entrance by the main ticket window, and the smaller center field entrance, both adorned with statuary and fountains and plaques about the tribes. The left field entrance is the Diamondbacks' branded gate. A long ramp leads up to the gate, overlooking the batting cages on the practice fields, with a timeline of the D-Backs history. Beyond the third-base side of the park is the extensive minor-league complex, with practice fields and other facilities where fans can watch the practices and scope for autographs. The D-Backs home dugout is also on the third-base side, and their team store is in the left field corner. The right field entrance is the Rockies branded entrance. Their ramp is more slogans and months of the year, culminating in—god help us all--"Rocktober." Similarly, their practice facilities are beyond the first-base side of the park, their home dugout is on first, and their team store is in the right field corner.
Wherever you enter, you are dumped onto the giant main promenade that circles the park. Stairs in the outfield corners connect the higher outfield walkway with the lower and smaller walkway in the seating bowl that separates the lower from the upper seats. The promenade runs along top of the upper seating area and hosts all the concessions. At intervals in the infield area, the promenade expands into alcoves where larger concession stands live. The lower walkway is anchored by two specialty stands, the Budweiser Bowtie in left and the Salty Seniority in right. The team stores are located in the outfield corners, just down from the team offices.
There are regular stadium seats in all the seating areas, and the entire outfield is one large picnic berm under the name of the "Banana Boat Lawn." An extensive second level rises above the lower area from short outfield to short outfield behind home plate and houses many different luxury boxes, press areas, and party area, all directly and mercifully under the shade overhangs. The gigantic video board sits in left-center, and many other auxiliary boards circle the field to give everyone an update on the game. The stadium even features a real-live organ situated on the promenade behind home plate. It is near a display on Native American baseball and how happy everyone is about the partnership between the tribes, the Rockies, and the D-Backs. A full-sized Wiffle ball field is along the baselines and had a pretty big line to play some ball before the main game started.
Baxter the Bobcat can't be bothered to make the half hour drive for Spring Training, and the between-inning entertainment is decidedly minor league, even if the park itself isn't. Every game is a sellout given the locale so close to the major-league club and that it is the newest stadium in town, and the fans do seem as interested in the game as the Spring Training vacation close to home.
At the Game with Oogie:
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| Specialty burger and fries |
There were a cornucopia of food options at the park. I started with a brat and a souvenir soda, and then moved on to a "New York" burger and fries to top things off.
The Game:
I had a seat on the lower level just beyond third base and the auxiliary "safety netting" that was springing up at parks this year. I was seated next to two friends who were taking in Spring Training as a vacation from their wives. They were quite amenable company, and were interested in my scoring. Perhaps most interestingly, they were going to attempt seeing a "triple header" the next day. They were going to a morning game back at this stadium, a 4 PM start at the Cubs, and then were going to a night game. I can't imagine they were going to see all of the three games, but I can't help but support their bravado. God’s speed, fair travelers.
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| First pitch, Reds vs. Diamondbacks |
This will not go down as a pitcher’s duel, but there were some surprising down times in this erstwhile slugfest.
The Reds started the game slowly, with just a single in between two strikeouts to show for the first. The D-Backs, however, came out swinging, with a leadoff double followed by two short singles to bring in a run, and a two-out single to left to bring in another, leaving it at 2-0 Arizona after one.
Cincinnati went in order in the second, but the Diamondback's half of the inning would go on significantly longer. Back-to-back doubles started the inning, bringing in the first run of the half. A single followed to drive in the runner from second, and a wild pitch got him to scoring position. A short single got him to third, and a stolen base made it second and third with no outs and two in. Another short single to center scored the runner from third and moved everyone up, and an error on the play by the right fielder brought in another run and moved the trailing runner to second. The starting pitcher was finally chased, but the new guy allowed a walk made it first and second with no out and four in. A double scored the runner from second and left it second and third with still no outs. But three straight strikeouts finally ended the inning at 7-0, Diamondbacks.
The Reds got a runner to second in the top of third with a walk and a bunt, but he was stranded. The D-Backs finally went in order in their half. The Reds started the fourth with a double that moved to third on a fly-out to deep right. A two-out single brought him in, making the score 7-1. Arizona came back in their half with a leadoff single that made it to second on a ground-out to second, and then driven in by a one-out double to left. A two-out single to left-center brought in the runner from second, but he got greedy and got nailed by the left-fielder trying to stretch it to a double, leaving it 9-1 Diamondbacks after four.
A leadoff walk was gifted to the Reds in the fifth, and a yip by the pitcher made it first and second with no outs. The lead runner made it to third on a double-play ball to second, and a two-out single brought him in, closing it to 9-2 D-Backs. The Diamondbacks scattered some stranded baserunners in the bottom of the inning, but nothing came across, and the top of the sixth had one single for the Reds and nothing else. In the bottom of the frame, the D-Backs managed just a walk.
The Reds bats woke up in the seventh, starting with a one-out single to left. A triple to right brought him in, and a walk followed. A homer to right brought in three runs, making it a more respectable 9-6 for the home team. The D-backs got one back in the bottom half with a leadoff single that made it to third on a throw from the second baseman into the stands. An infield grounder brought in the run and wasn't in time to get him at first, but a double-play ended the inning at 10-6, D-Backs. Cincinnati led off the eighth with a double, but he made it to third on a ground-out and no further. The D-Backs also had a double to start the eighth, but he was erased on an L-4-4 double-play when he couldn't get back fast enough.
The D-Backs struck out the side in the top of the ninth to secure the 10-6 win.
The Scorecard:
Reds vs. Diamondbacks, 03/16/16. Diamondbacks"win," 10-6.
The scorecard was part of a reasonably priced $2 full-color tabloid program on magazine paper. The scorecard was the full-page centerfold spread with plenty of room for scoring. While it was on magazine paper, it was reasonable for pencil writing, although it smudged a lot. Rosters were not available for handout due to "eco concerns," and were just available at a single table. However, with the super-gee-wiz scoreboard they had at the park, it was less of a concern.
While there was a ton of activity in this high-scoring game, there were no really unusual plays outside of the L-4-4 double-play in the bottom of the eighth. Because of double-switches, I had to use two letter indicators for the D-Backs and one for the Reds to keep the scorecard neat. The high scoring led to both starting pitchers getting pulled in innings after not getting an out, the Reds' starter going 1+ IP (with a disastrous 9 H 7 ER 0 BB 1 K) and the D-Backs first tosser going 4+ IP (with a much more reasonable 3 H 2 ER 2 BB 6 K). Thirteen total pitchers were used in the game, which was behind most of my scorecard manipulations.
The Accommodations:
As it was a night game, there wasn't much activity on the hotel front after the morning. I did exchange emails with the new manager again, who finally admitted to housekeeping cleaning the room above mine at 11 PM due to a late checkout and apologized. I told him it wasn't accepted.
2016 Cactus League
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