On Leaving
Thursday, September 14, 2023Oneonta, NY
Outside the Game:
This trip requires a little back story. I am a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, and have been for several years now. It generally pays for itself in the one or two day visits I take every year, and even if it doesn't, I'm happy to support the organization, more or less.
The baseball phenomenon, the Savannah Bananas, were doing a "world tour" this year, which culminated in a game at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. The games were incredibly popular and sold out rather quickly, but one Saturday morning, I was up early and received an email from the Hall of Fame saying that there would be a limited pre-sale of a block of tickets for Hall members for the last game, on-sale starting at nine in the morning. I logged in at exactly 9 AM and bought a ticket as fast as my eager little fingers would type. By the time I had my purchase confirmed and refreshed the Website, the tickets were sold out. It was the only good sign I had in a year of absolute misery and stress.
And so it was this Thursday, having taken Friday off to ensure I can see the game. And work was stressful and miserable, but it eventually ended. At 7 PM, I headed out the door and took a Lyft to my parents' now-vacant house, where I grabbed the car, filled up, and then headed north as fast as the roads would take me.
It was an okay drive without much traffic, and I only stopped to grab a quick sandwich at an odd little rest stop, but the Yankees-Sox game on the radio kept me occupied on the way up to the hotel I had picked at random along the route.
The Quality Inn was in the next town down or so from Cooperstown. I parked, groggily checked in, and then went up to the room to get everything ready for the next day. I was still carrying a lot of stress from work on the ride up, and my stomach was bugging me the whole night, which made me reconsider that rest stop sandwich more and more.
The Accommodations:
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| Quality Inn, Oneonta, NY |
The Quality Inn in Oneonta was exactly what I needed it to be: bathroom, bed, AC, quiet enough to sleep. If I had been in better shape, I may have enjoyed it more, but it was just a place to sleep and not demanded of enjoyment.
On Preludes
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| National Baseball Hall of Fame, 2023 |
Cooperstown, NY
Outside the Game:
With my aforementioned stomach troubles, I had a bad night's sleep. I just couldn't get into a stretch of good restfulness and was up and down all night. I blearily went down to the breakfast buffet just as it opened at 6 AM and ate some non-controversial food, and then went back to my room to sleep as long as I could manage.
I eventually re-awakened, showered, and packed, and by 8:30 AM, I was checked out and driving the last of the distance to Cooperstown. During that drive, I was caught behind two trucks blocking the entire road for a bit, but otherwise, it was a relaxing excursion.
Arriving at my hotel for the night a little after 9 AM, I was not surprised to find my room unavailable, but I was able to park my car and walk down to the Hall of Fame. I found the town festooned with ceremonial bananas to mark the occasion.
I found from the Hall staff that there was a special exhibit on the Bananas at the Hall of Fame that was opening at 5 PM, so I planned on swinging around later for that after my initial visit. I did my usual walk-around and finally got to see the baseball card exhibit that had eluded me to this point.
Heading downtown after my visit, I got suckered into buying a bat with my signature at another new bat store. In hitting the regular merchants, I found that an original Reggie bar was now worth $80 (and probably inedible), but they were producing them again, so I bought a more recent (and edible) faximile. I took a walk down to the memorial park by the lake and then hit the bookstore, where I found the disturbing news that they lost most of their vintage scorecard stock in a theft at a street fair event. Nothing is sacred.
Looking for lunch, I went to the Diner, and I was disappointed further by the fact that it was closed for this important weekend. Another couple was there at the same time, so at least we shouldered the crisis amongst like-minded individuals. I had to settle for a burger and soup at one of the newer cafes on the main drag.
I picked up my custom bat on the way back to the hotel, where my luck turned for the better and my room was just ready. I retrieved all my goods from the car and set up shop in my room just in time for my stomach to explode again.
This was followed by a listless (but necessary nap) and a walk to the local drugstore to get some OTC stomach meds, which were dutifully taken. I walked back into town and wandered out to the resort and the other odds and ends at the edge of civilization before it was time for the exhibit to open. (Bill Lee, in town with the Bananas, was holding court in the liquor store in town before the exhibit opened. Make of that what you will.)
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| The Bananas and Animals Outside the Hall |
I arrived back at the Hall just as the buses were offloading the Bananas, Party Animals, and miscellaneous hangers-on. Once they had a little ceremony outside, they all went inside to do some signings before the public opening of the exhibit. We were packed into the main hall for a while before we were allowed to see (as well as you could in the cattle-car of people) the small exhibit, located by the movies area.
I extricated myself and wandered around until I found a small German restaurant where I sat up on the roof and procured some schnitzel and my yearly beer before retreating back to the hotel for an early night.
The Accommodations:
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| The Railroad Inn |
I was staying at the Railroad Inn again, and thankfully, I had booked my room as soon as I bought my ticket, because they were packed, and it was expensive enough when I booked it. I was suprised to find out I had only booked the one night, so I was going to have to drive home after the game the next day. Which was fine, I suppose, since the game was early, and the going rate for another night was very, very high at current rates.
My room was what I had come to expect for the Railroad Inn: Aspirational of a boutique hotel, but delivering on a pre-fab bonanza that was slightly nicer than a regular hotel room. The beds were still nice, and the bathrooms still pretentious, but it got the job done and wasn't too noisy, even with a packed house.
On the Event Itself
Doubleday Field, 2023
Saturday, September 16, 2023The Party Animals vs. The Savannah Bananas
Doubleday Field
Bananaball
Cooperstown, NY
1:00 PM
Outside the Game:
The day began lazy and not lazy all at the same time. I got breakfast at 9 AM and then went back to pack up. I checked out of the hotel around10 AM, after being given permission to leave my car until after the game.
I walked down to the field, and by the time I arrived, the line was extended down Main Street almost back to the Hall of Fame. However, when the gates opened at 10:15 AM, the line disappeared quickly and efficiently into the "plaza" they had constructed outside the ballpark. There were merchadise tents as far as the eye could see, as well as a line of food trucks that I foolishly ignored for the moment. The third base side of the field was for Party Animals fans, and the first base side for Bananas fans. I originally got on the Animals side, but worked it out before the stage show started.
Oh, yes: The stage show. At about 10:30 AM, on a small stage erected right in front of the park, a band started playing, and there was a full-on entertainment program before you even got let into the park. There was music, a fashion show, magic, a breakdown of the rules of Bananaball, dances, and sing-a-longs.
After a countdown, the gates opened, and it was a cattle call. I had the wherewithal to run up to the top of the bleachers and grab a seat in the top row by section 101.
Then the next pre-game show started on the field. Acrobats, team face-offs and weigh-ins, an acoustic guitar song by the Bananas second baseman, dancing, the ceremonial first banana. And then the game started, but more on that below.
After the game ended, I hit one of the uncountable merch tents, and--positively starving at this point--I hit the chicken truck as I walked back out to the Hall of Fame. I went in and took a look at the Bananas exhibit without a crowd, and then went back to the hotel to retrieve my car.
I headed out, and it was a steady and uneventful drive back to my parents' house. I got in at about 7:30 PM and got a Lyft back to my apartment. However, the Lyft "driver's" recklessness literally almost got us killed twice, and I wish I was kidding.
I settled in for the night to unpack and get some sleep after the fight-or-flight reflex eventually disengaged.
The Stadium & Fans:
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| A packed house |
I had been inside Doubleday Field before, but never for an actual game. There field had undergone some renovations in the last few years, but it was still the same tiny bandbox with a numbers-only scoreboard out in left field and speakers that sounded like announcements on the subways in the 80s--somehow loud, tinny, and incomprehensible all at once.
There was an overflowing crowd for the game. Every seat and more was filled out for the event. People were even packed into the tiny ledge in left field in front of the fence. Everyone was obviously excited for the game and very into the action on the field, which is a real tribute to Bananaball and what they've been able to do.
At the Game with Oogie:
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| Section 101 in the house |
There wasn't a lot of movement once I got my ass in my seat right when the gates opened. There was no one to hold my seat, and the crowd was so packed and there were no amenities to be had, so there wasn't a ton of places to go to begin with.
I found myself standing next to a gentleman from Cooperstown itself who tangentially knew one of the Bananas players. As we talked before the game, he told me about all the old Hall of Fame classic games he used to sneak into as a kid, and one time getting a ride on the Pirates' team bus. So that was pretty interesting.
The Game:
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| Stilts at the bat |
This was the culmination of the Bananas' "World Tour," and the Bananas and the Party Animals found themselves tied going into the final contest at the birthplace of baseball, which is perhaps the best that you could expect to script.
For those unfamiliar with the rules of Bananaball, a briefing is required. There are eleven rules that separate it from normal baseball. Like a skins golf game, the team who scores the most every inning wins the inning, and those points go towards the final score. If it is a tie, no one gets points for the inning, and the runs do not carry over (unless the game hits the two-hour time limit, where the runs in the last started inning count). The batters cannot step out, bunt, or walk. (On a walk, the defending team has to have every player touch the ball before they can make a play on the runner, who can advance as far as he'd like.) Batters can steal first on any pitch of the at-bat, by running to first to beat a put-out throw. If the game is tied at nine innings, there is a "Showdown Tie Breaker" with multiple rounds of fewer and fewer fielders and more runners on base until an uneven score is achieved. Fans get involved more than in a regular game, as any foul ball caught cleanly is an out, and they can challenge one play during the game. Finally, at one point during the game, teams can send up any batter to bat in any spot (so your best hitter will be up in a critical spot). Oh, and there are two DHs. Make sense? No? Just play along.
In the first, the Animals got a single and no runs, while the Bananas only managed to strand a three-base error "triple." No points.
In the second, the Animals started with a hit batsman and something involving hopscotch. I honestly don't know. After a grounder that moved the lead runner over, two wild pitches brought him home. The third Animals' batter stole first, and the next batter singled. Another single plated two runs, and another single got the trailing runner to third, to be driven in on a sacrifice fly, getting the Animals four runs. The Bananas just managed one baserunner reaching on an error, so the Animals won the inning, making the score 1-0.
The Animals kept going in the third, where a spate of singles, wild pitches, and stolen bases (including home) led to two runs. With one out, the Animal's batter stole first and then scored on a two-run home run, giving them four runs for the inning again. The Bananas were only able to answer with a solo homer to left, giving the Animals the inning and a 2-0 lead.
The Animals went in order in the fourth, as did the Bananas. No points.
In the fifth, the Animals were struck out in order (and on the first batter, the Bananas players changed positions with every pitch.) The Bananas also went in order, so no points.
The Animals went in order in the sixth, as did the Bananas. No points.
The seventh started with the Bananas center field trying--and failing--to make a backflip catch. The runner stole second, but then the Animals went in order. The Bananas had a lead-off homer to right, which walked off the inning, giving them a point, making the score 2-1.
In the eighth, the Animals struck out three times, with a reached on error in the middle. The Bananas began with a leadoff hit that was called out trying to sneak a double. A fan challenge overturned the call to a double. But the Bananas then went in order, so no points.
The Animals went in order in the ninth. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, the Bananas reached first on a walk, but the next two batters went in order, and the Animals won the game, 2-1, and so the deciding game of the world tour. The game squeaked in at 1:58, just avoiding the hard stop.
The Scorecard:
The Party Animals vs. the Savannah Bananas, 09/16/23. The Animals win, 2-1.
To start with, there was no roster, the players weren't up on the scoreboard, and they weren't announced clearly, so I didn't get all the players.
As mentioned above, I had to make some modifications to the scoring. I put the runs scored for each inning at the bottom of the innings column, with a slash to whether the team got a point for winning the inning (check mark) or not (X).
The default lineup also has ten batters, with a "designated hitter" for the pitcher, and an "extra hitter," just because.
There were numerous notes on all the weirdness I noted above, in addition to some stunt pitching by Lee Smith in the ninth for just the first two pitches.
In addition, "walks" got circled to indicate where the batter ended up with the "no walks rule," and even seemingly mundane things like pitch-hitter Stilts in the sixth doesn't quite capture a guy on actual stilts coming up to bat. (He struck out.)
The Accommodations:
I eventually ended back up in Jersey City.
Stand-Alone Trip
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