Bowie

On Just Being Out of the Heat

Prince George's Stadium, 2014

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates) vs.-
Bowie Baysox (Baltimore Orioles)
Prince George's Stadium
Eastern League (AA)
Bowie, MD
6:35 PM


Outside the Game:
After the tiny bit of frustration the day before, I decided to take it easy this morning. I lounged around in bed for a bit, went down and had breakfast, and then headed back to my room to lounge around some more. I then settled in for some serious lounging.

With an 11 AM checkout looming, I eventually go dressed, loaded up the car, and turned in my key. My first stop was a gas station to fill up (since I used far more gas than expected the day before for some reason) and get some money, and then I was heading out to Bowie (which is pronounced Boo-ey, and not Bow-e, as one would expect).

I didn't actually have anything planned, but after the previous day, I decided to get to the park and figure everything else out later. Although there were the prerequisite traffic lights eating away at the very concept of time itself, the drive up went relatively smoothly, and I pulled in at the park a little after noon. I got a ticket and did my regular walking around, and I then decided to head out to see what I could see.

Which wasn't much, to be honest. There were a couple of little museums I wasn't in the mood for, and it was mostly a suburban community for Baltimore and DC. It reminded me a lot of my hometown of Clifton, and that is not a flattering comparison.

I got some lunch for lack of anything better to do and drove around for a while looking for anything interesting. There was an "Old Town Bowie," but it turned out to be a couple of antiques shops and a visitor's center. After a half hour or so of this, I started looking for a park to walk around and take a nap, but the heat was starting to get to me. But then I passed a mall with a Barnes & Noble. And so I pulled in and spent some time at the bookstore Cafe checking Internet, and typing on this a bit, and generally not being in god-awful heat.

It's amazing how much time you can kill in air conditioning with the Internet. It was eventually time to head over to the park and so a quick drive later planted me back in the gargantuan parking lot. I picked a spot that was near an exit and went on my way to the park. On my walk-around, I found a divot behind center field that had captured two batting practice balls, which I grabbed up before heading back to the front.

And there I was immediately confronted by Batman, Robin, and the 60's Batmobile. For real. It turned out that it was Superhero night, and a local car collector brought his pet Batmobile copy, and, for some reason, was teamed up with an anti-huffing parents group, taking pictures and giving out pamphlets about why huffing is bad. In the face of this situation, I got on line to get in, and away we went.

No, really: The Batmobile

After the game, I did not stay for the end of the intern talent contest, nor the running on the bases, and the fireworks were in my rear-view mirror when they started. A few interminable Maryland stop lights later, I eventually made it out to the interstate at just before 10 PM and started to drive home as fast as traffic and physics would allow. After being stuck in the slow lane for approximately two days, it was just floor it and go north as fast as possible. With the exception of a couple of Pennsylvania trucks being in the left lane at one point, it was all smooth sailing, and I pulled into my garage in Hoboken a little before 1 AM.


The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, Prince George's Stadium

Prince George's Stadium is a suburban field located next to nothing in particular, just off the highway. Which, given how little else Bowie had going on, wasn't that much of a surprise.

That said, it was a nice enough park, if a bit weird. The entrance plaza had a baseball diamond made in the stonework underneath a generic statue of an old-timey baseball player holding hands with a young girl--I never quite figured the symbolism out. Scripted neon signs identified the Tickets booth and "Gift Shop," but they were a little hard to see in daylight with the glare. The park was set in scrubland and backed against a small wood in the back, where low ranch houses held batting cages and clubhouses.

Once inside, the park was a common minor-league design. A main promenade ran from right field to left field behind home plate, with a smaller walkway halfway between the seats, separating the boxes below from the reserved seats above. The press and luxury boxes ran above everything from about first to third base, and most of the concessions were on the main concourse, mainly underneath the luxury areas.

Left field ended in a (roped off) picnic hill and the Bud Light All-You-Can-Eat patio, while right field ended in (another roped-off) picnic hill, children areas (complete with merry-go-round), and a lighthouse off in deep right.

Super Louie

It was Super Hero night at the park, and that permeated all the activities. Mascot monsters Louie and Rocko were decked out in superhero gear, as were the entirety of the college-aged fan crew. There was a new superpower contest, and most of the rest of the regular activities became super-themed (Super Simon Says, Super Tug-of-War, Super Pizzas Giveway, etc, etc.). There was a sizable crowd on-hand for the match, but the contests and super-hero activities seemed to be most their focus.


At the Game with Oogie:

That one thing...

I had seats on the home first-base side. As it was Super Hero night, there were wall-to-wall families in the park, with most of the kids dressed in some sort of costume. There was a small family with well-behaved children to my right, a small family with well-behaved children to my left, and a giant group three families with insane brats sitting in front of me. I shouldn't say that. One of the families were dwarves, and their kids were well-behaved. The rest of them were on my very last nerve.

Corn dog and fries

As my stomach wasn't doing too well, I got a corn dog dinner, because if I was going to go down, I was going to go down swinging a corn dog.


The Game:

First pitch, Curve vs. Baysox

The bottom-dwelling Curve were playing the third-place Baysox, but the game didn't play out that way. In fact, the word of the day was apparently "doubles," because there were a whole lot of them.

For example, the game started with back-to-back doubles for the Curve (1, 2) that brought in one run. A fly to right moved the lead runner over, and a walk made it first and third with one out. An amazing catch on a fly to right held it to a sacrifice fly that brought the runner in from third, and a ground-out to second ended the half 2-0, Curve. The Baysox went in order, already hinting that this game may be over.

The second inning began with an Altoona double (3), and a sacrifice bunt moved him over to third. An grounder to first offered hope of a short inning, but a single to left brought in the runner from third, before a grounder to short ended the half 3-0, Curve. Bowie went in order.

The third inning went a few batters before a double. Back-to-back singles started the inning for the Curve, and the next batter flied out to left. Then a double (4) cleared the bases, and another double (5) brought him in. The pitcher was chased (3.3 innings pitched, 8 hits, 7 earned runs), and the new pitcher got a strikeout before giving up a single that scored the runner on base. Another strikeout mercifully ended the inning 7-0, Curve. (To be fair, the Baysox pitcher wasn't bad, per se, it is just that all these doubles and hits were on the chalk and going into the corner. It was bad luck all around.) The Baysox started their inning with a double (6), breaking up the no-hitter, and fielder's choices got him to third, but there he stayed.

In the fourth, we waited one ground-out for our Altoona double (7), who moved to third on a short single. Another double (8) brought in a run and made it second and third with one out. A ground-out followed that brought in the runner from third and moved the trailing runner to third, and a single brought him in, while an error by the second baseman on the next batter made it first and third with two outs. But a grounder to third ended it at 10-0, Curve. Bowie went in order.

In a surprising turn of events, the Curve went in order in the fifth, as did the Baysox. In the sixth, the Curve had back-to-back, one-out singles, and a two-out single to load the bases, but nothing came across. The BaySox had a one-out double (9) to show for the bottom of the sixth.

The seventh started with a single for Altoona, erased on a fielder's choice. A two-out walk made it first and second, and a wild pitch made it second and third. A single brought in a run, but a ground-out ended the half a 11-0, Curve. The Baysox got a two-out runner on an error by the pitcher, but on the following double (10), the runner from first was cut down by a mile trying to score, leaving it 11-0, Curve.

The Curve, perhaps tired from all the running, only had a one-out single in the top of the eighth, while the Baysox had back-to-back, two-out singles, eventually stranded by a grounder to third to end the inning. In the ninth, the Curve had a leadoff single and then a one-out single to make it first and second with one out. A double-play ball to second was cheered lustily by a home team fanbase that had little to cheer about all game. Bowie went in order to end the ninth and the game 11-0, Baysox, and get the fireworks started that nearly all in attendance were waiting for at that point.


The Scorecard:

Curve vs. Baysox, 07/26/14. Baysox win, 11-0.

This may be the weirdest scorecard situation I've ever encountered. In the free program they gave you at the door, they had one page of a scorecard for one team, with a note at the bottom to go visit fan services if you wanted a full scorecard--which in no way explains the value of having one page of the scorecard printed in the program. I even asked the woman manning the fan services booth why this was, and she didn't know, either. At any rate, there was a full, pre-printed, one-page scorecard on regular paper at fan services. It has the opposing pitchers with the batting line of the other team, but otherwise was uncontroversial.

Scoring-wise, the only thing of real note were the ten total doubles. There were only two people on the Altoona Curve who didn't have a double (though every player had at least one hit). The 21 hits by the Curve were also of note, and there was a caught stealing 7-2 in the bottom of the seventh when a runner on first tried to score on a double. There was also a rather rare 5U on a grounder to third in the bottom of the eighth.

Another point of interest was an at-bat during the top of the third, where the Curve batter lined a foul on a hard arc over the netting and bulls-eyed a spectator on the promenade behind home plate, who was knocked out. He was eventually okay.


The Accommodations:
Late, but Hoboken. There, I received a voice mail from my landlord telling me that instead of kicking out the girls downstairs, she had renewed their lease. I then spent the rest of the evening staring at the ceiling in the dark.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2014 Maryland

Altoona

On Being an Idiot

People's Natural Gas Field, 2013

Friday, August 31, 2013

Akron Aeros (Cleveland Indians) vs.
Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Eastern League (AA)
Peoples Natural Gas Field
Altoona, PA
6:00 PM


Outside the Game:
After being thrown a free breakfast voucher the evening before by the clerk who checked me in, I went down to the restaurant to redeem it. They didn't have a buffet as is usual in such situations, and the nice waitress explained that it was a coupon for a free specific breakfast item on the menu, but she would really get me whatever I wanted, within reason. The coupon breakfast was actually looking pretty good, so I ordered that, along with an oatmeal. After eating, I asked to settle up for he oatmeal, and she told me it was all good, so I tossed her something extra in the tip.

I went back to the room to get my stuff together and head out into the day. With a night game this evening and less than a two-hour drive to get there, I decided to avail myself of the local opportunities. I had originally thought about going to Altoona and seeing some of the sights there, but the day before I had found out about the Little League Museum, right by the Little League World Series complex, so that quickly became a gimmie.

After packing up the car, I headed out to the short drive to the south of town for the Little League Museum. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the museum was at the top of the field complex that just the last week had been used for this year's World Series. I poked around a bit and then went into the museum proper. It was an excellent affair in six "innings" (just as a Little League game) that went through the formation and history of the league, its equipment, and the World Series, and with even a Hall of Excellence thrown in.

Hall of Excellence

Of special note was a rather sizable exhibit on Maria Pepe of Hoboken, who was the first girl to play Little League baseball. It was nice to see that the museum didn't shy away from the controversies of its past, because Little League Baseball went to state Supreme Courts in many cases to prevent girls from playing at the time. I got to talking with one of the staff in another part of the museum and mentioned I was from Hoboken. Apparently, Ms Pepe is a regular visitor to the museum and gives talks and the like. I couldn't help think what hell she must have gone through at the time and still ended up that positive about the experience to keep coming back.

Another inning of the museum had interactive exhibits where you can play fielding, catching, running, and jumping games. Of course, it would be undignified to do such things. As it would be bragging to point out that I ran the third fastest time from home to first that day.

The museum empties out into the store, and I went crazy buying a bunch of neat stuff there. I was waited on by the staff member I had talked to earlier. But this was only half of the experience. The actual fields were around back.

So I stopped by the car, put my purchases in the trunk, got out my sunscreen, and lathered up before walking into the afternoon to visit the fields. Because I was only taking my camera with me and not my game bag (as per usual), I put the sunscreen in my front pocket. Remember this, as it will be important later.

Player dorms

The Little League World Series had expanded from the single-field affair in the center of Williamsport to this multi-field complex in the south of town. For the duration of the tournament, the teams live in a no-parents-allowed village of dorms and recreation buildings that are just up the hill from the fields. The two main parks are Lamade Stadium and the newer Volunteers Field (paid for by the volunteers for the series). There are even more practice fields in the back that are used for their stated purpose, as well as early-level elimination matches. It was all very nice and clearly recovering from the last week or so.

Center field to home plate, Lamade Stadium

After I had my fill, I got back into the car for the drive out to Altoona. The path, which went through State College, was not a heavily trafficked corridor this Saturday, as Penn State wasn't at home. It was in a panic that morning that I realized that I was going to drive straight through the heart of the beast on a Saturday, and it was with even greater relief that I realized the Nittany Lions would not be home that day. So the drive was largely without incident.

As I still had plenty of time before the game, I decided to stop off at the Railroaders Museum in Altoona to see the sights before heading out to the ballpark. I eventually pulled into the parking lot for the Railroad Museum, did the standard, half-assed hiding job for all my stuff, and then left the car. Remember the sunscreen I had put in my pocket earlier? Here's the payoff.

I usually have a preternatural knowledge of if I have everything I need in my pockets, transmitted by a complex system of feeling, weight, and echolocation. With the sunscreen in the pocket usually occupied by my key wallet, it threw everything off, and I left my car without my keys, which stayed happily in the ignition.

And here we are.

After the immediate rage subsided, and the subsidiary rage at having a legitimate senior moment went its course, there was a sullen recognition that this could be worse. Except that my cell phone was running out of juice. I went into the museum and explained to the nice, college-aged lady behind the counter my predicament, and she even offered to have her own roadside people come or ask the handyman at the museum to take a look at it. I took a paper and pen from her and decided to try my luck with AAA first.

A certain amount of transferring later, I was on the phone with a person who said a truck from a local towing company would be out within the hour. I told them my cell phone and to check in the museum if I wasn't with the car, because I might as well take in the museum while I was waiting. Perhaps its intellectual effects would stimulate my flagging memory.

So off to the museum I went, which was also an extremely well-done affair. To be honest, I didn't know Altoona from Abercrombie before this weekend, but it turns out to have been incredibly important to rail travel and the Pennsylvania Railroad, so go figure. The museum was not only a great descriptor of the railroad history and all the different jobs that went into it, but it did an excellent job of capturing the everyday lives of the workers, from recreating a typical house, to even having a walk-in display of a local ethnic watering hole of the time. Projected videos into the environment gave color to the various environments that were being represented.

Altoona in smokier days

Once done with my visit, I checked the time, and it was well-past the hour I was told for the arrival of the truck. Fearing that I perhaps missed them and they neglected to call, I started to dial AAA again only to have them call me while I was waiting for them to pick up. They asked if the tow truck had shown up yet, and I explained that I was just in the process of calling them about that, and as we were having that discussion, the tow truck pulled into the parking lot, and we all hung up.

I am not an uninformed person. One of the reasons that I still drive this beater car around is because I know that anyone who really wanted to could break into my car and steal it at any point. But knowing that thing and actually seeing that the tow truck guy was out of his truck for less than ten seconds before he put some hydraulic pump thing into my car door, pumped it twice, and fished open my lock. I thanked him and then vowed to myself never keep anything valuable in my car ever again.

Upon leaving, a combination of the late hour and my lack of gas prevented me from driving up to the actual railroad "Curve" that gave the local team its namesake. I drove around a little trying to find a gas station that was open on the holiday weekend. After I gassed up, it was a short trip to the stadium, where I parked and did my business.

After the game, I was headed about a half hour down the road to Bedford, right at the juncture with the main road to get me to York the next day. The game ended at a decent hour, and a short and uneventful ride later deposited me at my hotel for the evening.


The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, People's Natural Gas Field

"People's Natural Gas Field" probably made financial sense at the time, but it just doesn't roll off the tongue. Even the facade of the stadium gives up on the cumbersome moniker and just has a stylized natural gas flame as the main signage. The ballpark is also located right next door to Lakemont Park Amusement Park, which has its Skyliner roller coaster just beyond the right field wall. The conjoined parking lot for both facilities sits in left-center, and since the ballpark is at a much lower grade than the lot, you can get really cheap seats by standing on the top of the lot to watch the game. Or the amusement park, if you're into that sort of thing.

The VIP entrance is located close to the smaller parking lot for the ballpark only, while the main general entrance in left field is next to the larger lot shared with the amusement park. The entrance has stairs lowering you into the two levels of the park. The lowest is a promenade which extends most of the way around the park, from left-center, around home, to right. The upper deck runs from third to first.

In most parks such as these, the upper deck is just there to hold the press box and the luxury boxes, but this is a legitimate second level, with  general seating, the main team store, concessions, kids play area, and even a small video arcade. The lower promenade has most of its concessions and facilities under the cover of the second level, but there are special areas out in left and right field. In left is the Rocky Gap Entertainment Deck, with the Kunzler Grill and patio and wall seating. In right field is a special events pavilion and the Galliker's Fun Zone for the kids. There is also a section of "cheap seat" bleachers in right that was sponsored by the same discount emporium as was in Harrisburg.

The park had some oddities. Near the VIP entrance are two out-of-place monuments. Seemingly chucked in there is the one retired number for the team, as well as a picture display of the stadiums of the Eastern League. And while some of the outfield hills are open to visitors, others have dire warnings against climbing on them in a way that is sure to confuse some fans about what to do or not do.

Diesel Dog and Steamer

The team has got a troop of mascots, including Diesel Dawg, Steamer, and Al Tuna (get it?). Al is only supposed to show up during the game when the Curve score a run, so the cry of "Bring out Al" gets bandied about a lot. Most of the between-inning entertainment is minor-league standards, with the exception of the knight battle. For that, two guys in padded knight suits come out and fight with pugil sticks, trying to knock off the stuffed head of their opponent's suit that is held on by strong Velcro. It was certainly the closest to a blood sport I've seen at a minor-league game, to be sure.

The crowd was copious and into the contest, and there was even a sizable contingent of visiting fans from Akron who came out to see the game. To be honest, I'm not sure how far Akron is to Altoona, but it seems as though it should be a while.


At the Game with Oogie:

Scoring along

In line to get in, I was just in front of this older gentleman, and as often happens, we started talking. He was from the Trenton area, and a Thunder fan, and he was just out here for a game because he was visiting his father, who lived in the area. We talked about baseball inconsequentials on the line, and he said how he had gotten a seat in the right field bleachers, as they are quite close to the field and half the price of the infield box seats. We talked a little about what I was doing, and as soon as we were in the doors, we parted ways, as I set out to do my normal business, and with a park this large, I was going to need every minute of the hour before the game to take in the park. I eventually saw him in the area next to me in the bleachers. I waved, but I'm not sure if he was looking.

I was just able to get a seat in the box seats behind the home dugout on the first-base side. I was in the last section of seats that was a little down the line from the dugout. It was a small section, and this was because it ended in the fence that separated the service entrance to the field. My seat was right up against the fence, which gave me a semi-comfortable place to lean, but sometimes impeded my view of right field. Most of the between-inning entertainment sat in the pen next to my seat before they went out to the field, as did the grounds crew, so it was an interesting vantage point to watch the fan crew distractedly texting between innings or the grounds crew futz with their equipment before heading out to repair the playing surface.

On the other side of me were mostly families. The place was packed that day. Around me was a large extended family who had a four year-old (or thereabouts) boy with them. He was regularly confused during the game because he was used to cheering for the team in black (the parent club, the Pirates), whereas the home colors of their farm team was red. But their opponents were wearing black uniforms. His parents kept trying to correct him, but he kept correcting them, explaining that black was the good guys. And so it goes.

The Curve Burger

I grabbed a Angus "Curve Burger" for grub.


The Game:

First pitch, Aeros vs. Curve

This was one of the last games of the season for a just-over-.500 team and a team a few games below .500. It didn't mean much to either team, per se, and I was unsure of what to expect. But whatever it was, it was definitive.

The Pirates' Jason Grilli was starting a rehab assignment in the game, but the Aeros started off with a single. But Grilli got several quick outs to end the inning. The Curve went meekly in order in their half. Grilli pitched one inning and was done, and both sides went in order in the second. It was shaping up to be a quick game, especially when the Aeros repeated the feat in the third. The Curve showed some life, however. A leadoff single was followed by an attempted bunt to move the runner over that ended up as a bunt single. A walk loaded the bases, but a ground-out to third cut down the runner at home. However, it was the next grounder to third that defies explanation.

There was a clean grounder right to third. The runner at third did not break for home, but stayed on third. The runner from second ended up on the base as well, and the third baseman tagged them both for an unassisted double play. The original runner at third couldn't be there because he was forced to go home, and the runner from second couldn't be there because the runner from third was still there. I can only imagine the yelling both of them endured when their manager got a hold of them in the dugout.

The Aeros again went in order in the fourth, and the Curve again wasted an opportunity. Back-to-back singles started the half-inning, but they were then followed with a ground-out and an around-the-horn double play to end the inning. The fifth started as more of the same for the Aeros, with a pop out to second, but three straight walks came after it. A fielder's choice brought in a run before the end of the inning to give the Aeros a 1-0 lead. The bottom of the inning were more blown opportunities by the Curve. A batter got a two-out single and then stole second. The man after him walked, and then they both double-stole third and second. But then a ground-out to third ended the inning.

Given how lifeless the game had been so far, the top of the sixth defies explanation. A single was followed by a homer to right. And then a single was followed by another homer to center. And then another home to center. And then the next three batters made outs, with the score 4-0, Aeros. The Curve managed a hit batsman and a single in their half. The Aeros cooled off to only a walk in the top of the seventh, as did the Curve in their half of the inning.

In the eighth, the first batter got on by an errant throw by the third baseman, and the next batter walked. Three batters later, a two-out home run came before a strikeout ended the half, leaving it a laugher at 9-0, Aeros. The Curve went in order in the eighth, and the Aeros only managed a single in the top of the ninth. The Curve closed out their feckless game with three straight outs in the bottom of the ninth, and the game ended 7-0, Aeros.


The Scorecard:

Aeros vs. Curve, 08/31/13. Aeros win, 7-0.

The pamphlet-sizes scorecard was a free giveaway at the park entrance, which was a nice change of pace from all the extra-charge cards I'd been seeing lately. While on newsprint, it wasn't cheap newsprint, and it stood up well to writing with sharp pencils, instead of shredding itself like delicate tissue paper. The program itself was completely customized to the opponent, with full lineups as part of the program, another welcome change from the last few parks to which I'd visited.

The scorecard was the centerfold of the program, and it had no adds to impede it. For its form factor, it had ample space, as well as acknowledging the reality of double-labeling the summary categories as extra innings should things come to pass. The only knock on it was the lack of any pitching stats, but since there were extra replacement lines, I took the opportunity to at least note all of the pitchers, if not their full stats.

Scoring-wise, the game had a few things of note. First was the four strikeouts that required a put-out play to get the runner. Raw catchers in this league are no doubt the cause of that. The unassisted double-play by the third baseman in the third was, I think, the first unassisted double-play I've ever seen. There was the double-steal in the fifth, and the home run explosion by the Aeros in the sixth and eighth, but besides those events, everything else was not out of the ordinary.


The Accommodations:

Econolodge

After perhaps over-spending on the Holiday Inn the night before for a room I barely used, I decided to grab a room at the Econolodge for Saturday night, as I'd be spending a similar amount of time in the room and there was one a short distance down the road from Altoona in Bedford.

When I got in after the game, I was again a little weary from the traveling, and the counter person was extremely nice to me. Her name, if her name tag was to be believed, was Barb. Close your eyes and think of "Barb." Yep, that was her.

I've got to say, there is just something about motels that I found reassuring. I think it probably goes back to my childhood and vacations, but I have an affinity to them that I don't have with fancy hotels for whatever reason. And say what you will about Econolodges, I don't think I've ever had a truly disappointing experience in one, and that's more than I can say about most hotel chains.

After checking in, I dragged my stuff to my room and got settled in. There was little different from this room than the room I stayed in the night before, except the price tag. The king-sized bed had a raft of pillows with which to make a big pile to rest my back, and outside of being less fancy, all the same amenities were here: bathroom, desk, lounge chair, end tables and bed.

As with the previous night, I took a shower to wash the day off of me, watched some TV, did some writing, and then hit the hay.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2013 Labor Day

New Britain

On a Lovely Day for Some Baseball

New Britain Stadium, 2012

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates) vs.
New Britain Rock Cats (Minnesota Twins)
New Britain Stadium
Eastern League (AA)
7:05 PM


Outside the Game:
It had been nearly a month to the day that I got home from Korea. Since starting these international trips, July has become a "recovery period," where I process everything from the trips (pictures, blogs, etc) and just get back to normal in living in America again. August, subsequently, has been when I realize how little time is really left in the baseball season and I get out on the road again.

Almost completely from the ether, I decided to finish seeing all the pro teams in New Jersey last year. As these things often do, I extended this out to try for all the teams in Connecticut and Rhode Island this August. There are only a grand total of four, although some of them are pushing 3.5-4 hours from my house, making day trips out on the weekend less likely, especially night games.

The way the gods of scheduling had it, the first one I could go see was one of the further out. New Britain, CT, is about 2.5-3 hours as the crow flies from Hoboken, but it seemed doable enough for a day trip out for a night game on a Saturday. I generally am bumming around anyway, and it is not like I have to get up early on Sunday.

After an abortive attempt to go into Connecticut in June (and the short version was after chancing a city crossing, a parade stopped me dead and sent me home), I decided to go the safer "up and over" route via the Palisades Parkway and the Tapen Zee Bridge.

I game myself plenty of time by leaving at 1:30, and off I rode. Outside of hitting a little bit of congestion at the bridge toll and due to an accident on 84 in Connecticut, the ride up was pleasantly uneventful. Even with stopping off for gas and lunch, I got to the stadium about two and half hours before the start of the game. I was able to get parked before they even set up the parking lot (which got me out of paying for parking), and I was the first one at the window to buy a ticket (though three other families showed up right after me). There was plenty of time for pre-game wandering about and the like.

After the game, most of the people in attendance were going back to their cars to get the gear for the Scout sleepover that night. There was no traffic at all getting out, and I was heading back to 84 in the other direction in no time, which was good given that I didn't get out until after 10:30.

Finally the West Coast swing by the Mets was working for me, as I was able to listen to the second half of the Mets-Padres game on the way home. I didn't make any stops, and outside of the TomTom trying to take me back into New York to take the West Side Highway down to the Lincoln Tunnel (because somehow that would be faster than the Palisades, in its mind), I had an uneventful ride home, the Mets won, and I managed to drag myself to bed a little after 1 AM.


The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, New Britain Stadium

The curiously uncorporatized New Britain Stadium lies at a particularly fortuitous crossroads: it is equidistant from Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, making it a go-to destination for people in the area looking to see some baseball. This was my first game after Korea, and it was a continuation of that experience in a couple of ways. Firstly, the ballpark was located in a larger complex of stadiums. Secondly, it was largely wedged-in as well. Around the outside of the left field, there was a tiny path that let you get all the way around the stadium.

But that's where the similarities ended. This was very much a minor league American park. It was a nifty little design, and for the most part symmetrical. There were two rows of seats that only extended out the beginnings of the outfield. Each seating area ended with a special section (the events picnic area and kid's playground on the left field end, and the Comcast Patio on the right field side). Each area at the top of the park behind the bases had their own special area, as well (the MVP Seats on the third base side and the All-Star Terrace on the first base side). Even the "luxury" boxes behind home plate were symmetrical around the press box, with the Heineken Suites on the first base side and the Advance Copy Suite on the third base side. Two opposing stairwells led up to the seating areas on both sides of the field.

The interior of the stadium was one horseshoe around the stadium. At the main gate was the fan service desk and other booths. Concessions stretched down the first base hallway, and in addition to the concessions on the third base side was also the large team store. Right by the store and behind a bank of condiments were the placards for the "New Britain Sports Hall of Fame."

Beehive Field

The real gem was next door. "Beehive Field" was a nearly completely wooden park that was the former home of Rock Cats, and their earlier incarnation as a Red Sox minor league franchise. They left for the less green pastures next door in the mid-90s, but the town fathers had the wisdom to leave the old park standing. I can understand how minor league personnel must have hated Beehive Field, with its rudimentary facilities, but it was just everything an old park should be. Sadly, it seemed to be under repair during my visit, as large parts of the structure had warning signs on it, but it was still touted as hosting the New Britain high school team and other organized amateur ball. It makes me happier that old parks like this are still in existence.

Back at the new stadium, they got a pretty big crowd for the game that night. It was Scout Night, and registered scouts were going to do a sleepover in the outfield after the game that night. Though the scouts and families were perhaps a quarter of the crowd, the rest were families and baseball fanatics out to see a game. What was notable was that for a minor-league game, there were a lot less of the between-inning shenanigans than normal, as usually at this level of ball the between-innings periods are chock full of musical chairs, and spin races, and the like. Not to say that there weren't any, but just a lot less than I was expecting. This night was also a tribute to 30 years of pro baseball in New Britain, so there were a number of video presentations on that milestone as well, perhaps replacing some of the games.

Surprising

It was another case of a predictably named mascot, however. The New Britain Rock Cats had a rock cat as a mascot. You know what? Just based on that, guess the rock cat's name. Correct, it was Rocky.


At the Game with Oogie:

Chicken fingers and water

I arrived plenty early at the park that day, predating the parking guys to the point where I got free parking for my promptness, or at least, that is the theory I'm going with. (I did ask about buying a parking ticket after the ropes went up, and I got a shrug of complete ambivalence from the teen on duty.) As per usual for minor and indie games, I sprung for the "expensive" seats behind the home dugout, to the tune of $15.

With a lot of time to kill, I ended up doing the full circuit of both New Britain Stadium, and their previous home next door, the Beehive. I get the impression that not a lot of people walk around the back of the stadium, as it is just a grass field backed by some woods and the high school, but I was surprised to find someone else out behind center field with his mitt. We both were made extremely sheepish by being found by other human beings, and it seemed clear that we had to talk to each other. I figured he was out there shagging any balls that cleared the stadium during batting practice, and god only knows what he thought of me.

"Doing some fielding practice for BP?"
"Cheap way to get a suntan."

And we both smiled and wished the other person would go away, as I did passing around to the other side of the stadium in my circuit.

After doing my normal walkabout the stadium, I grabbed some chicken fingers and fries and had some dinner at a stand-up table by the left field entrance. My seat was right at the end of the dugout, in front of an indented area where the grounds crew apparently kept all their rakes and such. Either way, it let me stretch out my legs after the long drive up, and it was welcome.

There were tons of families around me at the start of the game. As it got later and later into the night, especially with the long game, the families eventually petered away, and kids made their way into free seat upgrades to try and get balls out of the home players on the way back to the dugout. Some later arrivals weren't as lucky, but the kids that were already there shared their bounty with them. It was straight up one of the nicest things I'd have ever witnessed. One of the kid's dads caught me scoring and we talked about it for a while.

Before the family exodus, when the rock cat mascot came out for the first time, the kids of the family in the row behind me took notice. Their approximately six-year old daughter said this, word for word: "My goodness, that is a big kitty. I must hug it." I wasn't quite sure what to do with that. She eventually went over to get his autograph, and presumably a hug. I wish her well.

The stadium seemed to be facing dead north, because the sun was absolutely pounding down on the first base side as it started to set. Usually teams will align their field so that the blinding sun will fall on their opponent's dugout, but for whatever reason, the sun was right in our faces until it mercifully set behind the trees on this sweltering August evening. I've never been happier to see the lights come on before.


The Game:

First pitch, Curve vs. Rock Cats

With AA ball, you never quite know what you are going to get, except that there is going to be a big old dollop of slop worked in somewhere. Maybe there will be all hit, no pitch. Maybe it will be all pitch, no hit, but you can be sure there will be an error or two to get you through it.

The visiting Curve went down in order in the top of the first, but the Rock Cats got their lead-off hitter home after a single with a stolen base (that got my section $8 off an oil change), and error on the first baseman, and a wild pitch, while the rest of team went in order, leaving it a 1-0 Rock Cats lead at the end of one.

The Curve lead off the second with a single, and then a walk made it two on with no outs, which is never good if you're pitching. After a strike out, the Rock Cats gave up another single to load the bases, and then things got bizarre. The next batter up grounded one slowly to short, who went for and got the sure out at first. The runner from third scored, but the runner going from first to second either thought it was a double play, or forgot how many outs their were, because he made for the dugout. The first baseman fired back to the shortstop who tagged him out, for a simple 6-3-6t double play to end the inning. I would not want to be that runner going back to an angry manager after that level of bonehead play. But the Rock Cats went in order, leaving it tied at the end of two.

In the top of the third, the Curve got a lead-off walk thrown out on a steal attempt and nothing else. The Rock Cat's lead-off runner got to first on a shortstop error, moved over after a sacrifice bunt back to the pitch was successful enough for an infield single, and then a ground out to short left it first and third with one out. Another single brought home the run, but a double play ended the third with the Rock Cats up 2-1.

A potent mix of a single, a walk, and an error brought in a run with no outs for the Curve in the fourth. A sacrifice fly brought another in, but they could do no better, taking back the lead at 3-2. The Rock Cats started off their half with back-to-back singles, but could do nothing with it. In the fifth, the Curve scattered a single and a walk to no effect, but the Rock Cats started the sixth with a line drive homer to left to tie it at 3. The bases got loaded with back-to-back singles and another E6 before a sac fly brought in another run. But they got nothing more, regaining a slim 4-3 lead.

The Curve went in order in the sixth (thanks in part to a superman catch by the Rock Cat's center fielder), while the Rock Cats rudely greeted a new Curve pitcher. A lead-off walk was followed by a single, and a wild pitch moved them both over. A one-out single brought them in, but a hit batsman and single got them nothing more before the end of the inning, with the Rock Cats having some breathing room at 6-3.

The seemingly deflated Curve went in order in the seventh, but the Rock Cats turned a hit batsman and three more singles into two more runs, opening it up to 8-3. The Curve only managed a single and walk that went nowhere in the eighth, and the Rock Cats coasted to the ninth with a walk to show for their half of the eighth.

Then things got interesting. A new Rock Cats pitcher promptly gave up a single, a double, and another single to chip off one run of the lead. A sacrifice fly brought in another. After getting a fly out to right, it looked like the pitcher would be able to finish it off, but he got pulled before he had the chance. The new pitcher then gave up two more singles, to make the score an uncomfortable 8-6, with runners on first and third with two out. The go-ahead run came to plate, and struck out looking, giving the pitcher a save, and the Rock Cats the far too close 8-6 victory.


The Scorecard:

Curve vs. Rock Cats, 08/04/12. Rock Cats win, 8-6.

For the first time since Washington, PA, I had a new score card to explore. The score card was part of the $3 program, and was just a separate double-sided copy of what looked to be an official scorer sheet. The xerox was also a little off, and some of the column headers on the left were cut off because of it. Certainly not the worst scorecard I've gotten at a minor league park, but certainly interesting.

The reason I surmise it was an official scorer sheet is because it had a section up top to prove out your card (which involves adding up at bats, walks, sacrifices, and hit by pitches and comparing it to the total for runs, left on bases, and put outs to see if they add up), as well as a tracking for every pitch outcome or throw to a base, as well as a section for pitch counts. Even after Pittsburgh, this was the most involved scorecard I have ever had to fill out, but even though it was labor-intensive, I had a lot of fun with it. The layout made substitutions very easy to handle, and I have to say how much I like the pitch count tracking system they had in place, which I'd never seen before. If the at-bat goes for more than ten pitches or throws to bases, however, you are going to run into big problems. Also, the score sheet only took into account nine innings, so if your games goes to extra innings, or a team bats around on you, you are also going to have some rather serious difficulties.

Scoring-wise, there were some doosies. I think if I live to be a hundred, I will never have to repeat the DP 6-3-6t double-play from the second inning ever again, and the 5U-5-2 DP in the sixth was also a rare one.

Tracking pitches also lets to ferret out some really weird patterns that you otherwise would have missed. In the forth, for example, the first three batters started with a ball and then put the second pitch into play. The next two after that head nearly identical "BBTBH" lines (ball, ball, taken strike, ball, in play), except that the pitcher walked the second guy. Not mind-changing insights by any stretch, but still fairly interesting.


The Accommodations:
After a long, late drive after a long game, Hoboken.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2012 Stand-Alone Trip