Saranac Lake

On a Smashing Evening

Petrova Field, 2022

Saturday, July 2, 2022
Japan Islanders vs. Saranac Lake Surge
Petrova Field
Empire League
Saranac Lake, NY
4:00 PM 
 

Outside the Game:
I was in no rush to get up the next morning, but after a sound sleep, I awoke relatively early. I sleepily walked down to the McDonald's by my hotel to find it not yet open even though it was supposed to be, so I walked back up the hill, retrieved my car, and drove to a deli in town to order up some breakfast sandwiches and head back to the hotel.

Still groggy, I went out on the patio to eat my greasy breakfast and was surprised by a seaplane taking off nearby. I finished eating and enjoying the view and went back inside to wash up, pack up, and plan my day. I booked another hotel just north of Albany to stay for the night, decided on my activites for the early afternoon, and headed out. After a friendly check out, I was off to an antique store half-way to my other destination for the day. Letting me in a well-stocked antique store is never a good idea under the best of circumstances, but especially when I don't have a plane ride between me and home, it is a recipe to spend a lot of money. At one point, I was actually measuring the trunk to see if I could fit a speaker's podium in there. As it was, I was buying things as diverse as a dummy grenade and an antique nutmeg grinder, but it all packed up nicely in the trunk, and I was off the rest of the way to Lake Placid.

Eschewing the Winter Olympics attractions, I went to the John Brown Farm. In addition to the monument and the grave, there is his restored house and barn that holds more exhibits. I had known of John Brown, but I hadn't really gone in depth, so this was a great opportunity to learn about his life, his homesteading efforts for African Americans, and other tidbits. (And learning things is important, kids, because--I kid you not--another patron was upset at the BLM banners that were located near the John Brown statue, and how my brain didn't just completely explode at the irony is lost to me.) After my tour, I made use of one of the several walking trails on the grounds (which did go right next to the Olympic ski jump) for a nice summer walk before relaxing for a bit in a shaded Adirondack chair, as is tradition.

John Brown often opined on the Olympic Ski Jump

I went back to town, stopping at the "Tail of the Pup" barbecue place for lunch. As luck would have it, I received an email from the previous day's restaurant--who apparently owned both establishments--offering me another free beer for eating at that restaurant, thus compiling the most beer I've drunk in the last decade or so, all for free. A one-man band played for the patrons, and I wolfed down a brisket sandwich and beer before heading out to the park.

I parked in what I was sure was a safe spot, walked around and called my mother prior to the game, and then headed in.

On coming out, I felt something wrong. As I going to the car, I couldn't quite figure it out until I realized that a foul ball had somehow smashed my sunroof. The angle was literally impossible. A grand total of three balls had even been fouled this way all game. An inch in either direction, and it would have been a dent in the roof. But nope, bullseye. A player parked next to me was horrified, but quickly disappeared. I cleared out the glass as best as possible, and then drove to a gas station and bought some duct tape to secure the roof closed and pray for no rain.

With nothing else to do for it, I got out on the highway and drove south to Albany and my hotel. I made it without further incident, was delirious with stress upon checking in to the point I was scaring the hostess, and then just showered the day off of me, tried to calm down, and did some research before collapsing on the bed.

The Stadium & Fans:

Home to center, Petrova Field

There's no two-ways about it or any way to sugar coat it--Petrova Field is a high-school baseball field that seems to be an appendix to a football field. There's no scoreboard, no concessions, and nothing to indicate any professional baseball except for a small Empire League sign facing the field and a small collapsible table and chair that they use to collect admissions.

The field itself is mostly chain-link fenced, with a "viewing area" of netting on the first-base side of home. The dugouts are two plexiglass-covered benches on either side of the field. The seating areas are a main metal bleacher behind home plate, and two satellite bleachers down first and third. The football field in far left field is clearly the senior partner of this two-field set-up, with a broadcast tower and football scoreboard out there, but the two seating areas also serve as outfield seating for the few brave souls that stayed out there towards the end of the game.

The crowd was small to non-existent, but did pick up steam towards the end of the game, with a smattering of people coming to see the outcome. Otherwise, the attendees were the players and the minimal staff.

At the Game with Oogie:

Bleacher scoring

I parked myself with my water bottles (purchased for just such an occasion) in the "window" on the first-base bleachers to get a relatively unobstructed view of the game. In my area sitting in lawn chairs were a smattering of true-believer fans of Saranac Lake who cheered on through the entire game. Outside of helping me when a water bottle fell down from my perch at the top of the bleacher during the game, there was no real interaction with anyone else. I sat, cooking slowly in the late afternoon, watching a ballgame, as god intended.

The Game:

First pitch, Islanders vs. Surge

After the utter anarchy that was the day before's game, this was a pleasantly bland game between the Japan Islanders and Saranac Lake Surge that didn't threaten to eat my brain at any point.\

The game began with the Islanders only having a two-out single and stolen base to show for their half of the first, while Saranac Lake had the same sole single without the stolen base. In the top of the second, Japan had a two-out walk and single stranded, while the Surge went in order. The third saw the Islanders get on the board. A leadoff single stole second and made it to third on an errant play on the throw by the shortstop. A ground-out brought in the run, but a walk and a double-play stopped the scoring there with the Islanders up 1-0. Saranac Lake only had an infield single that got thrown away to get the runner as far as second before being stranded.

The fourth had a Japan batter reach on an error by the third baseman with two outs, but the runner was stranded there. The Surge went in order. The Islanders got another run in the fifth with a leadoff walk that stole second and third and was then driven in with a single. The trail runner was caught stealing and two outs followed, leaving the new Islander lead at 2-0. Saranac Lake again went in order. The Japanese sixth began with back-to-back walks, and then a wild pitch to move the runners up and a hit batsman to load the bases with two outs, but they were all stranded by a strikeout. In the bottom of the frame, the Surge finally got on the board with a walk and two steals and a thrown-away ball by the pitcher to close the gap to 2-1 after six.

The Islanders had a leadoff walk and nothing else in the seventh, while Saranac Lake just had a single and walk in their half. Japan had a one-out single and walk in the eighth, while the Surge managed just a walk. Going into the ninth, the Islanders had a potential two-out insurance run make it to second after a passed ball, but there he stood. Saranac Lake made a last stand in the bottom of the ninth, starting with a walk and--somehow-- a defensive indifference as he took second. A dropped ball by the left fielder made it first and third with no outs, but the runner on third got picked off for the first out. The runner on first stole second on another DI, then a walk made it first and second. A fly out to right advanced the lead runner, while the trail runner advanced on yet another defensive indifference with two outs. But the Surge couldn't make it work, with a lazy fly out to center ending the game with a Japan Islander win at 2-1.

The Scorecard: 

Japan Islanders vs. Saranac Lake Surge, 07/02/22. Islanders win, 2-1.

I was again using the BBWAA scorecard, and while this game wasn't the complete travesty the previous game was, it had its moments.

There were two plays of literal note. In the bottom of the third, the Surge single and E3 noted that it was a clean infield single, but the throw got away from the first baseman on the play, allowing the runner to advance. In the bottom of the sixth, the scoring play was a delayed steal from second on the throw back to the pitcher, who promptly threw the ball to the next town over, allowing the runner to score from third easily.

The story of the game, though, was the three defensive indifference steals in the bottom of the ninth with a one-run lead. How bad is the catching in the Empire League? So bad that they don't even want the catcher to attempt a throw with the game on the line and would rather trust their equally awful pitching.

Not even mentioning getting the first out at third by getting picked off in the bottom of the ninth. Amazing.

The Accommodations:

Hilton Garden Inn

The Hilton Garden Inn was attached to a mall that had odd business hours for a Saturday night. (The connection to the mall was closed because the mall was already closed for the evening--not what you want to do to have a thriving mall, but that's not for me to decide).

My room was everything I'd expect from a Hilton. The adequate bathroom was off the entrance to the right, while the bedroom was straight ahead, with two queen beds on one side, and a dresser, TV, and desk and chair across the way. It was boring, functional, and I stress-slept a ton.

On Limping Home

Sunday, July 3, 2022
Jersey City, NJ 

Outside the Game:
After the insanity of the last night, I at least got a decent night's sleep, no doubt thanks to the stress exhaustion. Up early, I just decided to head out straight away, checking up on the tape, filling up and grabbing food at a nearby gas station, and then heading south.

Thankfully, the drive back to my parent's place was as uneventful as could be, and early afternoon had me pulling in. I had to then explain the whole situation to my slow-to-follow mother before clearing out the garage enough to put her car in and then replacing my father's car in the driveway.

Thoroughly done with the weekend at this point, I finished up a bunch of check-in tasks, and then got a rideshare back to my apartment, for a fun afternoon of calling insurance agencies and glass shops, as well as laundry and unpacking and the like.

Life just gets you sometimes.

The Accommodations:
Home, sweet, home

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2022 Adirondacks

Tupper Lake

On Rescuing Some of the Summer

Thursday, June 30, 2022
Latham, NY

Outside the Game:
With a four-day weekend on the offer, I decided to do a little more to limp my way towards 200 stadiums--a mark I had intended to hit three years ago at this point--by taking in a little of the Empire League of Professional Baseball, a last-chance, no-frills league that has been scraping by for nearly a decade in the farthest regions of New York's Adirondacks. It is a pretty far drive, but all the stadiums are bunched together once you get up there, so I decided to go halfway the night before and then head the rest of the way up to grab two of the parks, with the hope of doing the other two the next weekend, where a freak vacation had been inserted by my employer, which wasn't necessarily unwelcome, but certainly unexpected.

I slogged my way through another day of work, getting ready in the background as the day progressed. I finished up on time and grabbed a rideshare out to my parents' house at around 7 PM, not hitting much traffic and handling some weekly responsibilities over here before heading out on the road before 8 PM-ish. I immediately failed to get gas at the first station I went to as a woman was having a heated argument with the attendant about the cash she handed to him, and it only seemed to be escalating. A short drive got me to another, quieter gas station and received a full tank of gas before heading irrevocably northward.

It was a mostly easy and uneventful drive, though a car with its hazards on and two trucks doing that inevitable blockage of all traffic during a slow-motion pass in both lanes created some situational delays. There was no combined no-hitter this time up, but I pulled into the hotel just a bit after 10 PM and checked in. Finding all the vending machines had been removed from the hotel for some reason, I turned on the air conditioning in my room full-blast and then went next door to the gas station to get some snacks, passing a half-dressed man sitting on the curb openly drinking a six-pack of beer that made me feel more concerned about the safety of my car. Prophetic in the wrong way, it would turn out.

I ate my snacks, hit the sack, and that was the end of Thursday.

The Accommodations:

Mictrotel Inn, Latham, NY

The Microtel Inn was remarkably like every other Microtel Inn I've ever stayed at: conveniently located, cheap, slightly grubby and worn out, but clean nevertheless.

Upon entering the room, a small bathroom was off to the right with a full tub, and the bedroom was a compact room with a half-desk sticking out from the wall opposite the bed, with the TV and closet next to it, with the curious little day bed next to the window that is the hallmark of Mictrotels, for some unexplained reason.

It did its job.

On a Delightful Evening of Awful Baseball

Municipal Park, 2022

Friday, July 1, 2021
Japan Islanders vs. Tupper Lake River Pigs
Municipal Stadium
Empire League
Tupper Lake, NY
7:05 PM PM 

 

Outside the Game:
I woke up early in the Microtel, blearily stumbling down to the hotel's breakfast bar, a disappointing spread of mostly cold items that nonetheless fed me enough for the day ahead, before I retreated to my room for more sleep.

I eventually relented, showered and packed up, heading out onto the road sometime before 11 AM. The remaining drive was certainly scenic, if a little terrifying in places. I would later be informed that these were mostly old stagecoach roads winding through the mountains that were dubiously upgraded to two lane car roads with no shoulders. Some road work necessitated the temporary installation of traffic lights, as the roads were reduced even more to single lanes, the practically of which was of great concern to me, but ultimately did not fail in their duties.

I arrived at my hotel--right off the main road, as most things in this area were--at about 12:30 PM. I paged the front desk manager, who was out in the pool with presumably his friends and family. He has able to check me in early, saying my room was right down the walkway from the Elvis statue, which should just about tell you what kind of place Gauthier's Saranac Lake Inn was--and that was just fine with me.

I dropped off my bags, made sure the AC was maxed, and took the suggestion of my host to walk down the road for lunch at a local burger joint that would serve me a complementary beer with my room key. Outside of being a Red Sox backer bar (based on the decor), the burger and beer exactly hit the spot, and I walked happily full back to the hotel. Said hotel was right on the lake, with most rooms looking over the marina, and featured free bikes and boats for use. Most of the boats were in ill repair, and I managed to screw up getting into a kayak and had to use a partially broken paddle boat to retrieve it. That soured me on the whole project, and I decided to head into town to see what I could see instead.

There was a small museum (my kryptonite, if anything is) in the old Saranac Laboratory, which told the story of the tuberculosis colony that originally was the town's claim to fame (run by a relation of Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau). The town-spanning resort has been reduced down to the restored laboratory building as a museum to tell the story. It was honestly fascinating, especially the little porches that the patients used to sit in. After finding out there was a carousel in town, I went directly there after the museum, immediately falling into a long chat with the mechanic who kept the thing running before taking my own ride on an otter. I had the merry-go-round to myself, and so an extra-long ride by the mechanic's wife, who was manning the controls.

An afternoon of activity behind me, I went back to the hotel to give my mother a call and take a nap before the game that evening. Tupper Lake was just shy of a half-hour away, and not only was there no traffic at "rush hour" that evening, there were literally no cars driving in my direction out west, with the barest smatterings of cars in the other direction--the beauty of the wilds near Canada. 

After driving right past it the first time (and taking a bit to find a place to turn around), I located the ballpark in a lakefront park, with a couple of middling signs being the only advertisement. I walked around the outside of the modest old-school park, taking in the gorgeous view of the lake and the various other park monuments to the mill that used to be on the site (hence the "river pigs" who corralled all the logs), before buying a ticket, grabbing some food at the small truck outside, and heading in for the game.

After the game (and much later than I was expecting), I found the nearby McDonald's closed for the evening, so I stopped at a gas station for some snacks to munch during the completely uneventful drive back to the hotel, the road even more deserted in the early night. The parking spaces at hotel, however, had filled up completely, so I ended up parking in something resembling an open space by the stairs, sprinted into my blessedly cool room, ate my snacks, and then finished off my scorecard out on the balcony overlooking the lake. Eventually, I packed it in for the night.

The Stadium & Fans: 

Home to center, Municipal Park

Municipal Park, I would later discover, was an old softball field that had recently been converted into this professional park--not some WPA relic that received a new paint job when the River Pigs moved in--and if anything, it made me feel even more positively about the park. It is a quaint wooden structure that could be mistaken for a local little-league field in an affluent neighborhood if not for the few signs that designate it as a pro endeavor. 

The main grandstand is a covered wooden area with deep seats that the locals adorn with lawn chairs that they bring from home, but I just sat on (with the assistance of my inflatable seat cushion). Chicken wire protects the patrons from foul balls, and there are ceiling fans in the rafters that for whatever reason weren't turned on during this sweltering game. A small metal bleacher runs down the first-base side, and a small wooden bleacher runs down the third-base line. Your only two choices for tickets are the covered grandstand or the open-air bleachers. A small wooden tower by first base houses the announcers and fronts the small scoreboard hung on its side, providing the barest of information. The only other structure was the park's rest room in center (that were surmounted by a group of local kids to watch the game in the later innings). The only concessions are a food cart outside the park that sells dirt-cheap ballpark staples.

The crowd started small, with mostly families and tons of pets, but as the evening went on, more and more people showed up, including players from Saranac where the other two teams in the league were playing that evening, just a half-hour away. The only entertainment other than the game was a booster club of two that beat a colorful, branded drum whenever the home team did something noteworthy.

I mean, seriously

But boy, it was gorgeous. Before nightfall, the lake was a tantalizing backdrop for the game, and it somehow became more amazing in twilight, and regal in the night's blackness. As far as locations go, you will not find a better situated park in all the world, and I should know. #humblebrag

At the Game with Oogie:
I was there before there was anything of a crowd and set up shop right behind home plate, running out to grab a hot dog after I had done my minimal walking around and photo taking. As I was scoring away, a local mom asked if I was a scout, and I explained my situation to her. She was a host family for players on both teams tonight, so she was here rooting in a neutral fashion.

Indie scoring

While the game on the field was a farce, I can't say enough about how amazing the vista was. Truly magical, even to this cold, black heart.

The Game: 

First pitch, Islanders vs. River Pigs

This game was literally--and pardon me for the technical term here--crazy pants. Mere words and language cannot properly express how little this match-up between the Japan Islanders and the Tupper Lake River Pigs did not resemble actual baseball. The Empire League is pretty thin on talented players (especially as their best players were shipped of as an all-star team for another independent league), and they are especially translucent on pitching and catching talent. The Japanese Islanders were an interesting "road warrior" team, featuring mostly Japanese players who came over to receive more practice and experience outside of the Japanese minor and industrial leagues. One of their players is a woman, one of the few female professional ballplayers in the world, this year joining just a pitcher/outfielder for the Staten Island FerryHawks as the only in US pro leagues this summer. But onto the "baseball."

The game begins with a walk and a stolen base by the Islanders, emphasizing immediately the lack of pitching and catching talent in the Empire League. Another walk followed, then two quick outs. But the fly out and a stolen base put the runners on second and third with two outs. A passed ball allowed a run to score and the runner on second to move to third. Another walk and a stolen base made it second and third with two outs, before a strikeout ended the damage at 1-0 Islanders. If the Japanese team scored stereotypically by small ball, the American Tupper Lake team scored stereotypically with a leadoff home run to tie the game. A walk and hit-by-pitch followed, but three straight outs ended the inning with a tie score after one. The second inning began with two more back-to-back walks. After a strikeout, a grounder recorded an out at second, but left it first and third with two out. A double steal resulted in a throw into the outfield, and another unearned run scored before a fly out ended the half with Japan up 2-1. In the bottom of the second, the River Pigs went in order, one of only three times it would happen for either team all game. The third inning began with a walk and hit batsman for the Islanders. The lead runner stole third and scored on a ground out to first, but two more outs left it at 3-1 Islanders. Tupper Lake led off the third with a single, whose runner then stole second and third on the non-existent arm of the catcher. A walk made it first and third, but Japan struck out the side to strand everyone.

In the top of the fourth, Japan had another rare inning of going in order. The River Pigs had a one-out single make it to third on a shallow two-out double, but everyone was again stranded by a strikeout to end the inning. The Islanders again went in order in the fifth, but Tupper Lake finally got their offense going. A leadoff single again stole second and third on the ineffectual Japanese catcher. With one out, there was a walk who promptly stole second. A single scored both runners and went to second on a subsequent wild pitch. But on a hit-and-run attempt, a double-play ended the inning with everything tied at three. Japan started the sixth with a single, but the runner was promptly erased on a pickoff. A two-out walk was stranded by a strikeout, and nothing changed. The bottom of the sixth is when the wheels came off. We begin with an error by the third baseman letting the lead River Pig batter on. Two passed balls got him to third. A walk followed, along with an immediate stealing of second. A single brought in both runs. A hit batsman followed, making it first and second with no out and two home. A double steal made that second and third, with a throwing error on the attempt scoring the lead runner. A walk made it first and second again with no outs. A double cleared the bases. Three straight walks loaded the bases and brought in the runner that started on second. A two-attempt strikeout (see below) got the first out of the inning. A sacrifice fly to right got in another run, and a strikeout mercifully ended the inning with seven runs on two hits. Think about that a minute. I'll wait. 10-3 Tupper Lake, by the way.

In the top of the seventh, the dazed Islanders only managed a two-out single that was stranded. A new Japanese pitcher in the bottom of the seventh did not improve things. Five straight walks brought in a run, followed by a sacrifice fly for another run, then two more walks to plate the mercy-rule run and put an end to this travesty at 13-3, Tupper Lake.

The Scorecard:
As you might expect, this league didn't have programs (or even handouts), so I was using the BBWAA scorebook for this eventful game.

Islanders vs. River Pigs, 7/1/22. River Pigs won, 13-3 by mercy rule.

I don't know where to even begin, but let's start with the fact that the Islanders were leading through five innings with two unearned runs and one run facilitated by a hit-by-pitch, one in each of the first three innings. The run in the second was notated to document that it scored because of an errant throw in the steal attempt by the trailing runner.

Then, there was the walk-fest. This is the only game I've been to where the walks (21) outnumbered the strike outs (15), and by a lot.

There were a bunch of plays for the River Pigs that received notes. An infield single in the bottom of the fourth was noted that it was off of the pitcher. A double-play in the bottom of the fifth was noted because of being caused by a hit-and-run attempt. A strikeout in the bottom of the fateful sixth inning was noted because the batter bunted with two strikes, hit it foul, and was not called out, though he would subsequently strike out anyway to restore the karmic balance. And, of course, in the seventh, we had the implementation of the mercy rule after a 10-run lead. I decided to record this by the normal double-slash line to end a game, with the ends connected a crossbar in the center as well. I'm not sure if there is an official symbol for it (I should really look it up), but that is what I went with.

But this game nearly broke my baseball brain.

The Accommodations:
Gauthier's Saranac Lake Inn is about exactly what you'd expect based on the name. It is a somewhat ramshackle family-owned hostel that has been there forever, and is covered in little memorabilia, with each room named, and old-style oval key rings issued to get you in and out.

The room was decently-sized, with a tiny bathroom on the left upon entry stocked with a gaggle of environmentally conscious products. The main room detailed the summer and winter appeal of the area, with two beds and a nightstand on one wall, and a dresser and TV opposite, with a little table and chairs along the far wall with the window overlooking the lake. A small balcony was accessible by sliding doors, with chairs and a small table out there for your enjoyment. 

The pool was out front, along with the bicycles for free rental, and the lakefront had chairs and boats for use as well, though as we established, in various states of repair. The owner was friendly and talkative, and it was about exactly what I expected in quite a good way.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2022 Adirondacks

Wappingers Falls

On a Repeat, of Sorts

Dutchess Stadium, 2013

Saturday, August 3, 2013
Auburn Doubledays (Washington Nationals) vs.
Hudson Valley Renegades (Tampa Bays Rays)
Dutchess Stadium
NY-Penn League (Short-Season A)
Wappingers Falls, NY
7:05 PM


Outside the Game:
So it had been nearly two weeks since I had been to a ballgame, and over a month since I had visited a new stadium. Everything from Taiwan and subsequent all wrapped up (finally), I decided to hit the road again to see a game. I had spent some time the Sunday previous looking up the schedules for the remaining teams I had on my list for New York and Pennsylvania, and the choice for the first weekend in August was the Hudson Valley Renegades.

This was something of a do-over, as it was one of the few stadiums I had visited before I started this up "officially" several years ago. I had been to the park a couple of times with a former co-worker of mine who had moved to upstate. One visit was one of the few rain-outs I had ever had in my baseball career. But since I hadn't done the stadium "officially" (seen and scored a complete game with the stadium's home team and photographed the park), I had to go back to get it. This would up my total to 85 stadiums total.

In theory, the stadium was only about an hour and change from home. After my normal Saturday routine of shopping and napping, I set off at a little after 3:30 PM for the 5:30 PM gate opening. The TomTom, usually reliable, managed to take me through every backroads way up there instead of the more direct approach, yet there was little traffic and my only delays were at a few undermanned toll booths, so I managed to get there a little after 5 PM, just as the Mets blew a tie game in the twelfth inning. I parked and went about my business in no time.

After the game, the TomTom seemed to suddenly remember the more sensible route home, and given the time, there was little traffic and even no lines at the toll booths, so I managed to make it home before midnight with only slight derision to the traffic laws of two states.


The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, Dutchess Stadium

Dutchess Stadium was pretty typical of low A-ball in terms of occupancy and layout. It hugs pretty close to the ground and is one grandstand of seats from left to right field, with picnic areas at both ends of the seating bowl (one called the "Corona Porch" in right) and some modest luxury boxes above everything between first and third. A promenade runs the length of the middle of the park, from right field to left field, separating the box seats below from the grandstand bleachers above. A separate exterior walkway runs the same course, lined with the concession stands, team store, bathrooms, and whatnot. A single scoreboard sits out in left, with the nicety of showing the lineups, which you almost never get in the low minors.

The stadium had a bunch of other nice touches, as well. There is the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame near the main entrance, which is appropriate enough for the low minors. There is a truly staggering amount of beer on offer at the park, with a beer garden out in right being just one of the many places you can get a wide variety of suds. For a small park, there is truly a cornucopia of food, as well, with many specialty vendors in addition to the two main concession stands. A local Italian restaurant even serves a couple of tables next to the luxury boxes.

The fans come out for the games, and even a weekend game in the heart of summer had the park nearly 2/3rds full. There was a small contingent of Auburn fans, who made themselves known later in the game. Most of the fans stuck out the whole game, no doubt helped by the promised post-game fireworks and the hula-hoop tennis ball toss that was scheduled to happen after the fireworks.

The Renegades raccoon mascot spent most of his time in the crowd schmoozing with fans instead of leading the one-field games, which are mostly run by the party patrol, who lacked a distinct MC. The theme for the evening was a combination of "Oregon Trail" (yes, the old video game) and organ donation, which they decided to call "Organ Trail." Now, there is actually a version of the "Oregon Trail" video game set in a post-zombiepocalpse US called "Organ Trail," and I have to wonder if at least one of the young interns didn't know this fact and choose not to share it with the higher-ups.

Old timey mascot

I will also give them this: in addition to some of the more obvious minor-league promotions, they at least had a wide variety of between-inning entertainment I haven't seen in many other places. This included a lobster toss (into a bucket on the partner's head), a hula-hoop toss (onto a cone on the partner's head -- stop if you see a theme), a target toss (using interns moving while holding targets as the objectives to hit), a non-alcoholic beer pong, a box packing game, and a pillow toss game. The guy on the first base side for the pillow toss game was a machine. If there is a way to go pro throwing pillows, this guy is going to be rich.

One last thing of note was the national anthem singer, who also came back in the seventh for "God Bless America." The man was unapologetically and non-ironically wearing American flag parachute pants, much like those seen in Napoleon Dynamite. I still don't know what to do with that.


At the Game with Oogie:

The brilliance of corn-dog bites

In low A ball, the crowd is nearly all families, and that was the case this evening. In my area behind the home dugout, it was all families, with the exception of a line of college kids right behind the dugout who got baseballs for all the kids around me. Besides some drama with one family that kept getting bumped because the people who actually had their seats kept showing up, it was mostly peaceful in the seats.

Next to me was the father of the year and his kid. Now, I know it has gotten to the point that you always can't say "father of the year" un-ironically anymore, but this guy was, in fact, the father of the year. He was taking his son to the game (without mom), and he was keeping him in the game by explaining everything that was happening on the field, while rewarding him for being good by getting him a responsible amount of snacks. They stayed for the entire game, including the fireworks, and he told his son conspiratorially that it was a good thing he "accidentally" left his cell phone at home, or his wife would have made them come home already. It was just out of what I imagine a textbook on fatherhood would describe. Here's to you for being a dad, buddy. Good job.

In other news, Dutchess Stadium sells a sleeve of "corn dog" bites, which are tiny corn dogs. This is genius. Whoever is responsible for this should get a raise.


The Game:

First pitch, Doubledays vs. Renegades

This was a game that looked like it was going one way, until the umpire became too involved in the game and sent it another way. And then it just went on.

The Doubledays went in order in the first three innings, and it wasn't even close. Six grounds-outs, a pop-up and a strikeout were what they had to show for it. They were just being dominated. Sadly, the Renegades weren't much better. They had a leadoff walk in the first that then stole second, and a one-out walk had it first and second with one out. But two quick outs ended the threat and the inning. A two-out double went for naught in the second, and a two-out single in the third got cut down by a mile trying to extend it to a double. The key here was speed -- not on the basepaths: in the game. Three innings were done in less than a half hour.

And then it slowed down in the top of the fourth. The no-no went away with a clean one-out single to center, followed by another to the same place. Then the umpire just blew a call to hell and back. A liner to the third base side clearly hit foul and then bounced over the bag at third in fair territory. The ump called it fair, clearly missing the first bounce. The fact that this was news to everyone was evidenced by the occupants of the visiting bullpen. Seeing the ball go foul and thinking nothing of it, they had to dive for their lives from the ball approaching them rapidly after the "fair" call to avoid an interference infraction. The "double" brought home two runs, but the batter decided to stretch his luck and got gunned down at third. Another ground-out ended the inning with the Doubeldays up, 2-0. Perhaps dispirited, the Renegades went in order in the bottom of the fourth.

The Doubledays only managed a single in the top of the fifth, while the Renegades stranded a two-out double in their half. The sixth was another scoring frame. A Doubleday leadoff single got picked off first, but another single, a throwing error on the left fielder getting the ball in, and yet another single brought in another run for the visitors, before a double-play ended the inning. The Renegades got some of it back in the bottom of the sixth. A leadoff single and a dropped ball by the first baseman got a man on second with no outs. A ground-out moved him over to third, and a double to left brought him home. The Doulbeday starter got chased, and the new pitcher got a strikeout, but then surrendered a triple to center past the diving center fielder to bring in a second run. But the pitcher got a fly out to end the sixth with the Doubledays still in the lead, 3-2.

The Doubledays did nothing with a walk and hit batsman in the seventh, but the Renegades tied it up on a one-out single and a two-out double, before ending the rally on a strikeout. This lack of performance with runners in scoring position was going to haunt them...

In the eighth, the Doubledays went in order, but the Renegades got a one-out single. A sure double to right on the next play was speared by the second baseman and turned into a force-out at second, and then a ground-out ended the inning. The Doubledays then went in order again in the ninth, and the Renegades stranded the walk-off run at second after a one-out single and a stolen base was followed up with two line-outs right to infielders. To extras we went.

The tenth started with perhaps the gutsiest play I've ever witnessed in person. The Doubledays' lead-off batter smoked one down to the hot corner that bulls-eyed the third baseman in a sensitive place. He made the throw to first just in time to catch the runner, and then collapsed. That's a gamer, my friends. He was surrounded by many sympathetic men as the trainer tried to help him with an injury that could not be helped. After five or so minutes, he was able to hobble off the field in great pain. The Doubledays got back-to-back two-out singles, but a strikeout ended the threat.

The Renegades then used bad baseball to get themselves out of another walk-off. A leadoff double moved over to third with a fly out to deep left. The Doubledays then intentionally walked two batters to get a force at any base. All that was needed was a fly ball to win the game. The next batter smoked one to center, which was caught by a diving center fielder. Now, if everyone was doing what they were supposed to on the base paths, the game is over. If the runner at third was hugging the bag instead of being half way to home, he tags up and wins the game. If the other runners were not over-eager and a couple steps off the bag, they are back to the bags easily.

But that's not what happened. All the runners, thinking the ball was dropping, were nearly to the next base. The guy at third had to go all the way back, and so didn't tag up and win. The guy at second got doubled-up by the alert center fielder because he didn't even consider the ball getting caught. But nope: F-8-6 double-play and end of inning.

In top eleventh, a one-out single made it all the way to third on an error by the first baseman's rushed a throw on the following ground ball, leaving it first and third with one-out. The Doubledays' manager tried for a suicide squeeze that was nixed with a nice 1-2 putout, and a a pop to short ended that threat. The Renegades went in order in their half. The Doubledays did the same in the top of the twelfth, but the Renegades found another way to blow a walk-off. A lead-off walk stole second after a strikeout by the next batter. So they intentionally walked the next hitter to put the force back on. A wild pitch made it runners at second and third with one-out. But the Renegades struck out twice to kill that rally as well.

Things finally came to a head in the thirteenth. In the top half, a one-out single stole second base. The next batter moved him to third with a long pop-out to right, and a single brought him home before a ground-out ended the inning, with the score 4-3, Doubledays. The Renegades got a one-out walk in their half, but a fly-out to second and a grounder to first thankfully ended the game at that score after four and a half hours of baseball. So the long-awaited Saturday fireworks could finally start.


The Scorecard:

Doubledays vs. Renegades, 08/03/13. Doubledays win, 4-3.

This scorecard was a bit of an odd bird. It was a paper printout of an Excel spreadsheet that was part of the $3.50 program, which was a bit steep price for low-season A ball. I think the scorecard could be had separate for free, but they didn't go out of their way to advertise it. In addition, it was a print-out with several odd inconsistencies (there was LOB on the home side, but not the away; they had a position chart, but the lines were crooked in one case; some of the line stats were simply bizarre choices [AVG, HR], and the pitchers didn't even get a stat line [outside of a strange "Pitch" line that I assumed was to identify the pitcher each inning]).

That said, it was quite nice in a lot of other ways. For example, this was literally the only modern scorecard I've run into where they pre-printed the lineups for both sides, as well as the umpires. They included a line for substitutes, and, as a print-out, it lacked ads taking up half the thing. The scoring squares were luxuriously spacey, to the point that alpha-numeric scoring was very readable, and it even stood up to a 13-inning game with aplomb. So well done, there.

And there were some doozeys of scorings as well. As for outfield assists, we had a caught stealing 7-6 in the third and a caught stealing 9-2-4 in the fourth. The obvious winner of the night was the latter. That was a 9-2-4 put-out at third, thanks to the shift being on with the play resolving to the left side of the field. I doubt I'll ever see that again.

There were also a bevy of notes on the visiting side of the card. I made a note of the blown call on the foul ball in the fourth that eventually cost the Renegades the game. There was the injury replacement on the ground ball to third in the tenth, and a note for the failed suicide squeeze attempt in the eleventh that ended in a 1-2 put-out. For a game this low in the minors, there were even two gems. There was the absolutely amazing spear by the second basement in the top of the eighth that saved the game, and the insane reach by the first baseman in the top of the twelfth that also prevented an E6 start to the inning.


The Accommodations:
Hoboken, though much later than I expected

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2013 Stand-Alone Trip

All-Star Queens

On a Game with All the Stars

The All-Star Game at Not Shea Stadium, 2013

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

American League All-Stars vs. National League All-Stars
Not Shea Stadium
Major League Baseball
Queens, NY
8:10 PM


Outside the Game:
This likely being the last time that the All Star Game would be in Queens in my lifetime, I decided to take the plunge and get a ticket. The cheapest way to do so was to get one off of Stub Hub, as the alternatives meant getting a season ticket plan that guaranteed a seat, and then being forced into buying an "All-Star Package" that included tickets to Fan Fest and the Home Run Derby, and everything else. I had little interest in all the other fluff, and the upper-deck ticket I snagged from StubHub before leaving for Taiwan was pretty expensive, but it was much less so than every other option, by far.

To recoup this investment, I took a half-day off work that Tuesday to ensure that I'd be there when the gates opened and get my best cost-per-hour at the park. With careful avoidance, I was able to leave for work on time, although there were several scares right before I had to leave. I went home and changed my clothes and headed back out with my game bag for the PATH and subways. It being mid-afternoon, the trains weren't crowded, and there weren't even that many people going to the game on the subways yet. All the doors were going to open at 4:30, and it looked like I'd be getting there at about 4.

The parking lots had just opened, and even still, it was about a quarter filled by the time I arrived. I did a bunch of walking around and taking pictures of the festivities before going in, and the gates did promptly open at 4:30.

The mad dash out

The way home wasn't as bad as I had feared. It was about the same as any early-season game with a big crowd. The express 7 trains were packed to the gills, but it wasn't unbearable. By the time I got to the PATH trains, it was well past midnight, so there was only one train running from 33rd. It wasn't even that crowded, though. By the time I got home, I dumped all my stuff on the kitchen table, went to the bathroom to wash the grime off of an evening spent waiting in the heat, and then trudged off to bed to get not enough sleep for the next day's work.


The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, 2013 All-Star Game

Not Shea Stadium was still Not Shea Stadium, but they dressed it up quite a lot, and there were more people than usual. In the apple plaza, there were a bunch of contest and merchandise stands set up. Along the third base side of the parking lot, a giant Modell's tent was selling stuff for people who couldn't wait to get inside. Vendors selling programs were lined up at the exit to the subway, in addition to being scattered throughout the outside of the park. Out where the Cirque du Solei usually was located was the "All Star Pre-Party," that you had to have special tickets to get in. From what I could tell, there was a concert stage, and a bunch of activities, including a zip line. I could not have been any less interested. Around the back of the park was closed off with media and VIP tents and all sort of extra things for people better than myself.

All-Star Casey

Once inside, everything was more expensive, there were All-Star signs everywhere, and there were more vendors stuffed into every available space on the promenade. Oh, and there were tons more roving vendors and people in the place, but that was mostly it. The home run apple got an All-Star makeover as well. The Accela Restaurant got turned into extra press space for the game, and there were two extra seating areas wedged into the area behind home plate, protected behind large Plexiglas walls so the inhabitants wouldn't be murdered by foul balls.

In case you were wondering

The networks had at least three basecamps. There was a broadcast booth set up right by Shea Bridge, there was one near the Pepsi Porch, and there was one for the MLB Network on the field down the right field line that stayed constructed until the very last minutes before the game. (It was then re-assembled rather quickly for the post-game as well.)

The crowd turned out to be the largest in Not Shea history, which I suppose makes sense. It at least gave the random guy in the Brewers jersey who you see at every game a reason to be wearing a Brewer's jersey at Not Shea.

But everything about the park seemed the same, to be honest. Just more people.


At the Game with Oogie:

Of course I scored it. From a distance, however.

I was a big old sucker as far as merchandise went. I bought the All-Star game home-run apple, and a T-shirt, and a Matt Harvey All-Star fake-LEGO minifig, and the commemorative smooshed pennies. They saw me coming, let me tell you. The give-away at the door was a crappy "cause wristband," but a Walgreens stand on the promenade gave you free bags to hold your stuff and a pedometer, for some reason. The one thing I didn't buy was the fake-LEGO baseball field sets they were selling for something like $75. A LEGO ballpark was a project I was thinking about for the off season, and this would have been perfect except for two things: 1) the baseplate was just a crappy printed-on field instead of something more substantial, and 2) they didn't have a Mets set for sale at the Mets' stadium. I mean, really.

Sucker twice-removed

But my first stop was the Shake Shack in back, because I knew what level of epicness those lines would get to later. I got my single shack and fries at the jacked-up All-Star prices they justified by throwing in a pair of cheap sunglasses with the meal.

The seat I had bought at StubHub was in the upper deck between third base and left field. It turned out to be in the next-to-last row in the stadium, but to be honest, the view wasn't that bad. Only the furthest corner of left field was obscured from view, so it wasn't awful. The view to the field was fine, and everything didn't seem very far away. I was jammed between some Yankee fans on my left and some Cardinal fans on my right, and Mets fans in front and behind. It was weird seeing Not Shea this filled, and I will say that a big crowd actually adds something important to the park that is not there when it is only half filled.

My night ended with a personal touch. Bud Everything-That-Is-Wrong-With-The-World Selig was in attendance, and after the game, he presented the MVP award to Mariano Rivera and his family. By this time, I was able to get downstairs to watch the presentation. As he was walking off the field, I yelled, "You suck Selig!" as loudly as I could. It was at a quiet moment, and he turned his head a little when I yelled it, so I like to think he heard me.

A legend, and some guy in an ill-fitting suit

And if you are reading this, Bud: You do suck. Stop killing baseball, you useless piece of excrement.


The Game:

First pitch, 2013 All-Star Game

In theory, a tightly fought, low-scoring game is the sort of thing I live for, but with the constant replacements and the lack of overall flow, the game just sort felt kind of dislocated. Also, the fact that the teams were both using the DH in a National League park smacked of Selig's dire intervention and the slippery slope to the abolishment of the last vestige of real baseball we have left in this league that is rapidly become more plastic than it was in the 70s.

Tom Terrific

The pre-game was all very dignified, with Red Sox, Phillies, and Braves players getting booed within an inch of their lives. There seemed to be some confusion on the American League line-up and everyone was shifted down way more than they should have been. There was a tribute to veterans that some sort of voting was done about before the game. They came out after the players were announced, and each one of them received a flag flown at the stadium of their favorite team by the All-Star player from that team, which was nice.

For a game being hosted in NY, this All-Star game had the smallest roster of NY players in decades: two a piece for the Mets and Yankees, and only three of those were starters for their respective teams. (The entire Yankees first-string team being on the Disabled List for most of the season likely had something big to do with it. The only two Mets that deserved to be there were there.)

But one of those Mets was the starting pitcher and sophomore phenom, Matt Harvey. This would mark the first time I would see him pitch in person, and given the negative juju that often brings to Mets' pitchers, I was a tiny bit worried about it.

When Harvey's first pitch in the top of the first was doubled to the gap, I wasn't that worried. Trout was clearly sitting dead red and got his shot in. Bravo, and let's move on. His second pitch decked one of the only other New Yorker's in the game, Robinson Cano. He took his base to make it first and second with no outs, but he was quickly pulled from the game for a pinch-runner. This wasn't going to be a fiasco. Everything was going to be all right. Krusty will come... Krusty will come...

Harvey then got Cabrera, Davis, and Bautista in order, striking two of them out, and then I knew it would be okay. The National League went in order in their half, and let's get used to that sentence for the rest of the night. Harvey neatly took care of the AL in the second, striking out one, and making a perfect All-Star game debut, if you ignore those pesky two first batters.

It was then that the cavalcade of every-inning pitching switches came into play. The Mets' David Wright led off the bottom of the second and ironically grounded out to third. The NL went in order after him. The AL did as well in the third, and the NL went in order again in their half.

The AL got something going in the fourth. Another leadoff double moved over on the following short single. A sacrifice fly got the run in before lumbering David Ortiz hit into a double play to end the half with the AL up, 1-0. Perhaps not up to tying the game, the NL at least broke up the no-hitter with a one-out single by Carlos Beltran, who was replaced by the Pirate's McCutchen at first. The pinch runner promptly stole second, moved to third on a ground out, and then got stranded there.

The AL went back to it in the fifth with another lead-off double followed by a single. Play was then interrupted during the next at-bat by a Yankee fan in a Cano jersey running out onto the field. He was all smiles when he reached second base and playfully raised up his hands as security approached. He stopped smiling as he got leveled by a security guard and roughed up before taken off the field where he was cuffed and charged by the waiting police. The batter grounded to second after the delay, but he got the run in from third before a double-play ended the inning 2-0, American League. The NL went in order, as did the AL in the top of the sixth, and the player replacements started to come fast and furious. The NL mixed it up with a leadoff walk in the bottom of the sixth before going in order, and the AL did the same in the top of the seventh.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh, David Wright got his last at-bat and gave the home crowd what they wanted, with a clean single. This led to a change of pitchers for the AL, a strikeout, and then another pitching change and another strikeout to strand Wright at first. Wright was swapped out after the inning, and my interest in the game waned considerably.

Neil Diamond came out between innings and sang "Sweet Caroline," the Red Sox's standard, for about a half hour. There were verses I never even imagined in that song. The AL seemed energized, as they got back-to-back singles in the top of the eighth before a double-play erased two of the runners. Kipnis then got a double to bring in an insurance run. He then made it to third on a wild pitch before getting stranded there by a strikeout to end the half. Given the offensive production to this point, the AL had an insurmountable 3-0 lead.

The greatest

And then Mo. AL manager Leiland brought Rivera in for the eighth because if the NL inexplicably came back to get the lead in the bottom of the eighth, Leiland would likely reneg on his promise to use Rivera in the game, as the NL might not give them the opportunity to have another pitcher. I found out later than Rivera and the catcher came out alone to warm up, but at the time, I didn't even notice they were alone. They started to play "Enter Sandman," and I was torn between being really annoyed they would play that in our park and being appreciative that the tribute to Rivera was happening. He stood out on the mound acknowledging the crowd for about five minutes before warming up. He eventually got the NL in order.

The most unlikely of events happened in the top of the ninth, as Prince Fielder hit a line drive to right that got past the diving right fielder and let the sweating, huffing, bulky Fielder drag himself around the bases for a triple. Of all the things I saw this evening, that was the statistically least likely, unless he decided to try and steal home. The AL went in order after that, giving him time to catch his breath. The NL started the bottom of the ninth with two strikeouts, but a two-out double by Goldschmidt gave the NL a tiny ray of hope, before Pedro Alvarez snuffed it out by grounding weakly out to second. The AL won, 3-0. And I'm not sure anyone cares.


The Scorecard:

American League vs. National League, 07/16/13. American League wins, 4-0.

In a day full of rip-offs, the scorecard was particularly galling. The "Special Stadium Edition" of program (as opposed to the "Special Collectors Edition," also on sale) was a whopping $15. Granted the program was a bit more beefy than normal, it in no way justified the jacked-up price that much.

It does mark the first time that I even underestimated a scorecard. Usually, I assume that the card is crammed in and will not going to provide enough space for everything, so I immediately start by conserving as much space as possible by trying to get two people on the same line or saving up space for the pitchers in a long game. For once, the All-Star game scorecard actually provided more room than I actually needed, with a plethora of space for position players and fielders. And it was on nice, heavy-weight cardboard.

Thus ends the nice things I'll say about it. They chose to make the background color dark and solid, so it was impossible to write legible notes anywhere in the margin. Also, they printed the scorecard on two sides, so you had to keep going back and forth, but they didn't even print it on two sides so that you could keep the book in one position and just flip the one page. You had to flip over the entire book every half inning, and it made it incredibly hard to quickly check something on the other team's side.

All of that said, there wasn't much really odd scoring-wise that happened in the game outside of all the replacements. I did get to make a note on a fan running out on the field, which I never got to do before. (But it had to be crammed into a blank line above the umpires listing because of the solid background.)


The Accommodations:
I was back at my apartment in Hoboken, early enough to still be exhausted, and late enough to know that I was going to continue to be so the next day.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2013 Stand-Alone Event