Wilson

On a Lot of Driving

Wednesday, July 29, 2026
Springfield, VA

Outside the Game:
So, I had gotten laid off in the middle of July. Which was objectively not great. I decided to get in some travelling while I was still getting paid, so I made a quick plan to go down to the Carolinas and pick up the spares that had risen up since the world ended.

This particular day I woke up after another bad night's sleep. I was feeling stress for some reason. It was never properly defined.

I eventually dragged myself out of bed and got started on my daily tasks, taking a late nap and prepping the house for my absence. I got all my bags and headed out around 3 PM, making a quick stop at the post office as I left town.

The drive was not complicated, just long. I took the Parkway to the Turnpike, and then it was pretty much staying on 95 until the end of time. The drive did not begin fortuitously, as while still technically in north NJ, I saw a bird flying across the turnpike get hit by a car and live, only to be completely crushed by the following car. It was a powerful image that would stay with me for the rest of the drive, or at least until I passed another accident just before leaving NJ (with a truck that had clearly flipped a few times and was facing the wrong direction) that got to occupy my subconscious for the rest of the drive

The drive itself--scarring images notwithstanding--actually went pretty well. There was some rain that held things up a little, but I otherwise dodged heavy traffic effectively, hitting the Philly metro area before rush hour and the Baltimore/DC area afterwards. My biggest obstacle was not paying attention to my phone and having to hook it directly up to power on the road, as the long run on cell service constantly giving out directions nearly drained it to nothing.

Nonetheless, I got to the hotel around 7:30 PM, and I checked in and dumped my bags before heading across the street to a big mall to get some dinner before places started closing. I saw a restaurant called "Maggiano's" that turned out to be a chain, but I hadn't had Italian out in a while, and it had to be better than Olive Garden, as being worse than Olive Garden is impossible. And it turned out to be a great deal better. It was a corporate chain trying to emulate mid-scale Italian bistros, and in that, it succeeded. The food didn't end the world, but it was serviceable for what it was, and, as it turned out, I ended up over-ordering anyway.

I called my mother as I waddled back to the hotel. I got set up in the room, caught up on a few videos, and was in bed by 10 PM.

The Accommodations:

Wingate, Springfield, VA

My goal for the night was to get a safe amount south of DC so I didn't have to deal with all that the next day, so I picked a Wingate hotel just off 95 a little over 4:15 from home as the crow flies. Outside of getting put right by the elevator (which didn't turn out to be an issue), the hotel was exactly what I wanted.

The bathroom with tub and shower was just off the entrance to the right. The main room had a king bed, nightstands, and chair on one side of the room and desk, dresser, TV, and fridge on the other side of the room. It was generic, uninspired, comfortable, and clean, so it did what it needed.

On More Driving, Interrupted by a Ballgame

Wilson Ballpark, 2026

Thursday, July 30, 2026
Fredericksburg Nationals (Washington Nationals) vs. Wilson Warbirds (Milwaukee Brewers)
Wilson Ballpark
Carolina League (A)
Wilson, NC
7:00 PM 

Outside the Game:
I slept weird, having odd, inexplicably British-themed dreams that make even less sense in retrospect. I kept waking and falling back to sleep, eventually rising a little late for the start of the breakfast buffet, but I was quickly downstairs for a rather pedestrian offering. Just as I finished eating, a man came in and cleaned the place out. He was sporting second or third-degree sunburn on his face and arms, but milky white everyplace else, and he reeked as though he hadn't showed since he was burned. People literally fled from his presence, and I quickly retreated back to my room, happy I had made it down in time to eat before he arrived.

I went back to the room for some naps. I exercised, showered, packed, and planned for that night, booking a hotel near the ballpark. With another four-hour drive ahead of me, I was out at 11 AM sharp, checking out and grabbing gas before heading back onto the road. I returned a call to a recruiter on the way, and fought with some traffic south of DC partly because the little voice in my phone didn't take me on the express lanes, so I lost a good half hour there.

The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful, and I stopped at a Wendy's right around the corner from my hotel at 3 PM ET for a quick lunch and to call the park to see when they open. I then drove around the corner and checked in. I went up to my room and had a nap, then prepped for a bit before striking out to the park. I was originally going to meet a friend in this area tonight, but since their schedules moved, I decided to just go to the game tonight, since I was already there, and meet up with them on the way home.

I took the short drive to the park and couldn't find the lot. I parked on the street to buy a ticket and was informed that there isn't a lot per se, and I should just park on the street. I found a place a block or so from the stadium and jumped out to take pictures of the outside of the park and the Whirligig sculpture park just beyond left field. I saw a batting practice home run clear the fence, and I was able to pick it up in the parking lot, it having somehow managed to avoid damaging any cars foolishly parked in the crossfire.

Free money

I was still a little early, and there was a museum for the sculpture park right there. The Whirligig museum was closed, but there was a small, air-conditioned photography museum in the same building, so I looked around in there for a bit. I had to wait to enter, as the one person who was manning the museum needed to go to the bathroom just as I arrived. I was able to take in the small, but interesting, museum before heading out as the gates opened.

Fanciful

On the way out of the park, I gave the ball from BP to a kid in a blatant attempt to garner some positive karma. I was back to my car just as the fireworks ended, and I was blocks away before anyone that stayed returned to their cars. It was a quick drive back to the hotel, where I did some light paperwork and went right to bed.

The Stadium & Fans:

Home to center, Wilson Field

The generically named and clearly waiting-for-a-sponsor Wilson Ballpark was a little bit of a generic park in many ways. It had the one layer of seats stretching down from a promenade that circles the entire park under a second level that stretched from first to third base. There's a patio bar and kid's area in left field, a bar area under the scoreboard in center, and another patio area in right.

The view gave it some difference and a bit of dichotomy. The under-construction condos along the third-base line were generic enough, but the Whirligig park in left gave it some whimsy, and the rusted-out water tower in right provided reminders of the industrial past of the city. The mascot, Wilt (the Warbird), and the between-inning entertainments were suitably generic as well, but they kept the crowd entertained.

At the Game with Oogie:

Corn dog bites and Gatorade

I did my normal laps of the place, taking pictures and hitting the team store and the concessions stand. I settled on corn dog bites and Gatorade for dinner. I was also able to score the rosters and lineups, as well as a free souvenir cup, from guest services.

I had seats down the first base line, thankfully in the shade as requested. There was a young couple next to me on the aisle, but there were a lot of empty seats around me, most likely from season ticket holders not here for the weekday game. A group of the game's vendor sponsors, all in the same company-green shirts, had a bank of tickets in the next section over on the left and were progressively more drunk as the evening went on.

The Game:

First pitch, Nationals vs. Warbirds

The late-season match-up between the Fredericksburg Nationals and the Wilson Warbirds started out as an incredibly quick affair, but dragged out in the later innings to a standard three hours.

The Nationals started the game with two walks and a single, but didn't get anything across. Wilson went in order. Both sides went in order in the second, and in the third, the Nats went in order, and Wilson almost did, with a two-out error ending the perfect game, but getting put out on the same play to end the inning.

Fredericksburg went in order in the fourth, but the Warbirds got their first hit (an infield "single" that should have been an error), chasing the starting pitcher, before getting a single and nothing else. The Nationals only had a walk to show for the fifth, but Wilson finally got someone on the board with a double, stolen base, and a single, staking them to a 1-0 lead after five. Fredericksburg came alive in the top of the sixth, with a walk, two singles, and an error leading to two runs, placing them out front, 2-1. The Warbirds led off their half with a triple, brought home on a sac fly, to tie it at 2.

Both teams went in order in the seventh. In the eighth, Fredericksburg scored again with a single, double, and sacrifice fly getting the lead back at 3-2. The Warbirds went in order. The Nats went in order in the top of the ninth, but Wilson tied it up with another triple and a single, but despite another walk, they couldn't walk it off, leaving it knotted at 3-3 after the regulation nine.

With the zombie runner on, Fredericksburg went on a tear in the tenth, with two double and two singles brining in four to make it 7-3. The Warbirds were only able to scrape together a couple of walks, and went down with a whimper.

The Scorecard:

Fredericksburg Nationals vs. Wilson Warbirds, 07/30/26. The Nationals won, 7-3.

As expected, there wasn't a home scorecard for the game, so I decided to get some Reisner Scoring reps in with the 7-2 Double Play Small Ball book. It is a small form-factor design that has nine player lines with one replacement and six unnumbered columns with pre-printed diamonds (dots), designed for Reisner scoring only. There are places just for the names of pitches, notes, and summary data on the bottom of each team.

Scoring with the Reisner method again took some getting user to, and I found a very big weakness with the system: It cannot properly handle Manfred Runners. I initially tried to split the boxes for the zombie runners, but I ended up re-writing both zombie runner frames in unused cells and annotating them.

There was a lot going on this game. The visiting pitcher had a perfect game through nearly three. A home batter in the second was clearly hit on the knuckles, but no hit batsman was awarded. The perfecto was blown in the bottom of the third when the third baseman threw wild to first, but it bounded back to the second baseman perfectly, who threw to the shortstop, who tagged out the batter trying to stretch to two. The first hit of the game was awarded an infield hit when it was clearly an E6. In the bottom of the ninth, there was a foul ball at home plate that was originally a 2U-3-4t DP, but the ball was subsequently called dead.

The home team got five strikeouts, so everyone got a free 20 oz. Pepsi from Circle K.

The Accommodations:

Days Inn, Wilson, NC

Since this was essentially a nap hotel, I didn't really splurge, going for a Days Inn just down the road from the ballpark. It was definitely budget, but it was clean and quiet, so whatever. The check-in person was overly talkative, but that was just the capital-S South.

My room was on the second floor, off a promenade. The room had a king-sized bed, night tables and a desk on one side of the room and a dresser, TV, and lounge chair on the other. The vanity was at the back of the room, leading into the bathroom with toilet and tub on the left.

Nothing fancy; it did its job.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2026 Side Trip: NC Layoff Spectacular

Queens

On Beginnings, Big Brother, and Baffling Baseball

Not Shea Stadium, 2019

Sunday, April 7, 2019
Washington Nationals vs. New York Metropolitans
Not Shea Stadium
Major League Baseball
Queens, NY
1:10 PM

Outside the Game:
So this whole endeavor started with a calendar mistake. Way back when I was buying these tickets in January, I purchased my first regular-game ticket at the same time as I bought my Spring Training tickets. I'm not entirely sure how I did it, but I managed to buy a ticket for a Sunday game instead of a Saturday game. As they were both afternoon games, and not the dreaded Sunday evening game, it was a bit of a wash, but it didn't really bode well for my planning capabilities, especially as I also managed to buy it as an eTicket and not a Will Call. I was firmly convinced I had tickets for the Saturday game until the end of the week, and only when I was showing someone at work on Friday my eTicket did I realize that I actually had a Sunday ticket.

And so on Sunday I arose extra early, got my breakfast in along with a soak in the tub, and headed off to the game at around 9 AM. I was able to get a Lyft quickly to deposit me to the PATH station, and again I arrived just as a 33rd train was leaving the station. This repeated for the orange line, and the 7, and I made it to the park in an unprecedented hour and a few minutes. I thought at the time that I had blown all my luck for the day, and I was mostly right.

There was a big crowd waiting to get in already with over two hours before gametime. They were giving away a Jason deGrom Cy Young bobblehead, and that brings out big crowds. I took my pictures and was sorting out where to enter when I saw some friendly blue tents advertising faster entry to the park, and so my interest was piqued. This turned out to be a bad idea.

Big Brother loves you.

The tents were from "clear," and they were advertising special express lines into the stadium if you signed up for something at a kiosk for free. Okay, sure. So I walked up to a kiosk, and it asked me to put two fingers on the screen. I asked an overly friendly attendant why it wanted me to do that.

"So it can scan your fingerprints," she cheerfully replied.

I replied with something rhyming, "Duck off."

She then went into a spiel telling me how safe it was, and I asked her who got the data. She said her company, MLB, and the Department of Homeland Security. I told her to do something with waterfowl harder. I then went around to the other people signing up to ask if they realized they were giving their fingerprints to the cops, and a couple of people started to walk away. A less friendly attendant came up and told me I was causing a disturbance and they would call the police if I didn't leave. Truly amazing.

So I went to the right field entrance and joined a short line and waited for the gates to open. I made some conversation with a family in front of me who apparently were from the area and coming back for the first time in a while. My only issues were with the eTicket MLB Ballpark app, which kept crashing. But I managed to get my ticket stable enough to be read. The time passed quickly on the temperate morning, and the gates opened at 11:10 AM, and I entered, and received a bobblehead without giving my unchangeable biometric information to the government.

My precious

On the way out, I dallied a bit to finish my scorecard, and then immediately boarded a "super express" 7 back to the city, and hit all my connections immediately again, so at least that was still working. I unpacked everything and settled in for an evening of Sunday TV watching.


The Stadium & Fans: 

Home plate to center field, Not Shea Stadium

Beside the fascist data collection outside, Not Shea Stadium hadn't changed all too much in the passing year.

There were a couple of new team store locations, a switch up on some concessions (including the welcome addition of a rice balls kiosk, but the removal of Raos), and a little more of the Iron Triangle slowly gone in redevelopment. There was no sweeping changes, and that's not really a bad thing. Although they absolutely need to do something about the center field plaza. They've squeezed in more and more concessions across from Shake Shack and Blue Smoke, and getting around just before gametime is an absolute scrum, and someone is going to get hurt if they don't do something.

Love ya, Casey

There was a huge crowd for Opening Weekend, plus the bobblehead giveaway, so the crowd was very involved during the ensuing fiasco. Mr. Met and his misbegotten wife were in attendance, as always. The minor cut-down to commercial time in the name of pace of play were in effect for the first time, and although they were minor, they were, in fact, noticeable--at least to me. But then again, this game dragged on to four hours anyway. Who knows how long it would have gone in the bad old days?


At the Game with Oogie: 

First Shack of the Year

After entering through the Right Field gate, I went straight to Shake Shack for my first Single Shack and Fries of the year. There was already a small line, but I got up to the front after a short wait and almost immediately got my food, eaten with gusto on the center field patio prior to my walk around the park. Upon getting to the club level (and again struggling with my eTicket [never again]), I was disappointed to find that the Raos concession had closed down and been replaced with some or other new generic concession. I only ended up getting a hot dog and souvenir soda on the special level.

Scoring row

I took a trip through the museum, but the Team Store downstairs was far too crowded, so I went to a new satellite store on the field level to do my shopping. After walking around and taking my pictures, I ended up Ass in Seat at about 45 minutes before the start of the game. To my right was a group of Asian friends who bailed relatively early when things started looking grim. There was a family in the row in front of me with a young baby in Mets gear who didn't know he was in for a lifetime of pain and disappointment. To my left we two old Jewish season-ticket holders. They were also scorekeepers, so we got to talking during the game and the building insanity towards the end. We had a good time of it trying to figure out some of the more intense absurdities of it all. It would have been a worse game to sit through without them there, so there's something to be said for community, I suppose.


The Game:

First pitch, Nationals vs. Metropolitans

You can't win a game when you walk twelve batters. You can make it close, but you just can't win it. And that pretty much is the story of this Opening Week matchup between the Nats and the Metropolitans.

The game was led off with a walk, presaging the rest of the game. It was erased on a double-play and led to an unconventional 1-2-3 top of the first. Not to be outdone, the Metropolitans started off their game with a hit batsman erased on a double-play, and a 1-2-3 bottom of the frame. Things went off the rails quickly in the Nats' top of the second. Another leadoff walk was followed by a one-out single, another walk to load the bases, and then a short single to start the scoring. Another single brought in another run, while a double plated two more runs and left it second and third with one out. A sacrifice fly to center brought in another run, before a grounder to short mercifully ended the inning at 5-0 in favor of the Nationals. New York retaliated with a leadoff double that got to third on a throwing error on the play. He was brought in on a following single. Another single followed, and then two strikeouts followed. The second strikeout was a lack of awareness that led to a double-play, and the dropped third strike led to the runner trying to go to first, but he was not allowed to do so by the rules, and the runner formerly on first was caught off the base in an inning-ending double play, leaving the score 5-1. Both sides went mercifully in order in the third, and we headed off to the fourth.

Surprisingly, both sides went in order in the fourth, but not so the fifth, for the Nationals at least. Five walks and a wild pitch led to two runs coming in to extend their lead to 7-1. New York went in order in their half. Washington kept scoring in the sixth, where four more walks and a single tacked on two more runs, leaving it 9-1 for the visitors. The Metropolitans stranded a one-out double and another hit batsman in the basement of the sixth.

The scoring was not over, as the Nationals turned a hit batsman of their own and a single into a setup for a three-run blast to left, extending their lead to a powerful 12-1. New York was not done, though. Scoring erupted in the bottom of the seventh, and two singles, a double, another single, and a three-run homer of their own closed the lead in half to 12-6. Washington only had a leadoff single erased on another double-play to show for the eighth. The Metropolitans stranded a hit batsman and a walk, even with two wild pitches to help them along the basepaths. These missed scoring opportunities would prove costly. The Nats were struck out in order in the top of the ninth, and New York made their last bid for parity. Another hit batsman lead off the inning and then a walk set the stage for another three-run bomb, this time to right, closing the gap to just three runs after being down by 11 runs just a few innings ago. But three straight outs followed to kill the impossible rally, and the Nationals went away with a 12-9 win, but not without using their closer for the save. A moral victory of sorts, one supposes.


The Scorecard: 

Nationals vs. Metropolitans, 04/07/19. Nationals win, 12-9.

Given the surprising improvement in the Metropolitans scorecard in the last few years, I again delved into the $6 official program scorecard. It is in the centerfold on heavy paper, now thankfully on a white background that makes it easy to make marginal notations. There is also no printing behind the scorecard squares, so readability is improved. Each scoring square has a dimly printed diamond that does not impede scoring at all. There is some oddness with the summaries at the top. You get the regular opponents, attendance, date, and final score, but the odd additions are the win-loss records for each team.

There are twelve players lines with spaces for replacements, which should be sufficient for most games, although this one gave it a workout. There is no formal place for player numbers, but spaces on each line for position and inning entered. At the end of each line are summary stats for the familiar at bats, runs, hits and RBIs, and each column ends in the expected runs and hits. Six lines of pitching lines are at the bottom of each side, with team totals to the right for double plays, doubles, triples, home runs, errors, and left on base. There is no advertisements taking up real estate, so it is comfortably spacious to work with, even with complicated games such as this.

So much weirdness, though the play in the bottom of the second takes the cake, and required an explanatory note on the card. With runners on first and second and no outs, there was a strikeout with a dropped third strike. The batter took off for first, but the problem is that with two men on base and no out, the batter is not entitled to become a runner in that scenario. The runners on the bases took off as well, with the runner on second making it to third. The runner on first broke for second, but was left between first and second, and he was tagged out after the catcher threw to second, for a rather unconventional K-2-6 double-play. Only the Metropolitans.

There was an unstoppable flow of walks from the Metropolitan pitching, which was the story of the game. You just can't win a game when you walk 12 batters, including walking in two runs. Because of all the double-switches, I was compelled to use three placeholder letters on the scorecard for the home team, and one for the visitors. Even with that, I had to double-up on player lines three times due to pinch hitters and pitchers. Two Metropolitans players got the unadorned golden sombrero for three strikeouts.

All in all, it was a bizarre game.


The Accommodations: 
Home, sweet, Jersey City

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2019 Stand-Alone Trip

Myrtle Beach

On Getting It In Two

TicketReturn.com Field, 2018

Saturday, June 30, 2018
Potomac Nationals (Washington Nationals) vs.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Chicago Cubs)
TicketReturn.com Field
Carolina League (A+)
Myrtle Beach, SC
6:05 PM


Outside the Game:
I got woken up early in the morning by a terrific thunderstorm that was passing through the area, blasting lighting and thunder through the early morning. What a great start to the day.

I got back to sleep as best as possible and then had a quick breakfast and packed up. I checked out and drove down to catch the 10:30 AM tour boat for Fort Sumter. Thanks to some construction, I managed to pull up the parking lot at Patriot's Point just as the ferry was pulling away, so I gave up on that idea for some reason and decided to drive straight up to Myrtle Beach.

The drive up was fine, but slow in places thanks to the two-lane road, but I got up to Myrtle Beach at about 12:30 PM and went straight to the stadium. I picked up my will-call ticket, took my outside pictures, and figured out what to do with the afternoon. I had no hotel to stay at, as I was going to do at least part of the drive to Rome after the game and had picked a place about three hours out.

"Broadway by the Beach" was literally across the street from the park, so I decided to partake in the cheesy again. I started off at the Hollywood Wax Museum at the end of the road, because why not? The hook for this one was that it had "Hollywood props" with the models that you could use in your pictures with the statues, as well as a zombie game "interactive movie" at the end that I didn't spring for, for some reason.

A lot of the wax models were really bad to the point that I had to check the displays to see who they were supposed to be. A 50’s tableau was particularly awful, with a Marylin Monroe with visible arm joints, and a Humphry Bogart that looked on the verge of suicide. A Jason Voorhees statue looked less intimidating than filled with ennui. But it was all cheesy fun. They even had a game called "The Vault," where you had to navigate through a room of laser traps. Even the "easy" setting was very hard. I had no idea how the "impossible" setting was even, well, possible.

What if killing is what is making me sad?

A Frank Sinatra area had a fake scotch and piano for you to sit with him, and country music stars had guitars and the like. Indiana Jones had a holy grail. Etc. There was even an original-series Star Trek section, with Bones working the transporter (for some reason) on Kirk and Spock, with an open pad for you. There were some really worn out communicator and phaser props, but the story of this display was the fact that all the models had extremely visible nipples. The Captain's high beams were on. It was very uncomfortable.

After my fill of the wax museum, I went into the full Broadway by the Beach area and grabbed a map, and quickly went inside to grab some lunch, as it was ten-thousand degrees out. I don't remember much about lunch, except one of the ESPNs (one presumes, The Ocho) was showing professional corn hole. I'll never forget that. We spit in the face of god.

In the face of the heat, I went into a nearby Dave & Busters, where they had a coupon for $20 for $20, so I loaded up a card and went to town. Outside of the really disturbing vision of a teen in a MAGA hat, I had fun goofing around for a time, eventually earning enough tokens for a medium stuffed animal and some plastic vampire teeth.

I walked around at the boardwalk a little more before going to my car, which I had thankfully parked in the shade, turning on the AC, and taking a nap to get me through the rest of the evening. Suitably refreshed, I went across the street to the ballpark, parked up, and went in as the gates opened.

It was a mercifully short game thanks to the 6 PM start, and I was out around 9 PM and heading out before the fireworks got started. Driving hard once I got to the interstate, I eventually reached my hotel for the evening without incident around a quarter to one. I blearily bantered with the neckbeard at the front desk before asking for a late checkout and getting my key.

I marched to my room (thankfully already air conditioned) where I organized all my stuff, grabbed a shower, and then went directly to sleep.


The Stadium & Fans:

Home Plate to Center Field, TicketReturn.com Field

Outside of the crappy name, TicketReturn.com Field is a nice enough park, nestled in the beach entertainment district in Myrtle Beach. The outside is a little generic, with brick columns rising through the metal structural work. Around the base of the stadium, several entrances ring the park, along with the executive offices, the team store, and ticket booths. The kids’ area in right field is open to the public before the game and then accessible from the park during the game.

All the entrances dump out onto an exterior promenade that almost encircles the stadium from right field to left-center field and hooks up with the walkway through the seating bowl at the end of the grandstand at first and third base. Two sections of seating are in the grandstand, with box seats by the field and regular seats above, split by the seating walkway. There is an additional set of bleachers in left-center field, by the main digital scoreboard. A generic green batter's eye is slightly down the way from them, all above the single-deck of green outfield wall, mostly covered in local ads and backing the trees that lurk beyond the field. There is a "hit it here" sign for $100,000 in left-center near the main scoreboard.

The press box, retired numbers, Harry Carray tribute, and the row of luxury boxes runs along the second level of the grandstand above the seats. In left field, there was a "Tito's Beach" area with beach chairs and sand, while in right there was The Clarke and Addison Grille plaza, along with brick ballpark in Grissom Plaza. Left field also had the Tiretown Terrace party area, there was a party deck in right as well, and the "Bullpen Experience" seats at the very end of right field, surprisingly enough by the home bullpen. There were other specialty concessions by the right field entrance, and a Road to the Show in the promenade in right, while the Pelicans’ starting lineups for each year were on banners around the home plate part of the promenade.

I'd nap in the AC if I could, too

Deuce the dog brings out extra balls to the umpires at points during the game and can often be caught napping away from the heat in the team store before the game. Splash the Pelican and Rally the Shark also make the rounds before and during the game, leading the regulation minor-league games, contests, and activities between innings. The crowd, especially for a Saturday game and especially after the fight I had to get for a ticket last year, was pretty small, though they were into things, at least.

Rally and Splash

At the Game with Oogie: 

Winner, winner, Chicken... fries

 It was a stupid hot South Carolina night, even at the beach, and the hot drained all the hungry out of me. I didn't get anything at all to eat, but I did buy Gatorade after Gatorade to keep me from passing out as I was going around.

I was already familiar with the park after the extended rain delay last year, so I knew where I was going, and I kept drinking fluids while I did it. My seats were in the first section by the field, just at the end of the home dugout on the first-base side. There were a couple of old guys in front of me, and an old couple next to me, and the husband was also a scorer. The real story was the guy behind me, who would not shut up. He kept talking the entire game to everyone, and when there was no one left to talk to, he called people on his phone and talked loudly to them. He was telling everyone how he knows a big baseball coach in the area and was bragging how one of the players used to play for his friend. And on, and on, and on. The best part was when he started to complain about Atlanta, where he had previously lived before he moved out here, but, you know, his girlfriend still lives out there. (Did he mention he had a girlfriend?) And then he went into all sort of coded racist talk about how he didn't like how Atlanta had "evolved," and all the "new residents," and the "quality of people." Fantastic.

There was a kid who showed up a little after the game started and sat down with his family for about literally a minute before a foul ball came over the netting and whacked him in the arm. The little soldier (who was at least 14) started bawling and promptly left. So how did you enjoy the game, sport?

The big irony of the night was that it was Rutgers Alumni night at the park. I can't escape Jersey even all the way down here.

The sun was still baking down on my area of seats for the first part of the game, so I resorted to the desert hat until around the third inning, when I was finally, gloriously enveloped in the shade.


The Game:

First pitch, Nationals vs. Pelicans

The visiting Potomac Nationals and the home Myrtle Beach Pelicans faced off in this Carolina League clash, and for once in a couple of games, there were some runs scored and a home team victory.

The Nationals came out swinging, loading the bases with two outs in the top of the first, but a strikeout ended the threat. Not to be outdone, Myrtle Beach turned in a run with a one-out single and two-out double, staking them to the early, 1-0 lead. Potomac had only a two-out walk to show for the second, while the Pelicans stranded a one-out single. Both sides went quietly in order in the third.

In the top of the fourth, the Nationals scattered two hits, while Myrtle Beach one-upped them when a two-out strikeout reached first on a passed ball, stole second, and then was driven in with a single to extend the home lead to 2-0. The fifth went quickly, with Potomac just having a walk and the Pelicans going in order. Both sided again went in order in the sixth.

The Nationals got on the board with a one-out homer to left in the top of the seventh, but Myrtle Beach got some more runs in their half, starting with a one-out bunt single. A triple brought him in, and then a ground-out to short got him home as well, and the lead was now at 4-1. Both sides went in order in the eighth, and out of fight, Potomac also went in order in the ninth, securing the Pelicans 4-1 victory.


The Scorecard:

Nationals vs. Pelicans, 06/30/18. Pelicans win, 4-1.

The scorecard was part of the free, half-tabloid program given away at the entrance to the park. The covers were full-color magazine, but the interior pages were black and white on heavy cardstock, which included the centerfold scorecard. About 3/4th of the spread was taken up by the scorecard, and the rest was ads, and it was on a white background, which left some space for notes. There were plenty of batting lines and space for replacements, but there were no pitching lines. (I used some of the extra batting lines to fill in the pitchers.) Each batting line ended with summary stats, which also doubled as extra innings, and each innings column ended with cumulative runs and hits for the frame. The scoring boxes were a little small, but had no pre-printed diamonds, which made it okay for scoring, and the paper was quite good for pencil writing.

From a scoring standpoint, it started with a couple of minor league standards, as there was a "Circle K" batter, who did strike out, getting free Bojangles fries for everyone in the winning section. There was one golden sombrero on the Nationals, who got his little hat. There was only one play of note, in the bottom of the fourth. What would have been an inning-ending strikeout turned into reaching on a passed ball. When the next batter was up, there was a very close balk call that did not get made in an attempt to pick off the runner that lead to a lengthy discussion with the home manager that was worthy of my note. He did not get chased, however.


The Accommodations: 

Wood Spring Suites, Lexington, SC

I was staying in the WoodSpring Suites in Lexington, for no other reason than it was conveniently located several hours into the drive to Rome. I obviously didn't need a suite, but it was the cheapest hotel just off the highway.

Thankfully, it was just for a night, because the place was a little depressing. It wasn't dirty, and it wasn't like the facilities weren't as advertised, it was just that the place had the empty vibe of a post-divorce bachelor pad. The kitchen at the entrance was functional, but bare-boned, in fake wood paneling and off-white. The dresser with the TV and the desk next to it were fine, but the bulletin board with the hotel ad in the center was stark, as was the wire railing that was the only place to hang up your clothes.

The bathroom next to the kitchen was functional, but in the same bland fake wood and off-white color scheme. The bed across from the dresser was similarly stark, with an end table next to it, a small piece of hotel art above it, and nothing else in the area.

For what little time I spent there, it did do the job, however. Sort of.

Click here to see all the pictures from this trip.

2018 East Coast Leftovers

Kinston

On Friggin’ Camp Days

The consolation prize

Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Kinston, NC


Outside the Game:
After hitting the sack early the night before, I was up early and out and about after a quick breakfast and check out. I had a long drive across North Carolina ahead of me for the day.

I got an hour or so into North Carolina before needing to stop for gas. There is an extension project for I-70 that is going on that is not where I-70 used to be and is not on my GPS map, which led to an interesting end to my drive, as I was driving through what my GPS firmly considered to be fields and suburbs. The further on this unauthorized route I went, the more it had a nervous breakdown trying to get me back on track.

I remembered where the next road was and about how long it would take to get to the turnoff, but it ultimately proved unnecessary, as the actual I-70 and the GPS' idea of I-70 came back to the same wavelength shortly before the turn-off. Heisenberg wept.

Five hours after I started, I was pulling into the hotel at about 2 PM. It wasn't really that bad of a drive, in retrospect. Say what you will about the Impala, taking the drive in a giant recliner with modern cruise controls wasn't a bad way to go, although the satellite radio was not included in the rental, so I was at the mercy of local radio stations that bounced between country, gospel, right-wing talk, "classic country," and one or two classic rock stations that I held on to like a life raft. Since it was my first long drive this trip, I wasn't completely sick of the songs at this point, so all in all, it was a pleasantish drive.

I checked in at the hotel, and then had at the short drive to the stadium, where I found the game letting out because it was ANOTHER GODDAMN CAMP DAY.

The game was on a Wednesday. After the incident with Kannapolis two years ago, I specifically double-checked the start time for this game before I left for the trip, and it was still a 7 PM start. Well, sometime between then and now, they changed it to an 11:00 AM Camp Day start, and I was pissed, but mostly at myself. Even if I knew it was a Camp Day, there's nothing much I could have done about it. There's no way I could have made that five-hour drive to get there at 10 AM without leaving at 5 AM in the morning, and that was not happening. I had to write this stadium up to make the trip a business expense, so there was nothing to do about it.

The only thing I really wanted to do in town was go to King's BBQ, a famous local BBQ joint that started as a gas station restaurant in the ‘40s. I went to the original store, which was just down the road from my hotel, and had some late afternoon lunch/dinner. I was seated in a booth from the 70s and waited on by a nice old lady, possibly also from the 70s. She served me up a great BBQ platter, which I wolfed down because I was starving, and then I thought about what to do for the rest of the day.


I stopped at a Walgreen's by the hotel to grab shipping supplies and some toiletry needs, and then I went back to the hotel, got all mopey for a while, and then decided to take a nap. Thus refreshed, I did my laundry to replenish my clothes supply, and then double-checked every last aspect of the trip while I was waiting. I decided to cut down on the four-hour drive to Charleston by going to a hotel halfway down after the game tomorrow. I organized and repacked everything, and then I went to bed early, watching my recorded TV shows on my tablet app and getting some rest.


The Accommodations:

Quality Inn, Kinston

I was at the Quality Inn on one of the main drags of Kinston. It was a nice enough room with two double bed and night tables on one wall, and a desk, dresser, TV, and refrigerator on the other. At the end of the room was a sink and vanity, leading to the tub and toilet room on the left.

Having two beds work out for a number of reasons. I was able to pile all the pillows on one bed for the evening to sleep, plus I was able to spread out all my crap and laundry onto the other bed and organize everything. I got a good night's sleep, which was also important for my long next day.

On a Long, Hot Day in a Small, Hot Town

Grainger Stadium, 2018

Thursday June 28, 2018
Potomac Nations (Washington Nationals) vs.
Down East Wood Ducks (Texas Rangers)
Grainger Field
Carolina League (A+)
Kinston, NC
7:00 PM


Outside the Game:
This was going to be a long, long day. I was going to have to kill all afternoon in small North Carolina town before the game, and then afterword travel about two hours to my hotel.

So I took it easy that morning. The first move was asking for a late checkout after breakfast and then going back to my room for a nap or two. My tablet hadn't fully charged during the night, so I was spending as much time as I could sucking juice, as it had to get me through the entire, long day.

I finished packing up after the nap and bought my tickets for the next couple games in South Carolina and then mapped out a halfway point for my hotel for that night. It turned out to be Dillon, SC, so I picked a hotel just off the interstate to stay, called them up, and preemptively asked them for a late checkout and told them that I would be arriving late that evening.

I lolled around until noon and then headed out into the day, dumping all my stuff in the car and checking out of the hotel. My first stop, for lack of anything better to do for six hours, was going to the park to buy a ticket. The booths were closed, but the gate and team store were opened, so I stopped in there. A nice woman greeted me in the welcome air conditioning, so I did my souvenir shopping before asking her about getting a ticket. She said that they could sell me one in the stadium offices down the way a bit, so I took her directions through the construction and bought a ticket from a half-interested woman at her desk. I did the photos around the park, and then headed out for the rest of the afternoon.

The first stop was one of Kinston's only claims the fame, the CSS Neuse. The Confederate ironclad was one of the few produced during the war, but this one saw little action, providing some shore support for Confederate infantry before being bottled up and sunk to prevent its capture. The remains were dug up by a variety of people over the decades before the state bought them and put them in a converted warehouse downtown in a museum.

As I parked and went in, the guy behind the counter swore that he met me before, and I pointed out the sheer impossibility of that circumstance. He was eventually convinced, and I went into the museum itself after a short movie, and myself and a small family were the only ones inside.

Pronounced "Noose"

It was quite a nice museum, all centered around the remains of the hull that was the obvious centerpiece of things. It gave a good history of the ship and the war and the locality at the time of the war, with reproductions of the turret that you could climb through and other goodies. I stopped in the shop on the way out and asked for suggestions for lunch. They pointed me down the street to the Queen Street Deli, so I walked down and had a sandwich and soda while staying out of the blistering sun. There was also a full-sized replica of the Neuse built right by the downtown parking lot, but entry was by appointment only, so I didn't get to go inside.

After lunch, the only other attractions were a small nature museum near a campground at the north end of town. It was literally a small shed with a couple of local, small animals inside. The highlight was a rattlesnake they had in some flimsy sliding door cage that warned to back away from the glass if the snake started rattling. Buddy, with that kind of warning, I'm not getting anywhere near that cage.

I spent some time in the park by the river after my short visit, and there were giant wooden rocking swings that I took advantage of in the shade, watching the river pass by with a nice breeze blowing. Worse ways to spend some time.

I realized that I needed to get a new recharge cable for my tablet, as my current was too flaky for its job, and why my tablet was only at 60% power at the moment. I used the GPS, which pointed me to a JC Penny’s and Sears at the outskirts of town. It turned out that data was a bit out of date, as both of the big-box stores had closed down since my GPS had an update, in a bleak commercial tableau. Even worse, as I was driving around the parking lot looking to get turned around, there was a horrific traffic accident on the main road. Emergency services were just showing up, and it was a mess. I managed to circumvent it by going out a back entrance to the closed stores and get back towards town that way. I stopped in a Rite Aid I passed and got a new cable, so that was at least checked off the list.

I drove back to downtown to kill some time at local antique stores. One of them had just closed, and the other didn't have anything too interesting, so I was at a loss at how to kill another two hours before the gates opened. I was also drowning in sweat. I drove to a local Walmart to soak up some AC for a while, and then went to the connected Subway to grab a late lunch, also in the AC.

With nothing left to do but kill just under an hour, I drove out the park again, parked in the shade, left my AC on, and took a nap. There was another car next to me with a family inside, but I think they were just waiting in the AC and not napping, but what do I know, I was asleep. Fortified for the rest of the day, I went out into the sweltering heat and entered the park as the gates opened.

As soon as the last out was registered, I was off like a shot into my car and starting the two hour or so drive at just after 10. There was minor construction that caused some slow ups, but I was moving right along until I got into South Carolina, and a huge rainstorm exploded onto the scene. It slowed down the last half hour of my trip tremendously, but I eventually made it to the hotel.

I semi-coherently checked in and confirmed my late check out for, at this point, later this day, and then went up to my room.

Where my key didn't work, so I had to drag all my stuff down and get a new key and then drag all my stuff back up to the room. The AC wasn't on in the room, so I had to wait for it to cool down before I could sleep, so I spent the time finishing the scorecard and unpacking what I needed for the next day, eventually falling to blissful slumber when the ambient temperature was under 80 or so.


The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, Grainger Stadium

"Historic Grainger Field" was another park built in the 40s and updated since then. After being home to minor league baseball since the 40s, the stadium went dark in the early 10s when the Indians moved out, but after several years of campaigning, Kinston grabbed one of the teams that moved from out west to reinvent themselves as the "Wood Ducks."

Except for this game, it was a Throwback Thursday, so they weren't playing as the Ducks; they were playing as the K-Tribe, their previous incarnation. I have to wonder what the legality of that all was, but supposedly someone had that all figured out. Even new mascot duck Dewd wasn't around for the game, and old dog mascot Scout handled the duties between innings.

Scout, on throwback night

The stadium is a nice old gem that they've kept updating, even to this day, as they were doing construction on the offices in the left field side of the park. It was all real brick construction around the main, covered grandstand behind home plate, with the wooden Delmont Miller Press Box sitting on top.

The only entrance was behind home plate and emptied out into an entrance plaza where the concessions, customer service, and most of the other facilities were located, either near or inside the back of the grandstand. A promenade ran along the outside of the grandstand, hooking up with a walkway in the seating bowl at the end of the grandstand by the first and third-base areas. The promenade extended out to the ends of the outfield, but don't connect, with the left field walkway ending in a picnic area, and the right field walkway ending in the small play area and the Mother Earth Brewery Pavilion. There was a picnic hill on the right field side at the end of the grandstand and a stretch of metal bleachers on the left field side. A row of season ticket seats ringed the field right at the end of the seating walkway. A second concession stand had its own building on the first-base side.

The digital scoreboard sits in right-center field, above a double-rowed outfield wall covered in ads and under the backdrop of trees across the outfield. At various places along the stadium, there are "Wood Duck Fact" plaques, and there are dedication and renovation plaques for the stadium near ramps into the grandstand and on the new concession stand by first base. A unique pyramid-tiered batters eye towers in dead center, no doubt compensating for the thrifty 390 feet to home plate from there.

The game had a pretty good turnout for a Thursday Night. It might have been because it was dollar beer night, but there were enough fans in their K-Tribe gear to say it might be that as well. The broadcast team tape up hand-printed "K"s in the press box for the strikeout counter, and the whole thing had a very cozy feel to it. I'm glad they got a franchise back, as the place clearly likes baseball.


At the Game with Oogie:

Super-hot weather rations

I struggled through the hot and humid night the best I was able. I obviously bought a lot of drinks, but I was so hot, that the only thing I ate all night was a singular hot dog.

After taking all my pictures, I went to my seat, which was behind the home dugout on the third base side. No one was to my right or behind me, but there was a family in front of me, and I was on the last seat in the row. There was a group of older disabled people in the box seats on the walkway in front of me that seemed to be enjoying themselves.

As I sat through so many squandered scoring opportunities by the home team, I started to watch the clock, and I was out like a rabbit as soon as the last out was recorded to start on my two hour drive out and down to South Carolina.


The Game:

First pitch, Nationals vs. Wood Ducks

This was a tight pitcher's duel between the visiting Nationals and the home Wood Ducks (or K-Tribe, thanks to a Throwback Thursday) that the home team eventually lost because, frankly, they just didn't want it enough.

The Nationals started it off by all striking out in the top of the first, with a one-out single snuck in. Kinston also had a single (a leadoff one, at that) to show for the first. Both sides went quickly in order in the second, but Potomac had something in the top of the third with back-to-back singles to make it first and third with no outs. The sacrifice fly that brought in the run ended up as a double-play, catching the runner trying to go to second, which proved costly when there was another single just after that might have scored him. But the half ended with a 1-0 lead for the visitors. The Wood Ducks went in order despite a leadoff single thanks to a double play of their own.

The fourth started with the Nationals going in order, but Kinston came out swinging in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff single coming on a one-out double. A walk and single loaded up the bases, but two quick outs ended the threat, one of many squandered opportunities by the home side, but tying the game up at one. The Nationals went in order in the fifth, and Kinston stranded back-to-back singles to leave the score as it was. The sixth went quickly as Potomac only had a single to show for the inning and the Wood Ducks went in order.

The Nationals had only a single in the seventh, and Kinston only had a single. Potomac had a single again to show for the eighth, but the Wood Ducks blew their best chance, with a leadoff walk getting to second on a stolen base and third on an error on the throw. With a man on third and no outs, the Wood Ducks failed to score, with two strikeouts, a walk, and then a ground-out to second. The Nationals took the lead in the top of the ninth, breaking the tie with a two-out homer to right field, granting them a 2-1 lead. Kinston had a single to start the bottom of the ninth and a bunt to get him to second with only one out. But the home team couldn't score again, and the Nationals went away with the 2-1 victory.


The Scorecard: 

Nationals vs. Wood Ducks, 06/28/18. Nationals win, 2-1.

The scorecard was a free handout at the entrance to the park. Unlike most other stadiums, the bi-fold magazine-sized cardstock scorecard was the only program on offer at the park, and it came with a lucky number used in the contests between innings. The scorecard took up the entirety of the right side of the centerfold, printed on a white background with lots of room for notes.

There were exactly nine batting lines for each team, with enough space to write in replacements. Each batting row ended with cumulative statistics, and each inning column ended with inning totals. Pitching lines were located underneath the batting lines for both teams and were to the left of cumulative statistics for the team on errors, doubles, triples, home runs, stolen bases, and time of game. There was no pre-printed diamond, and it was overall a nice card with plenty of room for scoring.

There were a bunch of informational notes to start out. There was a K-Man for the game (who struck out in the his at bat K 2-3), and a Hwy 55 Hitman (who did not get a hit). Because it was "Throwback Thursday," the Wood Ducks were competing as their previous incarnation, the Kinston Indians (or K-Tribe), which was also noted. One player got a golden sombrero drawn in for his three strikeouts.

There were a ton of strikeouts in this game, 23 total, and a couple of weird or notable plays. In the top of the third, with no outs, there were batters on first and third. The next batter hit a sacrifice fly to right field that got the run in, but the runner from first tried to make it to second on the throw and got caught in a SF-9-3-6t double play. Perhaps a little more conventionally, there was a bF3 in the bottom of the seventh on a popped-up bunt to the first baseman defending against the bunt.

The second Potomac pitcher who came in during the seventh was not announced, and his uniform number did not correspond to anyone in the roster for the team, so he went in as "(Unannounced)."


The Accommodations:

Quality Inn, Dillon

I was camping for the night at the Quality Inn in Dillon, SC, just a bit over the border. I rolled in at 12:30 AM and had to wait for the AC to cool down the room for a half hour before I got any sleep.

The room, for the brief time I spent in it, was very nice. There was a king-sized bed and couch with end table on one wall and the desk, dresser, and wall-mounted TV on the other wall. At the end of the room was the sink and vanity, next to the bathroom with tub and toilet.

When the room eventually cooled down enough for me to sleep, it was a good enough place to rest my head for the evening.

Click here to see all the pictures from this trip.

2018 East Coast Leftovers