Buffalo

On Achievements in the Face of Weather

Sahlen Field, 2021

Friday, July 16, 2021
Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Sahlen Field
MLB, American League
Buffalo, NY
7:07 PM


Outside the Game:
This was a rather last-minute affair. With things looking mildly up with the Covid situation, by all appearances it seemed that the Blue Jays were going to return to Toronto by the end of the July. This left a limited window when I could say that I had been able to watch a MLB game in Buffalo, NY, the first time they had hosted a major-league game in over 100 years. I waited until the last minute to pull the trigger on the endeavor, but I finally bought an extremely overpriced ticket to use on a Summer Friday morning off from work. I booked a hotel, but not a game ticket--with the bad weather forecast, I didn't know which day I would end up going to a game, and I thought (sweet, innocent youth) that I would just buy a ticket at the stadium. I grabbed a hotel downtown and tried to reach out at the last minute to an old colleague who lives in Buffalo, and then just winged it from there.

Bad weather was predicted for all Friday afternoon, but the morning was clear, so I could at least probably fly out okay. My last-minute plans meant that the only ticket even within the realm of price possibility left from JFK, of all places. So I was up at the ass-end of the morning for a quick shower before the car service picked me up to take me to the airport. This early, even on a Friday morning, there was literally no traffic, and I made the journey in record time.

Security was a cluster, probably due to the early hour, but even still, I made it through okay, and everything else was fine, except I had the longest walk to my gate that I think is possible while still remaining in the airport. I walked most of that way back to grab breakfast at Shake Shack (one of the only places open at this hour), and then hoof it back to the gate.

Boarding and the flight were so incident-free as to not be worth mention. We even arrived a little early. But I was unable get a Lyft at the airport, so I just took a cab to my hotel. I arrived quite early in the morning, so I dropped off my bag until check-in and asked for some directions to downtown. They gave me some indications about the Buffalo tram, and I confidently walked out, just missed a tram, and decided to walk downtown.

Except I went the wrong way and walked halfway out of town before realizing my mistake. I eventually boarded on the tram going southbound and exited at the stadium, where I took some pictures and found some particularly amazing information. You couldn't buy tickets at the stadium--you could only buy them online. The lack of logic threatened to throttle my brain. As I was struggling through that, I received a call not from work, but one of my work client's other clients. I informed them of my vacation status and went on with my day.

As it was not looking great for the game that night (a light rain had just picked up), I declined to purchase a ticket at this time and went the rest of the way down to the waterfront, where a small festival was happening. After Second Breakfast at a nearby Tim Horton's, I availed myself of the Buffalo & Erie County Naval and Military Park, which had a small indoor museum and three ships: the WWII destroyer USS Sullivans, the Korean-Era missile cruiser USS Little Rock, and the WWII submarine USS Croaker. The missile cruiser was particularly interesting to me, as I had never been aboard one before, and the early-stages of mechanization were especially novel. (Though the question of how they managed to get three seagoing warships into Buffalo still puzzles me.)

Dead eyes, like a doll

The tour routes painted on the ships were out-of-date (perhaps due to Covid restrictions), but the ships were full of horrible mannequins that I adore so much. I kept bumping into the same groups of people across all three ships, and the mother of one of these families turned out to be horribly clasutrophobic, and I ended up assisting her in getting out of the sub. So that was a thing. After a small trip through the indoor museum, I was back out into the drizzly afternoon.

I briefly investigated another small building where they were rebuilding an old canal boat before I walked out to the mouth of the harbor, passing a guy who taking pictures of the same on a tripod camera with a remote. Not sure what was going on there. I eventually walked back towards Main Street.

Still having time to kill, I decided to check out the Pierce Arrow Museum, dedicated to the defunct Buffalo-area automaker. I had actually seen the museum the last time I was here visiting the then-AAA stadium, but it was closed when I passed by that trip. It was open this time, and a nice old lady sold me a ticket for a giant indoor space that chronicled the Pierce bicycle, motorcycle, and automotive empire, as well as housing en totto the Andrew Lloyd Wright Filling Station. They also had a small exhibit on the other automaker from the area, the quickly bankrupt Playboy Motors, which achieved lasting immortality as being the inspiration for Hugh Heffner.

Beep beep, MOFO

After some time there, it was getting close to hotel check-in time, and my feet were killing me. So, of course, I just missed the tram again and had to walk back up to my hotel. Upon arriving, I was told there were no rooms ready, but I apparently looked so pathetic, they put me in a corner suite that was already cleaned. After dumping off my stuff and resting a bit, I headed back out to the stadium, finally catching the tram.

Although there was a half-hearted rain coming down, they were setting up for the game, so I decided to finally commit. But the ticket office was now open! I knew it couldn't be just online only! But it turns out, the guy was just there to handle VIP passes. He walked me through how to buy a ticket online, and after a number of mis-starts, I purchased a dry ticket and placed myself at the end of the short line to get in when the gates opened.

After the game, the rain was going in real earnest, so of course, I was literally ten feet away when the tram decided to take off. Muttering under my breath, I headed back north to the hotel, the short walk seeming much longer. I trudged up to my room, ditched the wet clothes, dried off, and went the hell to bed.


The Stadium & Fans:

Home to center, Sahlen Field

Outside of swapping its name from "Coca-Cola" to sausage-maker "Sahlen," and having all signage papered over with "Blue Jays" instead of "Bisons," the stadium hadn't changed much since my last visit in their AAA incarnation. It still feels a little small for AAA, and now definitely so hosting MLB games, though it was no doubt an upgrade to their Gulf-Coast league Spring Training stadium where the Blue Jays had been housed previously during the pandemic. The one promenade at the top of the entire seating bowl from outfield to outfield still makes for a crowded walking area and getting around the seating area a little cramped.

The scoreboard had definitely been updated, and the outfield party area had been expanded and renamed, but along with all the re-signing, there wasn't much different in the park. There were some Covid-leftover cardboard fans, but everything was mostly the same, including the one vendor who went around all game in a conehead hat.

Even for the dreary game, the fans showed up for a decent crowd that stayed for most of the game, but everyone skedaddled as soon as the game ended. There was little tomfoolery between the innings, and the mascot didn't even make the socially distanced trip down.


At the Game with Oogie:

A "pizza log"

As soon as I made my way in the stadium, I did my normal picture-taking and sought out food, as I hadn't eaten much since breakfast. I was disappointed to find that poutine was no longer on the offer, though I did experience something called a "pizza log," which appears to be a pizza slice rolled up and fried. I downed that along with a brat and snacks for the evening.

My seat on the third base side was indeed under cover, to my great relief, for the damp duration of the game. Though the rain never got so bad that the tarp came out until the very end of the lopsided game, by which time everyone was just looking to get it over with and go home.

There was a family sitting in front of me and couple sitting next to me. The husband commented on my scoring, and we got to talking about things. They had come (from much closer) for the same reason as myself--to catch an MLB in Buffalo just to say they did. They were good company for most of the rainy affair.

It was very much a Spring Training feeling, with the tiny stadium hosting a big-league game. And excitement was on tap, as we shall see.


The Game:

First pitch, Rangers vs. Blue Jays

The hard-hitting Blue Jays were facing the literally and figuratively punchless Rangers on a night when a rain delay or rainout seemed inevitable, yet the game managed to not only get played, but get played exactly to script.

The Rangers began the first going in order, while Toronto nee' Buffalo jumped to an early 1-0 lead on a homer by Vlady Jr. Texas stranded back-to-back walks in the second, while the Blue Jays stranded their own single and walk in the bottom of the frame. The Rangers had a chance in the third, with a leadoff double that was sacrificed to third with one out. A grounder to third cut the runner down at home, however, to kill the threat. Toronto didn't waste their third, starting the inning with a homer and then after a one-out walk, there was another homer, plus a back-to-back homer to follow, throwing up four runs in the inning and extending the lead to 5-0.

Texas went in order at the top of the fourth, while the Blue Jays manufactured another run on a double and a single to make it 6-0. The quiet fifth saw both sides go in order for the first time. The sixth had the Rangers stranding a single in their half, while Toronto went back on the line with a single, walk, single, and another home run, throwing four more runs across the plate for a 10-0 lead.

Texas squandered an opportunity in the seventh, loading the bases on a single, double, and walk and managing to strand them all. The Blue Jays went quietly in order. The Rangers left a leadoff single in the eighth on the basepaths, while Toronto, finally exhausted from all those home runs, went in order again. In the ninth, Texas finally got on the board with a walk and a homer, but quickly retired afterward through an increasing rainfall, leaving the final score a microscopically better 10-2 Blue Jays.


The Scorecard:

Rangers vs. Blue Jays, 7/16/21. Blue Jays win, 10-2

There is a story behind the scorecard for this night's game. On the way in, people were handing out some nice one-page cardstock scorecards. Upon getting inside, it turned out this was a promo from local healthcare workers who were getting shafted by Catholic Health on contract negotiations after empty promises made during the worst of the pandemic. The official home scorecard was just a photocopied piece of paper, so I used the healthcare workers scorecard and applaud them on some very targeted marketing.

The scorecard they had was a top-bottom split with 11 player lines and 10 innings, but no pitching lines. Each player line ended with at bats, runs, hits, and RBIs, while the inning columns had a space that I used for run and hit totals.

The story of this game was homers and strikeouts. There were six dingers total, with five by the Blue Jays, responsible for all but two of the twelve runs of the game. At one point, the Blue Jays were averaging more than one home run to left per inning. Also worth noting were the strikeouts, with the Jays whiffing twelve Rangers. There weren't any strange scoring plays, but there was one play of literal note. After the homer in the ninth, there was a delay when the pitcher slipped off the mound in the constant drizzle that was getting worse at the end of the game. The grounds crew had to come out to tend to the mound before play resumed.


The Accommodations:

Holiday Inn Express Downtown, Buffalo

So my pity suite at the Holiday Inn Express Downtown was actually very nice. And it even had a separate bedroom, which is always a nice touch.

Off the entrance to the right was one entrance to the main bathroom and kitchen facilities. A small living room was to the left, with a pull-out couch with a stylish (thought at an incredibly inconvenient  height) coffee table, with a working desk and easy chair further back.

Through a set of interior bay doors was the bedroom, which was 90% filled with the a bed, along with a dresser and TV. Another entrance to the bathroom came from the bedroom, another classy add-on.

On the Weather Having Its Way

At least I got wings

Saturday, July 17, 2021
Buffalo, NY


Outside the Game:
I eventually woke up early the next day, zombied down to breakfast to get a regular buffet to chew blindly while staring out the window watching the rain, before dragging myself back upstairs to nap for most of the rainy morning.

I eventually threw myself outside sometime after 10 AM with nothing to do for the day. I decided to take the short walk to the overdone City Hall, only to find it and the observation deck closed for the weekend, or Covid--I was never quite sure.

Bereft of any other ideas and approaching lunchtime, I decided to fulfill my familial destiny and go to the Anchor Bar for wings. My father always told a story during his travel for work in the 70's: He got stuck for an extended layover in Buffalo in the winter, struck up a conversation with a local, and came down to the Anchor Bar and had Buffalo Wings. And so on a rainy July afternoon, I found myself in the same place.

The door from the street was locked, to the surprise of myself and the postman who had walked up behind me and scared me half to death. A short detour, however, took me to the main parking lot and entrance that was, in fact, open. I got a table in the bar, ordered up two plates of wings and my yearly beer, and settled into trying to connect to a non-existent WIFI and drying off by mental fiat

I came exactly the right time, as crowds started backing up for tables just as my wings arrived. I went onto cellular and spent me time eating an unadvisable amount of chicken wings and slowly drying off while an increasing number of jealous, damp people coveted my seat. I found out there was a historic site just down the street that was open, so I had something to do with the remainder of my afternoon.

After finishing up, I walked the short distance to the Theodore Roosevelt Inauguration Site National Park in a rain of fluctuating intensity. Upon arriving at the rear entrance, I was told that the site is by tour only, but they had some spots open for the next tour, so I came indoors to dry off for the short time until the next tour. People with proper reservations did show up, and there was a larger crowd than I think I was expecting.

So what's the story here? The Pan-American Exposition was being held in Buffalo, and both President McKinley and Vice-President Roosevelt were attending. McKinley had a date with an assassin, and after lingering for several days, passed away, and the house where Roosevelt would take up the mantle of presidency has been turned into the national park. The museum had areas on the Pan-American Exposition, a refreshingly honest look at what the country was facing at the time, the assassination, and of course, the library where the inauguration took place. It was one of those happy accidents that I sometimes stumble into on these trips, and I am 100% happy that I found the place. Not only that, the iconography of the location was top-notch, with Roosevelt's signature mustache and glasses used for the logo and immortalized in things such as a cookie cutter, which I completely did not buy.

Timely marketing

I took a damp tram back to my hotel, stripping out of wet clothes and taking a long nap. For a while, I entertained the notion of heading out again. I was in the Buffalo "theater district," and there were a show or two playing, but I couldn't garner the necessary enthusiasm. When the rain was at its lowest point, I snuck out to get some takeaway from the local Dinosaur BBQ, then slunk back to the hotel as the rain picked up again. 

The rest of my evening was podcasts, eating, and soaking in the tub. I packed up and arranged a cab for the next morning and then I went to bed early, which was probably for the best.


The Accommodations:
I received my first real hotel buffet in two years in the morning, and I ended up spending a lot of this rainy, dreary day in my nice hotel room.

The tub got a workout, and there was a lot of laying about and napping that got done that day.

On the Weather Always Being Nice on the Way Home

Buffalo Airport, early

Sunday, July 18. 2021
Buffalo, NY

Outside the Game:
I didn't sleep well the previous night. Sometime in the middle of the night, there was a commotion outside the street of the hotel that woke me up. The incident (someone was arguing with the police) went on so long that I tried to go out to the living room to see what was happening. On the way back to bed, I absolutely obliterated my knee on the knee-high edge of Chekhov's coffee table in the room. 

After a suitable period of screaming and seeing if I had cracked my kneecap, I went back to bed, but did not sleep all that well due to my knee being a bloody mess. I eventually got up at 7:03 AMish and got my little breakfast buffet before retreating up to my room to rest a little while longer and finish packing up.

The cab company called me up, and I went down and checked out and go straight into the cab to the airport. The drive took no time at all, but I was greeted at the airport by more travel mysteries. The 6 AM flight that I had assiduously paid money to avoid had not yet departed for NY, but my flight was showing as departing early? Whatever, buddy.

There was no line at security, so I squirted right through and walked out to the gate, which confirmed my flight leaving a little early, so I dumped myself in a chair and listened to the latest Warhams episode until we boarded. We shuffled onto the plane, I was sitting next to some guy, and it was a rough landing. That was literally all to say about the flight.

I grabbed a Lyft at the airport and called my parents on the way home. The afternoon was a blur of naps, laundry, and putting things away.


The Accommodations:
Jersey City, sweet Jersey City

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.


Stand-Alone Trip, 2021

Tampa Bay

On an Inadequate Tribute to a Man (In That Man's Opinion)

Geroge M. Steinbrenner Field, 2015

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees

George M. Steinbrenner Field

Grapefruit League (Spring Training)

Tampa Bay, FL

7:05 PM

Outside the Game:
For the first time the entire trip, I had a completely leisurely morning with which to work, as I would be attending a night game for the first and last time. I didn't even have a long travel to the stadium, and there were no social commitments to bind me.

I stayed in bed much longer than normal, and eventually, I went downstairs to be mobbed by the dogs. I had found that Dodger had torn apart a box between the time the rest of the household left and I awakened, and Loki had nearly escaped her cage. I let all the dogs out to do their business while I grabbed some water and enjoyed the morning. As soon as I seemed to be not paying enough attention, Dodger would jump into my lap out of nowhere out, derp-face in full effect, out of fear I may be thinking about petting another dog.

Eventually, I went upstairs to gather my belongings. I made sure all the dogs were secure, said goodbye to the dogs, and headed out my car. A morbid thought struck me as I was driving away. Statistically, I wouldn't see Josie ever again. Given the time differential of my trips and fact that she was already 15 didn't bode well for the math. This made me a little depressed on my drive to the zoo, and it is also why I can't have nice things.

The last time I blew through Tampa, I had visited their aquarium, but with my one free afternoon, I was going to take in the Lowry Park Zoo, which happened to be relatively close to the field as well. I parked up at about ten o'clock and paid my way in. It was a lot larger than I was expecting, so I just grabbed a map, picked a direction, and got going. I nearly immediately saw that they had those wax vacuum-mold animals kiosks, so I knew I would eventually be walking out with at least one of them.

I spent quite a relaxing morning and early afternoon going about the park. Most of the rides (including a log flume and small roller coaster) were included in the admission. I had planned to go on the log flume later, but sometime between the first time I passed it and "later," it had broken down with mechanical troubles, so that probably worked out for the best.

I feels ya, brocephious.

I saw all the exhibits and got some lunch, and it pretty much had expended all the time I needed. I went into the gift shop to get presents for everyone at work who had covered for me these last two weeks, and then I found a shaded porch swing area in the Australian section and may or may not have taken a nap.

It was eventually time to go, to I went out to the car, stowed everything not baseball-related, and headed out to the stadium.

It turned out that Steinbrenner Field was right next to a community college and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football stadium. A couple of turns got me to the VIP parking entrance. I had gotten these tickets from my accountant, who had Spring Training season tickets every year for himself and to share with clients. He asked me every year if I wanted any, and this year, I took him up on the offer. These VIP tickets got me early entrance to the stadium, as well as the special parking.

I had to take a long and winding road to the special lot, and it took four people in vests to get me to my eventual resting place. I grabbed my gear and headed out about a half hour before the gates were to open for season tickets.

After the game, I had an hour or so drive ahead of me, assuming no traffic. I got out to my car easily enough, and the VIP parking really did let me slip out the door as quickly as possible, and I was off and heading east.

Although it was well beyond my more recent bedtimes, I managed to make it to the hotel with no incidents. A friendly Indian man checked me in, and I was off to slumber after setting everything up for the next day's drive.

The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, George M. Steinbrenner Field

George M. Steinbrenner Field, on 1 Steinbrenner Drive, in the Steinbrenner Sports Complex, perhaps unsurprisingly has a giant statue of George M. Steinbrenner at the entrance. As a monument to a monumental ego, it perhaps pales to locales such as the giant pyramid in downtown Taipei to former Taiwan dictator Chiang Kai-shek, but only on a matter of scale. George is inescapable around the park, which perhaps is well enough for a man whose pathological need to win helped revive the Yankees dynasty in the late 70s and 90s. No doubt he would think that the place didn’t feature himself enough.

I judge you from beyond the grave.

Steinbrenner Field has been around for a couple of decades, so while it is stately, it doesn’t quite match up with newer “palace parks” in the Grapefruit League, which would probably cause The Boss to tear down this stadium and re-start the same way he did in a deep blasphemy to the original Yankee Stadium. The park lies diagonally across from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL stadium, and down the street from the main training complex. A couple of practice fields are on the grounds, but they are only accessible by people with special tickets, in proper Yankees fashion. In addition to the giant King George statue, there is also a mini Monument Park, with just player numbers and descriptive plaques as opposed to the real deal up north, and a 9/11 monument has been added to the proceedings after that tragedy. A team store, the ticket booths, and the executive offices all also have entrances on the outside of the park. Outside of VIP parking by the stadium, the main parking lot is across the main road next to the facility, with a skybridge allowing plebeians to reach the park. The entire park is surrounded by Tampa sidewalks, and the back of the scoreboard and batter’s eye has a giant Yankees mural facing the street.

All the entrances to the park are up stairways from street level. The main entrance is by home plate, and there is an additional entrance in right field where the bridge over from the parking lot connects. It is a familiar Spring Training layout, with an outer, wide promenade running around the park from left field to right field, connecting to a smaller seating area walkway at the outfields and via regularly spaced ramps around the park. That grandstand walkway separates the box seats by the field from the regular seating area further back.

What sets Steinbrenner Field apart is that it is the last vestige in the world of what the original Yankee Stadium looked like. The backing behind the home plate seats evokes the old gray façade of the original stadium (now holding the press box and the luxury boxes in the spring park), and the seats in the old stadium style appear to be in two levels, with a version of the old bunting running along the sun shade that runs over the seating areas from first base to third base. This imagery and colors of the old stadium ends rather abruptly when you turn away from the home plate area and look out on the field. Outside of a giant digital board in left center with the Yankees bunting, it is all Florida Spring training park, looking out onto a treeline and endless, flat, blue skies. A long digital scoreboard is in the left field corner, the batter’s eye is in dead center, and a Walgreen’s picnic seating area is in the right-center corner.

All the concessions, play areas, and memorials are in the outer promenade. Most of the concessions and team stores are adorned with the famous Yankee stadium bunting, and a small play area by home plate is near all the stadium dedications and memorials. Multiple team stores are located around the promenade, in keeping with the Yankees’ capitalist core beliefs.

The Yankees continue to have limited between-inning entertainment, even in Spring Training--except for the demeaning YMCA dance for the Southern grounds crew. Yankees Spring Training tickets remain one of the hardest to come by in the Grapefruit League, and while the crowd is there to try and grab easier autographs than you’ll get up north, they are also there to watch the game.

At the Game with Oogie:

Hot dog and souvenir soda

While I was walking around the park before going in and taking my regular photos, I was pounding the pavement behind center field. I heard something pass behind me, and quickly turning around, I saw a ball fly by, bounce once, and then end up out in the four-lane road behind the stadium. A pristine batting practice ball.

Now, there was a lot of traffic on the road--a lot of traffic. It was kind of amazing that the ball wasn't hit and deflected at all, but it just stayed out there. So I waited. Eventually, there was a red light on the road, and I had until the turning traffic starting coming down the street to run out and grab the ball and make it back.

My precious

It took a bit of running, but I did it, now with my new prize in hand, only slightly worse for wear. I finished my walk around and photos and headed to the main entrance.

In addition to the snazzy parking space, my season ticket got me in a half hour early for some extra time to walk around before the plebs came in. I did my tour of the place, took my pictures, bought my souvenirs, and then got down to some food. I grabbed the hot dog and souvenir soda to start with, and then grabbed an Italian sub at one of the unique concessions that the stadium housed.

My ticket was a couple of rows back just behind first base, and it was easily the closest I had ever been to Yankees players. A-Rod and Mark Teixeira were warming up right by the bag, so it was the closest I'd get to either of them for sure, and it was a nice way to watch the game.

Except for the fans. I was mostly in a season ticket area, so it was mostly snowbirds or permanent resident Yankees fans, but there was a group of college-aged kids a couple of rows behind me. One of the guys thought it was funny to make fun of A-Rod--which, to be fair, it is--but he kept it up nearly constantly for the entire game until he was pulled for a replacement. It made for kind of a tedious experience, especially when interspersed with Yankees fans trying to get him to shut up.

At least it reminded me of home.

The Game: 

First pitch, Blue Jays vs. Yankees

This meaningless Grapefruit League matchup had the visiting Toronto Blue Jays facing off against the New York Yankees at the pagan temple to George Steinbrenner. The relatively quick game would feature a great deal of pitchers and end with sadness for the home team.

Toronto went in order in the first, while the Yankees only had a two-out double. The Blue Jays started the second with a single, and then after two outs, a double and another single got in two runs, for an early 2-0 lead. New York struck back in the bottom of the inning with a one-out walk driven in by two more singles to cut the lead in half to 2-1. Toronto kept scoring in the top of the third with a leadoff triple that came in on a ground out to put the lead to 3-1, while the Yankees went in order.

The Blue Jays just had a two-out double in the top of the fourth, while New York further cut into the lead with a leadoff homer to center, making the score 3-2. Toronto manufactured another run in the top of the fifth with a leadoff single, a stolen base, an error on the stolen base, and a ground out, to extend the lead to 4-2. The Yankees went in order. The Blue Jays stranded a double and a walk in the sixth, while New York went in order again.

Toronto went in order in the top of the seventh despite a leadoff single thanks to a double play, while the Yankees stranded a single and a walk on the basepaths in the bottom of the frame. The Blue Jays went in order in the top of the eighth, but New York threatened with a one-out walk and double to make it second and third, but two more quick outs ended the potential runs on the bases. Toronto similarly threatened in the top on the ninth with a single and an error followed by an interference call to make it second and third with one out, but an infield grounder and a fly to left ended the opportunity. In their last licks, the Yankees tried to start a two-out rally with a triple, but a strikeout left him out there, with the Blue Jays securing their pointless 4-2 win.

The Scorecard:

Blue Jays vs. Yankees, 03/17/15. Blue Jays "win," 4-2.

The scorecard was part of the $6, full-color magazine program. Instead of in the traditional centerfold, it was about 3/4ths of the way into the program on one page, with the backing page including scoring instructions. It was largely a reprint of the major-league scorecard, with the visiting team on top, the home team on the bottom, and the pitching lines next to each other in the middle. Each batting line had a space for a replacement, and there were batter totals at the end of the line and inning totals at the bottom of each column. Each scoring square had a pre-printed diamond, but there was room enough to score, if a little cramped. The semi-gloss paper was okay for regular pencil and a little difficult with colored pencil.

There were a few plays of note. In the bottom of the first was one of the first overshift plays I saw in person (on Teixeira), and I recorded the out 4o-3 (and again in the bottom of the sixth). There was a caught stealing 7-2 in the top of the second as a runner tired to score from first on a long single to left. The top of the third featured a CS 1-3-6 on a pickoff rundown, but the best was the top of the ninth. After a single, there was a grounder to the replacement second baseman that was booted, and then he interfered with the runner going to second, recording one of the first player interferences I had to record, as an INT-4.

Speaking of replacements, every single player for the Yankees and all but two of the Blue Jays were swapped out starting the in fifth, though mostly in the sixth and seventh. Due to a subsequent replacement by the Blue Jays, I had to use letter footnotes to record another pinch runner in the ninth. Also of note was the eight pitchers by the Yankees. Everyone except starter Sabathia got one inning, while Sabathia had two.

The Accommodations:

Budget Inn

I was staying in a stop-off at the Budget Inn in Lake Wales, putting some distance in towards my return to the parents’ condo the next day. I was looking for a cheap, clean place to sleep, and this was pretty much it. I was a little nervous about this locale given how it looked on the outside, but the inside of the room was extensive and clean. One side of the room had a giant king-sized bed and nightstand, while the other had a dresser, with a flat-screen TV mounted above it. The bathroom was small but tidy. It was pretty much exactly what I needed that night, so it all worked out.

And perhaps most importantly, it didn’t have someone waking up at the crack of dawn to go play golf.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2015 Grapefruit League

Dunedin

On a Trip to the Suburbs

Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, 2015

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Minnesota Twins vs Toronto Blue Jays
Grapefruit League (Spring Training)
Florida Auto Exchange Stadium
Dunedin, FL
1:05 PM

Outside the Game:
For the first time this trip, I had a simple, short drive, with just a half-hour separating me from the stadium. This led to a lazy morning of breakfast, then back to bed for some more sleeping uninterrupted by parents going to golf, and then finally getting up for real. I showered, packed, checked out of the hotel, and headed on my short drive to the stadium well before gates.

There was only one tiny lot that surrounded the park that was charging $25, so I ended up parking in one of the local buildings that was renting out their lots and driveways to visitors. I parked at the local VFW next to the stadium and got out to do my walk around and photography business before lining up to get into the park at gates open.

After the game, it was pretty easy to get onto the road--even with everyone pulling out of driveways and front yards for as far as the eye could see--and I had another half-hour drive down to the south tip of the northern end of Tampa Bay to meet my friend's brother-in-law for a college game that evening. But more on that below.


The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, Florida Auto Exchange Stadium

Florida Auto Exchange Stadium started its suburban life as the more dignified Grant Field, named for a former mayor that spearheaded the construction of the stadium back in the 30s. Corporate naming conventions have stolen away that title, along with the subsequent "Dunedin Stadium at Grant Field" after the reconstruction in 1990. Regardless the name, the field is a quaint bandbox in the middle of a Florida suburb, without even a proper parking lot to call its own. Residential streets surround the park, and you can even go into a parking lot at a next-door school to peek into the back of the stadium.

Hemmed in by suburbia on all sides, the main facade of the stadium is behind home plate, with a tower jutting up from the center and holding the logos of the Blue Jays and their GCL team, the Dunedin Blue Jays. The box office is at the base of the tower, and the main entrance gate is a short distance away towards first base by the only "VIP" parking lot in the entire stadium.

The one entrance dumps out onto a windy outer promenade that runs from right to left field. It gets a bit tight behind home plate, but for the most part is a wide area to direct traffic. All the concessions, stands, and stores are built into the area under the seats, including the main team store, a "Craft Beer Dugout," the main concessions, and a row of carts. In a plaza behind third base, there is a larger open area with a second team store and "The Canadian Grill" grill concession.

The park has two seating areas separated by a smaller walkway that divides the upper seats from the boxes closer to the field. The seats run from first to third base, with small sun shades at the top of the further seats, and the press box and some luxury boxes at the top of the seats behind home plate. Nearly all the seats are molded plastic, which were both uncomfortable and difficult to navigate (since they didn't flip up). The digital scoreboard stood out in left-center field among the two-level outfield wall covered in ads and promotions, with some green palm trees mostly effectively hiding the suburbs that surround the park. A small artificial practice field lies behind third base, with the main practice facilities located about a half mile away.

The old park was filled with memorials in addition to the player banners that lined the promenade and the "road to the majors" display on the first-base side of the promenade. There were two dedication plaques for the stadium, a memorial to announcers Tom Cheek and Dave Bell, and a mysterious, faded, unreadable plaque on the third-base side of the promenade that looks to be dedicated to Eskimos? I'm not really sure, and I never got a satisfactory answer.

Ace, and random concession guy

Mascot Ace makes the trip down, and he, an entertainment team, and a concession guy (?), ran all the minor-league festivities between the innings: contests, races, and the like. The concessionaire was a giant, loud man who bellowed his way around the park selling beer and seemed to be well-known to the repeat customers.

For a weekday afternoon game, it was pretty packed, with no noticeable gaps in the seating. They were all loud and into the game, as well as the other entertainments, so good on you, Canada. Perhaps they were just excited not to be sitting through a Canadian winter right now.


At the Game with Oogie:

Hot dog and soda

There was a lot of good-natured Canadian spirit going around the place, and that started before I even got into the park. I was close to the front of the security line to get in, and a little before the gates were scheduled to open, a kid waiting ahead of me needed to use the bathroom. The staff actually let him come in and use the facilities. It seems like a little thing, but when you're used to seeing draconian law at most baseball stadiums, it is the little things that stand out.

The gates opened a full two hours before the game, so I was able to go around and do my picture- and note-taking and get my shopping done with plenty of time to spare. I grabbed a hot dog and soda for my first go-around, and then a fresh-grilled burger from the Canadian Grill to top it off. Running out of things to do and not wanting to sit in the heat for an hour before the game, I parked myself on a bench on the first-base side of the park that was still in shadow. And from there, I saw the world.
Firstly, there was a family that was going to throw out the first pitch. The youngest boy was dressed like David Bautista, even with a fake greasepaint beard. I heard them get the spiel on what to do when they came out and where to meet and off they went. A short while later, the promotions team were back with a man. Overhearing them, the guy was going to propose to his girlfriend during the game, and they were discussing the logistics of it. For a second or two, I considered tailing the guy and potentially tipping off the girlfriend, but I wasn't feeling that motivated.

Matrimonial conspiracy

As I continued to wait in the shade, I was eventually approached by some visiting Twins fans who wondered if they could use the other half of the bench, to which I acquiesced. We got to talking, and they were wondering if I was a Blue Jays fan. When I told them I was a fan of neither team but just doing this to see the Grapefruit League, they were a little incredulous and wondered what line of work I was in that I had the money and time to do all this without a rooting interest. My explanation that I was doing Internet in New York seemed to be a satisfactory answer to them.

Shortly before game time, I made my way to my seat in the first few rows of the upper seats between home plate and first base. It was solidly Blue Jays territory, with a lot of funny accents along the way. In the program, there was an interesting promotion for the Hagerstown Suns. It is interesting, because Hagerstown is a Washington Nationals farm team. But what they are--and what the ad mapped out--was about half way between Toronto and Dunedin, FL. They were advertising to the Blue Jays fans who drove down to stop off on the way down or back. I wonder if it worked.
(And yes, the proposal did happen, and yes, she said "yes.")


The Game:

First pitch, Twins vs. Blue Jays

This meaningless Spring Training game had the Minnesota Twins visiting the Toronto Blue Jays in the lovely Florida hamlet of Dunedin, FL, not to be confused with the Dunedain. For whatever it was worth, the home team was the loser in a close match.

Things started quickly, with the Twins going in order in the top of the first, and Toronto had a leadoff walk and single get stranded in their half. Minnesota started the second with a homer to right to jump to a 1-0 lead, but the Blue Jays tied it up in the bottom of the inning with a fielder’s choice, passed ball, and another single, leaving it at 1-1 after two. The Twins just had a single in the top of the third, while Toronto went in order.

Minnesota got the lead again in the top of the fourth with another homer to right with one out, giving them a 2-1 advantage. The Blue Jays again came right back with a two-out double driven in by a single to tie it up at the end of four. Undeterred, the Twins scored two in the top of the fifth with a single, walk, single, and sacrifice fly, to again get a lead at 4-2. Toronto was not up to the task, and just had a bunt single in the bottom of the frame. Minnesota went in order in the sixth, while the Blue Jays got one back in the bottom of the inning with a two-out triple and double, to close it to 4-3.

The Twins struck again in the top of the seventh with a single, walk, error, and single to extend their lead to 5-3, while Toronto just had a two-out double in the bottom of the inning. Minnesota had a solitary two-out single in the eighth, while the Blue Jays scattered two singles in the bottom of the frame. Both sides were plenty tuckered out and went quietly in order in the ninth, securing the Twins’ pointless 5-3 win.



 
The Scorecard:

Twins vs. Blue Jays, 03/10/15. Twins "win," 5-3.

The scorecard was the centerfold of the $5, full-color magazine program. The scorecard only took up about half of the spread, with the rest taken up by ads. The good news was that the scorecard was on good cardstock instead of magazine paper, so it was easy to write on in pencil. The batting lines were long, with pre-printed lineup numbers, so it was easy to accommodate a replacement. The batting lines ended with batting totals (that could double as the 12th-14th innings), and the inning columns ended with inning stats. The pitching lines were under the batting lines and next to team summary totals. The scoring frames were blank, but a little small, which made it slightly cramped for scoring.

There were only a couple of plays of note. In the bottom of the first, there was a CS 3-5, as the runner on first tried to take an extra base on a single that just got behind the first baseman. In the top of the eighth, I noted that the batter who grounded out to second managed to throw his bat into the stands (no one was hurt). Both teams also cycled out all their players, mostly in the seventh, but between the fifth and the seventh. The Blue Jays even swapped their second baseman twice, once in the sixth and once in the ninth, which made it a little crowded in that scoring space.


The Accommodations:
There was none yet, because there was one other stop to make...

On Turning Two

Turley Complex Baseball Field, 2015

Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Thomas University Night Hawks vs Eckerd College Tritons
Sunshine State Conference, Division II (College)
Turley Complex Baseball Field
St. Petersburg, FL
6:05 PM

Outside the Game:
With one game in the books, I drove down to the campus of Eckard College, where my friend's brother-in-law was umpiring a college game that evening. As with most colleges, it took a try or two to find my way around the un-straight and labyrinthine roads across the campus, but I eventually saw a sign for the sporting complex and a parking lot for the same.

Then it was just a matter of finding the baseball field. I was tramping through some still-soggy fields, looking for the lighting rigs that always give fields’ locations away, and I eventually came upon the softball field. Some more mucking around in the dirt and mud, and I found the baseball field with time to spare.

After a spate of texts, my umpire acquaintance came out after getting dressed for the game and got me in on the guest list. We talked for a short while before he had to go off and do umpire-y things. I grabbed a snack from the clubhouse and then clamored up the home plate bleachers to the very top that was getting some shade from the press and scoring box. It also gave me something to lean against for the duration of the game.

After the game ended, I waited for my friend to get changed and showered, and we walked back to the parking area. He gave me some pointers on finding his house, and we set off for the forty-minute or so ride back to his house. Not surprisingly, he beat me there. I grabbed my stuff from the car and re-acquainted myself with my best friend's sister and her kids, as well as meeting her three dogs, who seemed to enjoy sniffing me a lot. Beagle Josie was the old mother of the group, while mutts Loki and Dodger played the slightly shy and very much not shy brothers. As a matter of fact, I don't think I saw Dodger stay still for any significant amount of time during my stay.

They got the kids off to bed, and then the brother-in-law started to put together his new giant LEGO helicarier while I caught up with my friend's sister. Eventually, I retired to their guest room and passed out for my first good sleep in a while--after I managed to chase Dodger from the room, of course.


The Stadium & Fans:
The Turley Complex Baseball field was about what you'd expect for a Division II college team. It was a nice, if nondescript, field, with dugouts on either side and a large chain-link fence rising up around the perimeter, with the exception of a hole right behind home plate, presumably for cameras or radar guns. A small digital scoreboard sat in right field among some trees, with two giant domed buildings providing the backdrop for left field. Two above-ground, chain-link dugouts gave the players somewhere to sit.

There was a large bleacher behind home plate for all the fans. At the very top was a booth, providing the only shade for the spectators. The booth was occupied by the announcer team, as well as the official scorer. Representatives from the respective dugouts ran up to the booth during the game to give information on changes, but frankly, just armed with the program, I was able to keep up with events a lot faster than they were.

There was a decent enough crowd for a mid-week college game, although no one ended up sitting anywhere near me. They were into the game and celebrated the victory. I'm not sure if they were locals, families, friends, or just college people. There was no entertainment between innings, and the game went along at a fast clip.


At the Game with Oogie:

Collegiate scoring

I spent the game perched up on the top level of the bleachers right up against the press box. I was keeping score in the Eephus League scorebook for this game, while finishing up my scorecard from the Blue Jays game earlier in the day. It kept me occupied.

There wasn't much to talk about during the game, although there were some controversial plays that affected my friend's brother-in-law, to be discussed below.



 
The Game:

First pitch, Night Hawks vs. Tritons

Ironically, this college game was the first game I saw this trip that actually meant something. The visiting Thomas University Night Hawks were playing the home Eckard College Tritons in the regional match that saw the home team come away happy.

Thomas University scattered a walk and a single in the first to no effect, while the Tritons went in order. The Night Hawks just had a walk in the top of the second, while Eckard got a run across with a leadoff single, two stolen bases, and a grounder to first, jumping to a 1-0 lead. Thomas went in order again in the top of the third, while the Tritons stranded a leadoff double.

The Night Hawks went down in order again in the top of the fourth, but Eckard got across another run, reaching on an error by the shortstop, stealing two more bases, and then coming home on a passed ball to gain a 2-0 advantage. Thomas had two singles in the top of the fifth, while the Tritons blew a threat from a reach-on-error and a single with a double play. The Night Hawks finally got on the board in the top of the sixth inning with three straight singles bringing in a run to make it 2-1. Thanks to a double play, Eckard went in order in the bottom of the inning despite a walk.

Thomas had a leadoff double in the seventh and sacrificed him over to third, but there he stayed. The Tritons had a walk and a single but left them stranded on the base paths. The Night Hawks went in order in the top the eighth despite a two-out single when the runner was caught trying to steal. Eckard tacked on some insurance runs in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff double, a sacrifice, an error on the second baseman, a balk, a groundout, and a passed ball. When the smoke cleared, they had a 4-1 lead. Thomas had their last licks and were only able to muster a one-out single, and Eckard went away with a 4-1 victory.


The Scorecard:

Night Hawks vs. Tritons, 03/10/15. Tritons win, 4-1.

As the college didn't have scorecards of their own, I decided to use my Eephus League scorebook for this game. There were a number of odd plays in the game. There was a CS 2-5-6 after a passed ball in the bottom of the fourth. And there was a note in the top of the sixth about a potential runner interference call after the third single of the inning. Of course, my friend's brother-in-law who was calling the play made the right call--the player was running to the base and not interfering--but there was plenty of debate over the subject with the manager of the home team. There was also the rare balk in the bottom of the eighth that helped along a run.

As perhaps you might expect in a college game, there were more errors than usual, not to mention the fact that Eckard was running on Thomas' catcher like a guy trying to skip a bill, with two multiple-steals by a runner on the basepaths to get them from first to third (and both scored). Thomas swapped out a lot of players, and some more than once, which led me to make a lettered annotation for the replacement catcher who came in after a pinch hitter replaced the original catcher.


The Accommodations:
My friend's sister and her husband had a lovely house in a new development in the Apollo Beach area. The even had quite the guest room setup, with a whole bedroom and attached bath reserved for guest usage that was very much welcome at this point during my trip. I was able to settle into one place, unpack for the most part, and not worry about getting disturbed somehow in a house with two kids, three dogs, and a couple of parents. Quite the paradise.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2015 Grapefruit League