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

West Palm Beach (Nationals)

On Seeing the New Place

The Ballpark at the Palm Beaches, 2017

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Houston Astros vs. Washington Nationals
The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches
Grapefruit League (Spring Training)
West Palm Beach, FL
1:05 PM


Outside the Game:
I was going it alone for the rest of the trip, and even with my own room in the condo, my dad managed to wake me up on the way to golf by making a racket on the way to the bathroom. I had some breakfast, showered up, and then took the ever-so-short ride out to the ballpark, getting there in plenty of time before the gates were even thinking about opening. I did my picture thing, and then went in.

After the game, it was a similarly short drive back to Retirement Land. I showered and napped in my room, and basically goofed off until my mother made dinner. After dinner, it was a short constitutional walk afterwards, and then back to my room in the condo to do some work and goof off on the Internet before hitting the hay.


The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches

The new park that opened up this year, serving both the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals, was given the somewhat grandiose name of The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. In reality, I knew, they might as well have been named "[Your Logo Here]," because by next season, they would no doubt have a corporate sponsorship to score some more money, no matter how country-clubby the current name was.

As the park was rushing to get complete before the start of the season, a lot of incomplete things jump out at you. There were a lot of unfinished elements (such as dug up landscaping and a bar in left field that was on the maps but not open), and a lot of signage was clearly temporary, as well as some concessions, which were just some poorly thought-out metal carts in the outfield walkway. Hmm. Why is it a bad idea to put metal carts out in the sun in Florida? Because they become Easy-Bake ovens for people. I actually saw one worker in one of the carts taken outside to the shade and doused with water because she was on the verge of heat stroke. So, points off, there.

The facility itself was new and nice, if not even the class of the Grapefruit League, let alone the new palaces out in Arizona. There is one main entrance in the center of the facade up a flight of stairs that leads out onto the promenade behind home plate. Baseball-themed bridges on the outside lead to either side of the park (Astros on the third-base side and the Nationals on the first), where each team has their respective team offices and then training areas, with many practice fields radiated out from a central scout tower where team officials and coaches can watch all of the action.  Several of the big league training fields even have special areas set up so fans can grab autographs from players as they leave the fields to head to the clubhouses.

Once inside, the main promenade extends around the entire park, ranging above the seating areas that slope down from the walkway. Seats run from left field to right field from behind home plate, while a large Banana Boat lawn covers the area behind the outfield with general admission seating on the grass. The main digital scoreboard rises up in right-center with stats and video, and Fortunoff couches sit underneath it for lucky fans.

A second level of party and club decks, the press box, and luxury boxes sits above the promenade running from first-to third base behind home plate. The team store sits in left field by a picnic area. Concessions are in buildings on the promenade by home plate, and in those regrettable metal carts around the unprotected outfield.

Screetch--no, not the pervy one

Mascot Screetch the Eagle did make the trip down south for the snowbird fans, and the "Retired" President's Race (featuring often-forgotten presidents Taft, Coolidge, and Hoover) not only did their run-around, but were schmoozing with fans before and during the game. Standard between-inning contests also dotted the festivities.

The Retired Presidents

But being that both home teams were playing each other, the stadium was maybe three-quarters filled, which is a bad, bad sign. If you can't sell out a brand-new stadium, with the two home teams playing, on a weekend, it does not bode well for the future performance of the locale. The fans that were there were mostly into the game, but still, it was a poor showing.


At the Game with Oogie:

Brat and Gatorade

As I wandered around this half-finished stadium, I did all my normal pictures and whatnot. I grabbed a brat and Gatorade as they didn't even have their souvenir cups in order just yet.

Even though both home teams were playing, I rather easily got a seat right behind first base that had a great view of the action. Sadly, I managed to get wedged in between two annoying families with kids. The kids weren't annoying per se. They were just excited and took every opportunity to rush up and try and get autographs or balls. The parents, however, were a different story. The trophy wives were vapid and did not stop talking. One of the men was a local politician that couldn't stop dropping names or talking about how he knew what was "really" going on. They were really insufferable. Then there were the two quiet, weird guys who sat directly next to me that had me wishing for more chatty blowhards, as they were just creepy.

It wasn't all bad. As I was out and about, I ran into a woman in a 7-Line Army shirt who wasn't a jackass. We had a nice chat about things while waiting in line for food.

But, seriously. Those wives talked for the entire game straight without taking a breath. It was disturbing.


The Game:

First pitch, Astros vs. Nationals

Who knew in the pre-season that of the stadium-sharing Astros and Nationals facing off this day, that it would be the Astros that went the farthest?

The "visiting" Astros got a single in the top of the first and nothing else, while the Nats went in order. Houston got a leadoff walk and a single in the second, with similar results, as did Washington, which again went in order. For a change, the Astros went down in order in the third, while the Nationals had a leadoff double that was eventually stranded at third.

Houston went in order again in the fourth, but Washington lead off the inning with a home run, and threatened again with a two-out single and back-to-back walks to load the bases, before a ground-out ended the inning at 1-0, Nats. The Astros showed some life in the fifth with three scattered baserunners, but again, nothing came across. The Nationals had back-to-back singles to start the fifth, but a double-play erased two base runners. The next batter, however, hit a homer to deep center bringing in two runs, staking that Nats to a 3-0 lead, as both teams began to swap out half their lineups. Houston got two ineffective singles in the top of the sixth, while Washington only had one of its own.

As the rest of the team swapped out in the seventh, the Astros finally came alive. A one-out single, walk, and single loaded the bases for a grand slam home run to dead center, clearing the bases and giving Houston its first lead of the day, 4-3. The Nats just went in order in the bottom of the frame, and the Astros only managed a ground-rule double in the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the inning, Washington tied it up again with a bomb to left field. Houston only managed a single in the top of the ninth, while the Nats put their last licks to good use. A leadoff single started the bottom of the ninth, who promptly got to third on a stolen base and wild pitch. A walk made it first and third with one out, but a single to right, not even bothered to be fielded, brought in the winning run from third, sending Beltway fans home happy with a pointless 5-4 win.


The Scorecard:

Astros vs. Nationals, 3/12/17. Nationals "win," 5-4.

The scorecard in the shared facility came in the two flavors of the teams that called it home. For obvious reasons, I picked up the Nationals card for this game. The scorecard was interesting and effective, even for Spring Training games.

The lineups were split up in dual-toned lines for a player and the inevitable replacement. There was plenty of space for the pitching lines, and each scoring frame was done in a quasi-Scoremaster format, with a printed diamond and slots for balls and strikes, so I got all the counts. There was even a section for all the reserves for each team, making it more like a manager’s lineup card than a scorecard, although it only works if the reserves were listed and announced, which was only the case for the Astros. The two remaining rectangles on the card were game condition data (with even space for notes), and one on the home side for game summary data.

All in all, it looked a little cramped at first, but was actually were efficient and neat, even for a Spring Training game.

There weren't a ton of plays of note from a scoring perspective. The Astros managed to lose their DH to a pinch-hitting double-switch in the top of the ninth, there were a couple of hits through overshifts designated with O's, and the walk-off in the bottom of the ninth got a note to assume that just the one necessary winning run game across, as no play was made on the single, since once it landed, everyone knew the game was over.


The Accommodations:
I was at the parents' condo again. I spent a lot of time in the late afternoon and evening here, but it was mostly spent in my guest room, working on materials or just goofing off.

Click here to see all the pictures from this trip.

2017 Spring Training

Port St. Lucie

On Abrupt News & the Folly of March Vacations

Terminal A for "Awful"

Friday, March 10, 2017

Boynton Beach, FL


Outside the Game:
As it seems normal for these trips, the week leading up to it was outrageously busy. I spent most of my last day in the office in coverage meetings with various entities. I worked over 70 hours before Friday even started, mostly late hours to make sure my coverage was, uh, covered.

It was up to the last second, but I eventually broke away from work and went into the travel world, to be immediately greeted by the fact that my flight was pushed back a half hour. Exhausted as I was, I completely slept through the train ride to the airport. I was taking Jet Blue for the first time ever, and an unfortunate side effect was that I was leaving out of the criminally tiny Terminal A at Newark Liberty Bald Eagle God Bless America Airport. But seemingly with some extra time to kill, I went to one of the few restaurants to grab something to eat, and was immediately greeted with the news that my flight was moved back up to its original time, which has never happened in the history of ever before this moment.

I ate quickly and went to the gate. I was in the last boarding group and had no upgrade, but as I only had my ruck sack with me (that I was sure to fit under my seat), I wasn't too worried. I boarded and found myself next to two kids. The father turned out to be on the other side of the aisle. Between his kids and himself were myself and an old lady who was already dozing off. I didn't even have the opportunity to offer him my seat, as the lady was an immoveable object between us. Both kids were off happily playing on their tablets, so I introduced myself, and we went from there.

My first experience with Jet Blue was impressive. Even before most other airlines started attacking their passengers, it was a step above, with free TV, WIFI, snacks, and excellent service. The kids mostly kept to themselves. On one or two occasions, they needed their dad, and I was able to convey information over the immobile form of the lady between us.

I was later to find out that there is an actual term in the airline industry called "Miami Miracles." This refers to older folks who need wheelchair assistance to get on the plane (thus ensuring early boarding) who are amazingly able to pop up without assistance in Florida and get off the planes themselves. Now, the lady in the aisle seat was already seated when I got on, but she refused to move for the entire flight (making the father climb over her on more than one occasion), but as soon as the doors on the plane opened in Florida, she jumped up like a spry young thing and muscled her way off the plane as fast as possible, literally shouldering her way past some people.

I eventually got off the plane and went to find my father, who was waiting outside to take me to their new condo they purchased this year. They had previously rented from friends and relatives, but made the plunge at the end of last year to have a place of their own.

My father, charmer that he is, had these first words for me after I threw my bag in the trunk and entered the car: "There shouldn't be any traffic on the way back. Your aunt has lung cancer." So, to be fair, he really backed into the news for me. After an awkward ride to the condo, I eventually went inside, saw the new place, had a snack, and went to bed, contemplating that I should never, ever take vacation in March again.


The Accommodations:
As mentioned, my parents bought a permanent condo for their snowbirding activities last year. It is in one of the literally countless over-50 communities next to golf courses in central-east Florida named for the natives that they ethnically cleansed to get land. Looked at objectively, you have to wonder if all these word-salad names (Indian Spring, Seminole Valley, Indian Ranch, etc) are just really bad, racist jokes.

All that notwithstanding, my parents now have a two-bedroom condo overlooking the eighth hole of the golf course at one of these places. Ironically, my father is not a member of that particular golf course, but one up the road a bit more. For some reason, it is more expensive for residents to be golf members, instead of the opposite. The reason why was explained to me more than once but I couldn't quite hold the reasoning in my head.

The condo was very nice, if a little heavy on mirrors to the point that it made me wonder a little bit about the previous owners. There's a kitchen out front, and then a dining room connected to the living room, leading to the enclosed porch overlooking the golf course. Nearest the golf course is master bedroom and bath, while back towards the kitchen was the laundry, second bath, and guest bedroom.

The new place was an upgrade in many ways for me. Firstly, it was a separate bedroom, which let me sleep through the night instead of being in the living room when my father got up for golf in the god-awful ass-end of the morning, and it had WIFI, so I could be in my own room with connection to the Internet and not off in some bizarre familial Middle-Ages prison from technology.

There was, however, no light switch in the guest bedroom. My father had the one main light in the room on a clapper, which was just bizarre and took a good deal of getting used to. Nothing like waking up in the night and having to work up a loud enough clap to turn on the light so you don't kill yourself walking around.

On Obstructed Views of a Massacre

First Data Field, 2017

Saturday, March 11, 2017
Washington Nationals vs. New York Metropolitans
First Data Field
Grapefruit League (Spring Training)
Port St. Lucie, FL
1:10 PM


Outside the Game:
Despite finally having a guest room to myself, I was up pretty early on Saturday. An agreement had been reached that I could use my mother's car in Florida for the duration of my trip, sparing me a rental, but forcing me to use her boat of a car instead of my preferred smaller model. Beggars and choosers, etc.

I had a quick breakfast, and then I headed out with my father to pick up my cousin's kid and get out to the game. Since I had several other games available for this trip, I only got there just as the gates opened to do my regular walking around and picture taking. After a quick stop in the team store, I was in to watch the game, such as it was.

On the way out, it was the standard drive back to my parent's condo with my dad, as my cousin was taken by others. I had a shower to wash all the Florida off, and then had a nap. For my first night down, my parents took me out to dinner at some passable Italian place in Retirementland, but it might not have been so passable, and I had stomach problems for the rest of the night.

I tried to walk it off with a constitutional back at the condo complex, but eventually gave up and set in for an early night. When in Rome...


The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, First Data Field

Outside of being re-christened (yet again) First Data Field, the Metropolitan's Spring Training home in the Grapefruit League hadn't changed that much except the signs (especially the hastily erected one at the street entrance to the park--apparently the name change came just as the Spring Training schedule started). There were slightly fewer specialty concession stands than before, and the 7 Line Army had migrated south, and now took over the berm area with bright baby blue T-shirts for their Spring incarnation.

It was a healthy crowd that got to see the awful performance the Metropolitans put on, and outside of brainless idiots clamoring for an appearance by Tim Tebow, it was mostly Mets fans watching them getting beaten by the Nationals, which is something they would need to get used to for the rest of the season.

As usual, Mr. Met didn't show up down South, and there wasn't much in the way of between-inning entertainment.


At the Game with Oogie:

Sub and soda

The only good news about our seats is that it prevented us from fully seeing the debacle on the field.

My southern relations had delayed in getting me a final head count so I could purchase seats until dangerously late in the process and proximate to the actual games. Miraculously, I managed to score a block of seats together for a Saturday game that late on, but I should have been suspicious from the get-go.

As it turned out, our block of seats on the first-base side was right up against a camera stand that had been installed amongst the seats. This meant two things: 1) There was only one way in and out of the row to our seats, so anytime we wanted to leave, we had to go the length of the row to make it to the aisle, and 2) The seats right next to the camera stand were, at best, impaired view. They were not advertised as such, which stuck in my craw a little. Regardless, my father took one for the team and sat in the worst seat, since he didn't much care what was happening in the game anyway. When my second wave of relatives showed up at game time, they were able to see most of the game. Selling impaired view without warning is a crappy thing to do, but it didn't really fall out of the realm of believable for the Wilpons.

Anyway, I grabbed an Italian sub at the Italian place at the top of the main entrance ramp for lunch, and watched the game surrounded by my southern relations. Everyone except me had a good time, as I was impaired by actually watching the game and dealing with that monstrosity.


The Game:

Story of the game

The utterly meaningless Spring Training game between the Metropolitans and the visiting Nationals was an embarrassment on all fronts for the Mets, starting with the very first batter.

The first batter in the top of the first hit a single to left field that was absolutely butchered by Cespedes, leaving the leadoff runner on third, eventually to be driven in with a one-out sacrifice fly to center, staking Washington to the earliest 1-0 lead. New York, for its part, went in order. The Nats had back-to-back singles to start the second, but managed to strand them, while the Metropolitans only got one two-out baserunner due to an error. Washington went in order in the third, while New York had a one-out walk and single eventually erased on a double play.

Both sides took a tea interval and went in order in the fourth. Washington repeated the feat in the fifth, while the Mets stranded a single in the bottom of the frame. Wholesale swap-outs began in the sixth, and the Nats blew it open with four straight singles to start the inning and a sacrifice fly combined for three runs to stake them to a 4-0 lead. New York had two singles of their own, which they stranded.

The rest of the players swapped out in the seventh, and Washington turned a one-out triple, a single, and an E6 into another run, while the Metropolitans went in order. Both sides, perhaps faint in the sun, both went in order in the eighth, while the Nationals only had a walk in the top of the ninth and the Mets had one single in the bottom of the ninth to finalize the visitors' meaningless  4-0 victory.


The Scorecard:

Nationals vs. Metropolitans, 03/11/17. Nationals "win," 4-0.

The scorecard was part of the $5 Spring Training program, and it was about par for the course for most recent Metropolitan scorecards, which is to say it was pretty awful. There was color printing in the scoring area, which led to smudging and poor readability, the entire spread was not used for the scorecard, leading to cramped spaces for Spring Training scoring--which needs more space than everything but the All Star game--and the paper was slightly glossy, which made writing on it with pencil extremely difficult. Oh, and there were no places to put the pitchers. So, outside of that, it was great.

Thanks to the Grapefruit League exclusively using the DH, I just put the pitchers in the useless space they left next to the total lines. There weren't many plays of scoring note in the game. The triple in the top of the seventh due to a pop fly getting lost in the sun got a note, as did a single in the bottom of the sixth through the overshift. The only really unique play was an obstruction call against a batter in the bottom of the eighth that went in as a K OB 2.

Everything else was just the Mets getting their teeth kicked in.


The Accommodations:
I was at the parents' condo again this evening. Not much new or exciting to report on that front.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2017 Spring Training

Kissimmee (Braves)

On Facing Baseball in the House of Mouse

Champion Stadium, 2015

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves
Champion Stadium
Grapefruit League (Spring Training)
Kissimmee, FL
1:05 PM

Outside of the Game: 

I awoke in the belly of the beast for a lazy morning. On paper, I was about fifteen minutes from the park, so I lazed around in my huge-ass bed for a while. Since the ballpark was within a Disney property, I wanted to get there before 10 AM to have a look around, so I was checked out and driving by 9:30 AM.

A short drive later took me to the gates of Hell, where plentiful signs told me not to stop under any circumstances, perhaps to dissuade people having last-minute misgivings about going in. In I went, and several turns later, I was at the entrance to ESPN's Wide World of Sports. It is here that things took an odd turn, so to speak.

I saw the first sign for parking, so I followed it, drove a considerable distance, only to reach another sign for parking, and this process repeated at least five times. The parking area must have been larger than Hoboken (a mere one square mile). As I passed one of the inevitably smiling parking attendants, I asked if the actual lot was near because I was running out of gas. Her smile froze and she laughed in a forced way that indicated she had never, ever heard that joke before.

Eventually, inevitably, I was directed to an actual parking space. And it was next to another pale grey Chevy Spark. The driver was already out of his car and taking off his Nationals jersey to lather up with sunscreen as I exited my own car. We both noticed, and I asked if he got his car from Dollar as well. He got his from Thrifty, which uses the same cars, and we had our little laugh. It turned out that he was down from DC and was following the Nationals for four days. In an irony not lost on me, I had actually seen the Nationals play by accident just as long as someone who had come down for specifically that purpose.

It was already hot south of 10 AM and only looking to get hotter, so I was seeing if I could get a ticket in the shade. Getting to a friendly ticket-taker in the area outside the park grounds, I was told that there's no place outside of the standing room or the luxury boxes that guaranteed shade. He also asked if I was from up North, to which I responded in the affirmative. He then continued that it was going to be extremely less warm when I went home, so I might as well enjoy it, and as I was returning home the next day, I took his wisdom to heart.

I then entered the Wide World of Sports complex itself, had my ticket checked by a smiling person in an impeccable uniform, and was in a Disney park for the first time in nearly a decade. The Wide World of Sports isn't a traditional Disney park. It is an extensive collection of sports fields (where rich high school and college teams from the North apparently come down for "spring training," as well as hosting sporting tournaments of various sizes) and a few "fan experience" buildings and the inevitable stores.

I was there, of course, because of the Grapefruit League park for the Braves that was right by the entrance to the complex, with a facade to fit in with the rest of the buildings. As the park didn't open until 10 AM, I took my walk around and then headed to the back of the park, where the practice fields are located. I walked around for a little, watching practices and trying not to get any Braves on me, and then headed back to the ballpark a little after opening to go in and do my thing one last time on this trip.

After the game, fearing traffic of an epic and unimaginable scale, I scooted out of the game as soon as the final out was recorded and headed straight back to my car. My vehicular twin had already departed, and I made my way to the nearest exit as fast as possible. To my surprise, I was on my way and out of Disney almost immediately.

It is from there that I had to head south-east to get back to my parents' condo in Boynton Beach. And it was on the highways that I ran into some pretty serious traffic, but once I was able to get to the Parkway, I was clear sailing for the rest of the trip down, arriving at a little after 6:30 PM.

I offloaded my stuff one last time, took a needed shower, and then started to sort out my packing. Because I had been able to offload all my purchased crap at my parents' condo at regular intervals, it quickly became apparent that all of this stuff was not going to fit in my suitcase. I started doing triage and dumped nearly all of it into two bags for my parents to send back north the next week in my mother's car, which they were shipping north when they returned. I eventually got everything in a good place, and then, against my better judgement, was taken out to dinner with my parents, which was survived, but had me getting to bed no earlier than 11 PM, which promised a groggy Saturday start.

The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, Champion Stadium

Champion Stadium is perhaps ironically named, and I’m not sure anyone has picked up on it. The Grapefruit League home of the Braves is named singularly -- champion, not champions -- which can be seen by those that would like to as a commentary on their solitary World Series Championship despite their domination of the NL East for a decade, finally squeaking out a sole victory against a Cleveland team even more sad-sack than themselves. Or at least, that’s how I look at it.

The headline on Champion Stadium is that it is located in a Disney park, and is affiliated with Disney for obvious reasons. Granted it isn’t Magic Kingdom, or hell, even Animal Kingdom, but ESPN Wide World of Sports is, in fact, a Disney park. Beside the ballpark and a couple high-end, ESPN-related sports stores and “experiences,” for the most part, the facility is a bunch of fields for a wide array of sports either used for tournaments, or, I kid you not, “spring training” for (presumably rich) school sports teams from further north, and that idea blew my mind more than anything else.

The ballpark is inside the Disney park, so you need to either buy a ticket to the game, have a pass for a group on one of the other fields, or buy a ticket to get in to see Champion Stadium at all. From the outside, the Spanish colonial-style park looks like any other themed building you’d find in any other Disney park. Double-level archways line the park on tall walls that encircle the entire park. With the ticket booths at the entrance to the Wild World of Sport park itself, the only thing on the outside of the park are the large main entrance, a VIP entrance down by third-base side of the park, and the cast and player entrances on the first-base side of the park. Down a stairway behind the outfield wall of the park are the practice fields, arranged and meticulously organized on well-manicured paths only the way Disney can. All the practice fields and training buildings are named for Braves’ luminaries of the past, and the layout means that players are often trotting the same paths as the plebeians.

Exit through the gift shop

The hoi-polloi all enter through the large home-plate entrance, which, to no one’s great surprise, runs straight through the ESPN Clubhouse Shop team store. It then ends up on the outside promenade, a wide path that runs outside the back of the grandstand from third base to first-base, with a large entry plaza by the entrance behind home plate. This is also in the Spanish colonial style, with most of the food concessions and other tables set up along its length. Champion Stadium is the only true two-deck stadium in the Grapefruit League, so the outer promenade is mirrored by a smaller Mezzanine level walkway accessed by stairwells around the circumference, with its own plaza at the home plate side with more concessions.

Various ramps and exits at the end of the grandstand spill the crowds out on the rest of the promenade that runs the rest of the way to the outfield corners, terminating at the dead center monolith tower, housing a digital scoreboard, the batter’s eye, and a digital video board running from left-center to right-center. The single-level outfield wall is covered only in Disney ads, and the top of trees and blue sky is the only thing seen beyond. The walkway through the seating bowl is perched on the top of the lower seating section, with stairs leading down to the seats. The walkway on the upper deck is on the base of the level, with stairs up to what passes for nosebleed seats. The main grandstand runs from first to third, with the upper deck overhanging the lower deck, and luxury boxes and the press box topping the upper deck of seating. A lower row of bleachers runs the distance out to the right field corner. On the left field side, a picnic hill runs from the end of the grandstand out to left-center field. A forest of corporate sponsor pennants rises at the top of the hill in left center. Make your own joke here.

There are several party areas on the promenade in right field and left field, along with luxury tents that run the top of the walkway in the left field corner. The right field area is closed off for grounds crew and other facilities operations, as in any Disney park. There’s a Jackie Robinson memorial on the lower walkway, which would be more inspiring if it wasn’t wedged between another team store and a concession stand, half-concealed behind a condiment cart.

H'yuk! Commercialism is awesome!

As you might expect from a baseball park on a Disney property, the entertainment value was much higher than at other Grapefruit League parks. It began with a fully produced pre-game show with an MC and a camera crew wandering the park prior to the game, eventually cutting to live set-pieces on the digital board and other displays around the park, aping similar pre-game productions at other MLB parks around the country. Of course, Disney characters in baseball outfits (available for purchase at the convenient team stores) make their appearance before and during the game during fan-friendly events such as introducing veterans, bringing kids on the field, or other shenanigans. There’s even a saxophone quartet dressed in olde tymey baseball uniforms called the “Atlanta Braves Philharmonic” that come out and plays before the game and during some between-inning breaks. The regular minor-league level contests, races, and giveaways are also in effect, but produced much better than your average MiLB effort.

Philharmonic

There was a decent-sized crowd, but not one to fill up that gigantic stadium too big for its purpose. Most people were trying to not get heat stroke and were clearly there for the entertainment value, but enough of them participated in the racist and idiotic tomahawk chop to not completely know what was going on.

At the Game with Oogie:

Blinding scoring

So, with gates three hours before gametime, I had plenty of time to wander about the place and do my business. Food-wise, I got a really expensive hot dog combo to start, and after some more walking around, I saw "boiled peanuts" advertised. It was apparently a Georgia thing, so I decided to give it a try. This was a mistake. Boiled peanuts are disgusting and people from Georgia are disgusting for eating them.

Literally disgusting

I had a bunch of time to kill after I had done my rounds and gotten the lineups from the digital lineup card near the entrance. ESPN was paying people to give feedback on their new interface for their fantasy baseball app, but I wasn't that bored.

Hot dog meal

I had backed bleacher seats just beyond first base. The bleachers were sitting in the sun all morning, so it was a careful procedure to sit down. I was wedged between a group of middle-aged guys in front of me, a family to my left and behind me, and a pair of college-aged couples to my right. It was obvious that the guys in the couples were wash-out college players and their girlfriends knew nothing about baseball, as evidenced by the fact that the gentlemen had to explain every last thing that happened in the game to them.

The Braves fans did that inane, racist chop chant during rallies, and I didn't murder a soul. I feel I deserve some acknowledgement for that.

The Game:

First pitch, Nationals vs. Braves

The last of the meaningless, late-season Spring Training games lined up with the Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves facing off in Disney. Why not?

Washington started promisingly with a leadoff double, but he got no further than third before the end of the half. In the bottom of the first, the Braves went in order despite a leadoff walk thanks to a double play. The Nationals just had a walk in the top of the second, while Atlanta went in order in their half. Washington got on the board in the third with back-to-back singles to start the frame, a wild pitch to move everyone over, and another single to bring them both in for a 2-0 lead. Atlanta just had a single in their half.

The Nationals went in order in the top of the fourth despite a leadoff single thanks to a double-play. But Atlanta got on the board big, putting up three runs with a single, double, and two more singles to race to a 3-2 lead. Both sides went in order in the fifth, but Washington had a leadoff walk that made it no further than third in the top of the sixth, while the Braves again went in order.

In the top of the seventh, the Nationals went in order again, while Atlanta got two more runs on the board thanks to three singles, a stolen base, and a ground-out, staking themselves to a 5-2 lead. Washington threatened with a couple of walks in the top of the eighth, but stranded them all, while the Braves only scrounged up a two-out double in their part of the inning. In the top of the ninth, the Nationals went meekly in order, and Atlanta closed up their pointless 5-2 victory.

The Scorecard:

Nationals vs. Braves, 03/21/15. Braves"win," 5-2.

The scorecard was part of the $6, full-color magazine, Spring Training program, as part of a centerfold pullout. Unfortunately, the pull-out was also on glossy magazine paper, making it hard to write in pencil. Each team was on separate back-to-back pages of the scorecard, with the scoring area taking up the top 2/3rds of the page, with scoring instructions in the bottom.

The batting lines had places for replacements, with batter totals at the end of each line and inning totals at the bottom of each column. The scoring squares were small, with pre-printed diamonds that made scoring a little tight. The generous area for pitching lines was under the batting lines. The background was at least a light color to allow for notes, and although there was printing behind the scoring area, it wasn't too bad.

There weren't too many interesting plays, except for a single that tried to make it into a double in the top of the third that ended as a single with a CS 8-6-3-4. Both teams did the traditional mass swap-out of players, with the Braves starting in the sixth inning, and the Nats going in the seventh. They didn't get around to announcing two of the replacement players for the Braves in the eighth, and they never got to bat, so they go sadly unnamed.

The Accommodations:
I was back at my parents' condo that evening, for one last inadequate night of sleep on a hide-a-bed that did awful things to my back.

On Regrettable Conclusions

West Palm Beach Airport

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Jersey City, NJ

Outside of the Game: 

This day started far too early for anyone's good. Before 6 AM, I rolled off the hide-a-bed and started to mechanically gather up my possessions (including my winter coat) and wandered out to my car. After some awkward fumbling in the dark, the car was sort of packed, and I was driving in the lightening night northward.

A short drive later got me to the airport, but, perhaps ironically, the rental car company's GPS was giving me bad directions to return my rental car. After some driving around in circles, I just followed the signs and got to where I needed to go. A quick transaction with the staff later, and I was off to wait for the shuttle to the terminal, which groggily disgorged me at the United area.

As I stomped my way to the gate, a representative from United stopped me to assure me my bag wouldn't fit in the overhead compartment. I told him in as polite a tone as I could muster that it fit on the plane down and it would fit on the way back. He kept after me, and I eventually told him that I bet him a checked bag fee it would fit and walked off.

Security was frustrating in other ways. I was ready to remove all my electronics and liquids, and then got to the desk to have my hands swabbed, told I didn't need to remove anything from my bag, and went through a regular metal detector. I was pretty sure it was some sort of trap, but that was it. It was some sort of pilot program they were apparently trying out. I wonder if it was called "The Common-Sense Project."

I grabbed some breakfast at Burger King, one of the only stores open at this unearthly hour, and then had a short wait for the boarding to begin. We marched onto the plane in fairly good order and took off on time. I managed it correctly this time and didn't fall asleep until we were in the air. I woke up and paid for Internet the rest of the way so I could watch funny cat pictures for the rest of the trip.

We eventually landed about a half hour early and were thrust into the cold, heartless Newark morning. At least my winter jacket kept me operational. I went to the empty taxi stand and got a short ride back to my new apartment in Jersey City and spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry and trying to make sense of all the crap I still had with me.

The Accommodations: 

Jersey City, for a change.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2015 Grapefruit League