Category Archives: current major league affiliation

former philadelphia phillies affiliates, minor league, new york, new york-penn league, short season single a, st. louis cardinals affiliates

Dwyer Stadium, Batavia, New York

July 6, 2009 Paul 1 Comment

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Dwyer Stadium, Batavia, NEW YORK

Number of states: 8
States to go: 42
Number of games: 1
First game: July 26, 2004 (Batavia Muckdogs 6, Mahoning Valley Scrappers 2)

(Click on any image to see a larger version.)

As I crossed back into the United States from Canada (and Skydome) to make New York the 8th state crossed off in the Minor League quest, the US was on a major terror watch due to the Democratic National Convention beginning in Boston. I figured it would be a tough time getting across the border. Here’s what transpired:

CUSTOMS GUY: Where are you coming from?
ME: Toronto.
CUSTOMS GUY: What were you doing there?
ME: Watching two baseball games.
CUSTOMS GUY: Where are you heading?
ME: Batavia. One more game, tomorrow night.
CUSTOMS GUY: Where are you from?
ME: Seattle.
CUSTOMS GUY: How do you afford this? Tickets, hotels, rental car?
ME: Well, it adds up, but I save up.

Isn’t it nice to know that, even at a moment when our country is in unique danger, that this customs guy cares enough about me to ask about my finances? I mean, not that I expect politeness or sensitivity from my government workers–I know better–but come on, isn’t this a little irrelevant and intrusive? Oh well–at least I wasn’t frisked.

Maybe the man’s status as a government worker isn’t to blame for this

exchange. Maybe it’s something as simple as his status as a resident of an Eastern state, where politeness isn’t valued that much. This gentleman served as a nice introduction to the brusque East from the polite Midwest and polite Canada. I’m glad I met him…it was essential preparation for the treatment my new friends would give me in Batavia the next night.

I had literally zero expectations for Batavia, a town of 80,000-ish about 40 minutes east of Buffalo. I’d never heard of it and hadn’t been anywhere near it before. What a pleasant surprise! It was a disarmingly charming small town–loads of parks and historic markers. Rather than dining at a chain fast food place, I had a sandwich made at a family-run deli

just a couple of blocks south of the ballpark. This kind of place doesn’t exist in a good chunk of the country–at least not in cities large enough to support minor-league baseball. If it weren’t cold and drizzly, I would have spent the entire day wandering around one of Batavia’s several large, tree-packed parks. As it is, I went down the road to LeRoy to enjoy the Jello Museum. Yes, I was excited to go–that kind of kitschy pop culture integrated with American history is right up my alley. I’ll lay off talking about it here and encourage you to check out the website if you’re at all interested.

The ballpark itself is smaller than most I’ve been to, even at the short-A level. There are three small segments which spread from just-beyond-first to just-beyond-third with significant gaps between the segments. This means that a spectator can walk from the pavilion straight out to the dugouts. There’s little in the way of decoration on the pavilion, but I like what there is: clearly, local schoolkids have made art as a part of a local anti-smoking campaign. Also, they have a very basic “Wall of Fame” listing every major league player or manager in history that had passed through Batavia on his way to the bigs. I’ve seen walls of fame before, but

only for superstars; this is the first I’ve seen that claims to be all-inclusive, honoring every major leaguer from Hall of Famers down to cups of coffee. (Even if they incorrectly changed “Dock Ellis” to “Doc Ellis.”) Additionally, the ballpark has a little table underneath the whiteboard with the starting lineups; this makes it far easier to write lineups in my scorebook than it has been for me anywhere else. These little things add up.

I must admit that, as much as I liked these touches, the fans are what made Batavia such a nice experience for me. A month or two before I went to Batavia, Sports Illustrated ran a nice piece on how big minor league baseball is in New York. The fine folks around me backed this up. First, I met an elderly couple who were clearly major Muckdogs supporters. Not only were they able to tell us a good deal about current Muckdogs, but had some sense of their fluctuating roster–who was on their way up to full-season A and who would be promoted to Batavia from the Gulf Coast League. Very impressive. The grandmotherly woman was kind enough to give me a NY/Penn League baseball. Thanks, kind stranger! The gentleman next to me was on a minor league trip through the Northeast. He’d made it from his home in Scranton up to Rochester, then to Batavia, eventually to get as far as Akron. Nice guy, although it appeared his wife would rather be elsewhere. The gentlemen

behind me were from Connecticut, and one of them was in his 35th year of teaching high school civics, which gave

us a lot to talk about. He, too, was traveling through a number of minor league ballparks in the Northeast. It was almost enough to get me to forget he was a Yankee fan…but not quite.

All of these folks were nice–and all of them turned on me mercilessly. Make no mistake…I deserved it. It happened in the fifth inning. Carl Galloway was at bat. I’m sitting in the front row just short of first base. Mr. Galloway checks his swing and sends a chopper off the tip of his bat down towards me. The ball takes a wicked ricochet off the base of the wall about six feet short of me, and I throw out my glove to attempt a backhand stab at it. Before I tell you the result of my attempt, please consider these two facts:

1. I had less than a second to react after the ball ricocheted off the wall.

2. As a result of going off the end of the bat and then the base of the wall, the ball had some nasty English on it.

Okay. The ball hit my glove, and I dropped it. It didn’t get back into the webbing. I could feel it hit the meat of my hand beneath my pinkie and spin right out past the flesh beneath my thumb. It was gone as soon as it was there.

Here’s where things went haywire. The Batavia crowd booed me relentlessly. Even my alleged friends

around me really let me have it. “Why didn’t you put down your scorebook?” shouted one. “Put an E10 in that scorebook! E10! E10!” shouted the Connecticut teacher. While I slammed my glove into the railing, hid my face in shame, and slunk to my seat, the first base coach retrieved the ball and handed it to the guy NEXT TO ME! Whatever…I already had a ball from the nice old lady.

But my so-called friends wouldn’t let me forget it! I know it was all in fun–Connecticut guy said as much by repeatedly saying “Welcome to the Eastern United States!” in the midst of his heckling. I have no idea how to respond to this kind of treatment. It feels like the second-grade boy and girl smacking and pinching each other to show they like each other. In the Eastern United States, apparently, when you like somebody, you verbally abuse them. I’ll stay in Seattle, thanks. But still, I can respect the cultural difference and even play along a little. And I could have prevented the whole problem by catching the damn ball to begin with.

From the small world department…As I looked at the program before the game, one of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers’ hometowns was the small suburb in which I teach. He was warming up just a few feet in front of me. I called him over and asked if he went to my high school. He had! My first year there was his senior year, and I didn’t teach him, so we didn’t know each other, but I asked if I could say hi to anybody when I got back home. He played on a tremendous high school team that wound up having four players drafted off of it…and this kid wasn’t one of them! Funny thing was that their team didn’t do very well–didn’t make the state playoffs, perhaps because the kids were more focused on the fact that there were scouts in the stands than they were on playing the game. Nice kid. Tim Montgomery is his name. He went 0-for-4, unfortunately, but brought a .270 average into the game. I’ll keep an eye out.

“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” was not sung in the seventh inning stretch at Batavia. It was pre-empted by a

no images were found

marriage proposal. The PA guy turned the microphone over to a man, pictured at left, who proposed to his girlfriend right there. “Say no! Say no!” the New York guys shouted, particularly the fat guy in the Bills cap who was most ruthless in making fun of me…clearly because fat guy is leading a lonely life, and would never have been able to make the catch that he ridiculed me for missing…yeah, I’m making fun of the guy now that I’m out of the state and he can’t hurt me…so what? Anyway, the marriage proposal was a success: the woman pictured here agreed to marry the man, in the words of his proposal, “a year from now, right here at the ballpark.”

A couple of thoughts about marriage proposals (and, indeed, marriages) at the ballpark. Michelle the Girlfriend and I love baseball, and indeed, baseball has been central to our relationship in many ways. She came up with the idea for the yearly July 4th Minor League Baseball trip, she keeps up on my website, she understands and tolerates this quest of mine, and she’s even competitive in my fantasy league. Indeed, we probably wouldn’t be together were it not for baseball…we reconciled four years after a breakup in part because Michelle got a job for a minor league team and found she missed me. But when the time comes for a marriage proposal, if I do it at the ballpark, Michelle has assured me she will never speak to me again. I share her distaste for the ballpark proposal. First of all, there’s the public aspect of it. It seems to me that asking and answering this question should be done privately. It’s a terribly intimate moment…why make it into a de facto reality TV show? That feels cheap and yucky to me. Also, how much pressure is there on the woman? Just once, I’d like to see a woman actually say no to a public proposal. It’d serve the guy right for pressuring her. Michelle and I have agreed that, when the day comes, we’ll have our rehearsal dinner at a minor league game, but that’s wildly different from the actual marriage–it’s a party, not a ceremony. I don’t want to have a thousand strangers looking on, four dozen kids chewing tobacco, or people publicly adjusting themselves as I become engaged or married. I certainly don’t want a mascot spraying silly string. I don’t want the recessional music to be “YMCA.” I don’t want a scoreboard to send us off on our honeymoon. I don’t understand why anyone else would. Nevertheless, I wish the happy couple luck, and hope they enjoy their wedding.

Dwyer Stadium was a very good experience for me–it has a homey, intimate feel, and I enjoyed my trip there. I’ll be back. I’ll spend some time preparing some insults for Fat Bills Hat Man and anyone else who comes after me, and I’ll field grounders for a month before the trip. I’ll show you guys.

BALLPARK SCORE:

Regional feel: 8/10
It felt like a small town–and a small Northeastern town at that.

Charm: 4.5/5
Right down to the kids’ drawings.

Spectacle: 3.5/5
Could have had a little more going on for short-season A ball, but not bad.

Team mascot/name: 4.5/5

Meet Maxwell T. Chomper. (Check out the kids mugging for the camera behind us.) I know that “Muckdogs” is a new name (fans told me that the Columbus minor league team sued to have Batavia drop its former “Clippers” nickname), and that it’s a bit nontraditional, but I absolutely love it. It’s locally appropriate, unique, intimidating, and fun all in one. Max could be dressed a little better, I think, but that’s a minor complaint.

Aesthetics: 3.5/5
Lots of trees, and has a small town beauty/charm about it.

Pavilion area: 4.5/5
I love the major league wall and the writing surface by the lineups.

Scoreability: 5/5
No problems at all–they quickly displayed all close scoring decisions. One of the best ballparks I’ve been to for this.

Fans: 4/5
Okay–so the fans were verbally abusive to umpires, opponents, and worst of all, to me. Nevertheless, they mean well–I’m willing to see beyond their social shortcomings and obvious anger issues to see how genuinely kind, gregarious, and knowledgeable they were.

Intangibles: 4.5/5
I really felt like this was a fun, enjoyable night of baseball–a great way to end my 2004 trip.

TOTAL: 42/50

BASEBALL STUFF I’VE SEEN HERE:

Kind of a quiet game.

The big blow was Carl Galloway’s three-run home run for Batavia.

Marshall Szabo went 4-for-4 for Mahoning Valley.

Scrappers’ pitcher Tony Sipp looked like a possible star to me, striking out 7 over 2 2/3 innings, but his defense and wildness let him down. Still, I felt he looked strong–worth keeping an eye out for him.

Andy Baldwin allowed only six hits and one run over six innings for Batavia.

(Written August 2004. Score revised July 2009.)

chicago cubs affiliates, former arizona diamondbacks affiliates, indiana, low level single a, midwest league, minor league

Stanley Coveleski Stadium, South Bend, Indiana

July 6, 2009 Paul 1 Comment

WE’RE MOVING!

This page will only be here through 6/29, but I am saving these (and adding new parks as I see them) here, at paulsballparks.substack.com. See you on the other side!

Stanley Coveleski Regional Stadium, South Bend, INDIANA

Number of states: 6
States to go: 44
Number of games: 1
First game: July 17, 2004 (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 4, South Bend Silver Hawks 2)

(The ballpark is now known as Four WInds Field at Stanley Coveleski Stadium.)
(Click on any image to see a larger version.)

Stanley Coveleski Regional Stadium (or, as the locals call it, “the Cove”) is in a decent location as far as the “is there any doubt where you are” test. It’s hard up against a train station on one side–charming architecture that is visible above the right field stands. On the other side, there is the spire of what I assume to be a Catholic church in view. These two items in concert say South Bend to me, but on the inside, there’s little clue that I’m in Indiana.

College singing buddies Rob (of Three Rivers Stadium and Hooters fame), Kristin and I were fortunate to get seats in the front row behind the home dugout. I looked forward to watching the game, but something transpired which had never

occurred to me…when one is in the front row behind the dugout, one’s view is often obstructed by dancing mascots. Additionally, kids who wish to see the mascot frequently cascade down to the front row and make annoying child noises. I wonder why this problem had never occurred to me? Nevertheless, Swoop, the Silver Hawks’ mascot, is quite easily did the best job out of all mascots I have ever encountered. He was energetic, wacky, and fun throughout. For example, he and the alternate mascot (a child dressed in a giant mustachioed head) sat on the dugout and played spin the bottle with a couple of young women in the front row. Hilarity ensued! The mascot actually made me laugh a couple of times–a rarity. Nice going, Swoop. Now sit down and get out of my way.

Beyond the mascot, there were a whole lot of negatives about the Cove. For starters, let’s talk about the mini-bat. I buy a mini-bat at every minor league park I see a game at…they hang by a map of the US in my den. The quality of mini-bats in South Bend were unacceptably inferior. At first, I thought the bat was hollow, but I no longer think so–now, I believe it’s just made of a really chintzy light wood. Oh well–so it’s light, whatever. I set it on the ground and watched the game. When I picked up the bat at the end of the game, the paint had worn off of every part of the bat that had made contact with the ground. How bogus is this? So I headed off to the souvenir shop to trade it in, and had the following conversation:

ME: Can I trade this bat in for another? The paint has worn off the side.
CONCESSION WOMAN: Oh, they’re all like that.
ME: I know. Can I have another?
CW: No. You don’t understand. They’re all like that.
ME: I know…but this time I won’t do something awful with it like put it down.
CW: (gives me a very annoyed, angry look, then trades in the bat)

Arrrggh! I did wrap the bat carefully in a sweater, packed it up…and it’s made it back home without any damage. The fact that this bat was sold to me for an above average cost (usually I pay $4 or $5 for a bat…this was $5.25) leads me to think that they were all about squeezing off profits. This led me to realize that my hot dog was cold and my soda felt a bit watered-down…in combination, not a great feeling for the ballpark.

Worse, I didn’t have any idea what was happening due to an inferior program and unacceptably incomplete PA work. It was exceedingly difficult to score a game at Stanley Coveleski Regional Stadium. Sure, the lineups were accessible in the pavilion, but what about during the game? The PA announcer failed to announce three of the four relief pitchers that entered the game–he only announced the pitchers who entered mid-inning. This means the guy either didn’t notice that the pitcher was new (in spite of the umpire’s clear “new pitcher” signal) or didn’t think that we cared. We do care, PA guy. This left me in the position of figuring out the pitchers’ names on my own from the players’ numbers and my program. Or maybe not–much to my dismay, I found there was no opposing roster in the program, and I couldn’t seem to find a scorecard to buy. So I had to get the names of two Wisconsin relievers on the Timber Rattlers’ website later that night.

Even worse was a failure to announce the South Bend reliever who entered to pitch the ninth inning. After fruitlessly waiting for the PA guy to say his name, I figured I’d check to see who #33 was in the program. Incredibly, the players were listed alphabetically and without numbers! What was I supposed to do, guess at his height and weight?

This led to a wonderful moment–an explication of one of the reasons I like Rob so much. He’s so terribly pleasant and friendly, yet sorta crazy. As the pitcher is running off the field at the end of that inning, Rob shouts at the pitcher repeatedly: “What’s your name? Hey, 33, what’s your name? What’s your name??” #33 ignored the lunatic in the front row–I believe wisely. But Rob wasn’t done.

The first base coach for the Silver Hawks, #17, was headed out for the bottom of the ninth. Rob called out to him. “COACH! Hey, COACH!!!” #17 turned around. Rob said “Your pitcher. #33. What’s his name?” The baffled coach asked Rob to repeat himself a couple of times, and Rob did.

Then, the coach gave us the information we wanted, although it was hard to hear–but by cross-referencing our alphabetical program, we eventually were able to figure out what he was saying: “Cremidan. Alex Cremidan.” Thus it came to be that Alex Cremidan was given credit for his perfect ninth inning, including a strikeout. Now, coaching a minor league team is likely a challenging job in and of itself, so to willingly add the PA announcers’ duties to your own is a very selfless action. As a result, I’m very impressed with this coach, and would like to thank him by name in this public venue…but I can’t, because the Silver Hawks don’t have coaches listed on their website or by number in their program. Oh well. Thanks, #17.

One more complaint–the crowd, while mostly kind, did have one moment of ugliness. After flying to left field in the bottom of the seventh inning, third baseman Augie Murillo (if memory serves, this was the guy) was nearly drilled by a tennis ball thrown from the crowd as he returned to the dugout. They had sold tennis balls to be thrown into hula hoops on the field for prizes after the game, but someone decided to take a shot at a player instead. I was watching Augie head back to the dugout when the ball zinged by. He immediately looked up, and

with a few teammates, had ushers head towards the hooligan who threw it (although, given that Murillo’s head was down, I’m not sure how he could have known). Much to my surprise, rather than a nearby drunken guy, ushers ejected a woman who was at least 25 yards away. Quite an arm. “Was that her?” I asked Augie. He nodded. I love getting into conversations with these guys.

There’s a lot to like about this ballpark–its location, the cool multiple mascots, the grassy berm in the outfield spectators can suntan on, the dramatic Midwestern thunder cells in the distance reflecting a pink sunset. But I got an overall negative vibe from the place because of poor service from top to bottom, from the people selling the mini-bats all the way to the guy in the PA booth. When I add it all together, it’ll wind up near the bottom of the list, although with a new set of workers, I could see me returning someday and enjoying it far more.

BALLPARK SCORE:

Regional feel: 7 /10
Nice placement between a church and a railyard, but little inside the ballpark that says one is in Northern Indiana or Michiana (the horrible term locals use for the area).

Charm: 3.5/5
On and off. Liked the cars for car night, liked the outfield berm.

Spectacle: 4.5/5
Plenty good for the low minors.

Team mascot/name: 4/5

Swoop and I are in the left picture here, with the mysterious mustachioed kid-mascot to the right. Swoop is a fine name, and I like the multiple mascots, although Silver Hawks isn’t, to my knowledge anyway, local. (Update April 2008: The Silver Hawks, two of their fans have informed me, are named after the Studebaker Silver Hawk that was once manufactured near the stadium. Nice historical touch there.)

Aesthetics: 3.5 /5
Not too much in the way of beauty here, but a gorgeous thunderstorm in the distance helped.

Pavilion area: 3 /5
Just fine. A little dark and dreary, but a nice set of plaques commemorating South Bend baseball history, including one to Mr. Coveleski himself and a couple commemorating the stars of South Bend’s AAGPBA entry, the Belles.

Scoreability: 0/5
Horrible. Useless PA guy and useless program.

Fans: 2.5/5

While most were fine, I can’t overlook the violent lout who threw a ball at a player.

Intangibles: 0/5
On the whole, I just wasn’t impressed–I simply felt like profit was valued over service. Worse yet, they misspelled “Wisconsin” on the standings board! (They had an “o” where the second “i” is.)

TOTAL: 28/50

BASEBALL STUFF I’VE SEEN HERE:

Wisconsin pitcher Nibaldo Acosta was the star of the day, scattering 9 hits over 8 innings, giving up only 1 run.

Wladimir Balentien homered.

(Written August 2004. Revised July 2009.)

detroit tigers affiliates, international league, minor league, ohio, triple a

Fifth Third Field, Toledo, Ohio

July 6, 2009 Paul Comment

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Fifth Third Field, Toledo, OHIO

Number of states: still 5 (rainout)
States to go: 45
Number of games: 0 (rainout, July 16, 2004)

(Click on any picture to see a larger version.)

I led off my 2004 summer ELABST trip in Toledo, where college buddy Kristin lived. Kristin expressed enthusiasm not only to host me and join me at Fifth Third Field, but to join me for the lion’s share of the tour. We showed up at Fifth Third Field. Alas, the game never began…the rain stopped a few times, just to tantalize us all,

and they even took off the tarp, announced lineups, and sang the anthem…but it was not meant to be.

Even though I spent three hours at the ballpark, I didn’t see a game here in Toledo, and I therefore cannot count Ohio in my state total, nor do I feel right giving the ballpark a score. I’m certain it would be a very high score–the ballpark is beautiful, nicely integrated into the warehouses of the neighborhood (in the picture at left, the stadium is the shorter building on the left). It also has local charm, including Toledo native Jamie Farr, wearing Corporal Klinger’s Mud Hens’ hat, making announcements on the scoreboard.

Question: Are the Mud Hens the only men’s pro team with a female nickname? They do have mascots of each gender…Muddy and–ready?–Muddonna. I took the time to pose with Muddonna. After all, I bought her namesake’s albums in junior high. The “Lucky Star” video…critical to my development as a heterosexual. You remember what those dancers on either side of her looked like? Me either. But I digress. I

like the idea of two genders for the mascot. It’s a bit of an affirmative action program for the furry.

In any event, in spite of the lack of score, I thought I’d throw in a few pictures to show what it’s like to be at a rainout at Fifth Third Field. See the tarp come off…hopes were high!…then see the tarp go back on. Oh well.

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(Written August 2004.)

former colorado rockies affiliates, minor league, northwest league, san diego padres affiliates, short season single a, washington

Tri-Cities Stadium/Dust Devils Stadium/Gesa Stadium, Pasco, Washington

July 6, 2009 Paul 1 Comment

WE’RE MOVING!

This page will only be here through 6/29, but I am saving these (and adding new parks as I see them) here, at paulsballparks.substack.com. See you on the other side!

Tri-Cities Stadium/Dust Devils Stadium/Gesa Stadium, Pasco, WASHINGTON

Number of states: still 5
States to go: 45
Number of games: 6
First game: July 7, 2004 (Everett AquaSox 16, Tri-City Dust Devils 4)
Most recent game: July 18, 2019 (Tri-City Dust Devils 5, Everett AquaSox 4, 10 innings)

Stadium was called Tri-Cities Stadium in 2004, Dust Devils Stadium for my second visit, and Gesa Stadium now.

(Click on any photo to see a larger version.)

What might have been…Michelle the Girlfriend worked for this franchise for a couple of years, overseeing its 2001 move from Portland. And I was all set to head out there during the summer of 2002 to serve as a general dog’s-body for the organization.

(Michelle said she was considering using me as official scorer until they found someone who could do it more regularly, then having me pinch-hit wherever I was needed for the rest of the summer.) But, alas, Michelle left the Dust Devils before the season began and moved to Seattle with me. Oh well…lose summer employment, but gain Michelle the Girlfriend’s constant presence.

If anyone ever asks you what public relations staff must do for a minor-league team, keep in mind (and this I never knew) that one of the duties is to dress as the mascot for winter appearances. This makes The Dust Devil (who technically does not have a name, although I was encouraged by Tri-City staffers to call him “Dusty”) was, when my girlfriend was in the costume, the sexiest mascot in the United States and Canada. But take a look at that thing…what IS it? A dust devil, I know, but does it look at all like one? The nickname of Dust Devils is a fine nickname, and totally appropriate (I walked through

a few on the way to the ballpark, and a good number of them popped up on the field during the game). But this thing doesn’t look like much of anything, and on top of that, it’s got to be difficult to walk around in that getup.

The ballpark itself is nice. Not a standout. It’s a part of the local recreational complex, and is therefore surrounded by a billion soccer and softball fields. I took my customary walk around the ballpark before play began, and saw people taking softball batting practice on the soccer fields, which, come to think of it, would be a fine place to take a catch before the game. Also, if you wanted to attend the game for free, please note that on this night, not one but two gates along the left field wall were open. One led directly onto the field (kinda hard to get in that way) but the other actually led to the seats. Not that I advocate this kind of thing, but it would have been

very, very easy to walk right in–nobody watching and a gate already open.

The Dust Devils might consider letting people in for free, actually, since their attendance has been quite low in their four years of existence. I’m told it can be stiflingly hot even for evening games (please note that the third-base side is the sunny side). But this July night was unseasonably cool, so the dust-devil winds not only kicked up dirt but made it a chilly, unpleasant night. Very few fans were there for the first inning, and after an awful night of baseball (7 errors, 3 by the Tri-Cities in the seventh inning, and a 14-0 Everett lead at one point), there was more or less nobody left but me. The day started quiet like a bookstore, but ended quiet like a tomb.

The ballpark was huge–335 down the lines. I’ve not seen a game with so many Texas League doubles and backpedaling middle infielders in my life. I haven’t looked up the stadium’s history to see if it’s always been that large, but my guess is that they’ll

certainly keep it that way as long as the Dust Devils are a Rockies affiliate. Coors Field is that large as well, and those young outfielders need to practice patrolling all that real estate.

The Tri-Cities workers did their best to keep everyone involved and active. Erik the Peanut Guy had a microphone on him, and the PA announcer would kick it down to him for promotions and even a few random announcements. It was a nice touch. The affable Erik would do his schtick on the microphone, then resume hawking. By the way, I absolutely loved the personalized T-shirts that the hawkers wore (the backs had their names and statements like “Cotton Candy Expert”). Erik even did an interview with the mother of the Dust Devils’ third baseman who was seeing her son play professionally for the first time. His first question to the mother was bizarre. “So, is this your first time in the Tri-Cities?” Gee, Erik, what do you think? Why would this young woman have ever been to Kennewick, Pasco, Richland, or

West Richland before? (That’s right…there are FOUR cities in the “Tri-Cities.”) The third baseman had two hits, as the mom said to anyone who would listen to her after the terrible loss–“My boy had two hits!” she said–but really needed to work on his arm. Like clockwork, at least one of his warmup throws every inning would sail into the front row. I was in the front row. I’m fortunate I was not hurt. It took me until later in the game to figure out what was going on…he was trying to throw to his mother! What a sweet gesture. UPDATE: The kid, Matt Macri, eventually made the majors with the Twins.

One of the nicest

moments I’ve ever seen at a ballpark arose out of a scary one. A foul ball looped over my head and hit the ankle of the adorable kid in this picture. He screamed and cried while his mother held him. The ball rolled down past my feet to a fourth- or fifth-grader in the front row. He then walked up and handed it to the still-crying little guy. Would I have had that kind of kindness and grace at that age? I’m not sure. In my mind, that gracious young fan is the MVP. I tried hard to get a ball for the rest of the game–maybe one of the third baseman’s errant throws?–so that I could give it to the kind, charitable youngster, repaying his kindness. But no such luck.

All in all, a decent night of bad baseball in shivery, windy cold. Yup–to me, that’s not a bad night.

UPDATE 2009: I’ve been back twice since, both for July 4 family baseball jaunts, and have improved my view of the ballpark. First, some significant changes: Most importantly, blessedly, and thankfully, the Dust Devils have installed a sun screen behind the first-base stands. I’ve heard

it called an eyesore, but I don’t care. No more desert sun and desert heat for the third-base side…the screen blocks it beautifully, and it was worth every dime.

Second, the name has changed. Gesa, a local credit union, has affixed its name to the ballpark. Not a fan of corporate naming, but if that money helped build the sun screen, then I’m all for it–and might have to transfer all my money into a Gesa account.

Next, Tri-Cities sprawl threatens the character of the area just a little bit, but the view hasn’t much changed…the view beyond the outfield fence still features several rows of soccer fields.

The only negative to the visit were some jerks in the section next to us, who I heard were the Dust Devils grounds crew–let in free for the game. If that’s the case, they need to tone down the heckling, especially since

they were in my original seat (no big deal, as I just sat in a better one). Shouting “Ichiro!” at the Boise Hawks’ two Korean players, Hak-Ju Lee and Jae-Hoon Ha, is a rare combination of racially insensitive, geographically stupid, and boorish. Tone it down, guys.

Finally, and for the first time ever, I was recognized for this website. I was on my way to the head when Erik the Peanut Guy flagged me down, noticing my Tennessee Smokies hat. “Is that the Tennessee Smokies?” he asked. I replied in the affirmative, and Erik asked if I’d been there. I talked about my effort to get to all the minor league parks, and recommended he visit my website–and I wrote down my name. He said “Oh, I know you! I LOVE your website!” and then said “We need to

get you a hat.” He then had the team store give me my choice of hat. I picked the $22 TC model to complement my wife’s Dust Devil model. He took some time out from hawking to hang with us for a while. He and Michelle remembered each other from his days hawking in high school when Michelle worked for the team. We spent a pleasant inning hanging out.

I’ve got to say, wearing random other minor league hats to ballparks is a good move. Wearing an Everett AquaSox hat in Princeton, West Virginia bought me a free sledge-hammering of a car. And now wearing a Smokies hat…and having this website…got me a $22 hat. Thanks, Erik. You just brought your score up significantly. Remember–this is not Congress. Bribery is acceptable. Giving me presents can increase your ballpark’s score (although there’s no guarantee).

BALLPARK SCORE:

Regional feel: 7.5/10
Lovely views of soccer fields and mountains. Actual, literal dust devils on the field help out a lot, although those can hardly be planned.

Charm: 2.5/5
Not much going for the physical edifice here, but Erik and his fellow hawkers help out quite a bit.

Spectacle: 3.5/5
A fair number of them, pulled off with nice energy.

Team mascot/name: 2.5/5

They call him Dusty. He looks like–nothing. And they have since put him in a Dust Devils uniform, which actually makes him more perplexing.

Aesthetics: 2.5/5

Pavilion area: 3.5/5
Could be larger. It includes an “alumni report” featuring the stats of former Dust Devils, wherever they may be. This is a fantastic idea that I”d like to see reproduced elsewhere.

Scoreability: 1.5/5
Not good here at all. Many errors on the scoreboard.

Fans: 4/5
As much as I appreciate Erik, crowds here are pretty sparse. And while I like the kid who gave up his foul ball, I don’t like the grounds crew acting like jerks to the opposition. Just cheer and watch the game. Don’t try to be Andrew Dice Clay. (I upped this score in 2013 after a much better experience sitting next to Erik the Peanut Guy’s parents.)

Intangibles: 5/5
In spite of all of its flaws, this place leaves me with positive memories. I’ve been there for a decade now, and thanks to Erik the Peanut Guy, I feel welcome there every time.

TOTAL: 33.5/50

BASEBALL STUFF I’VE SEEN HERE:

My, what a terrible game I saw on my debut visit. Three hits for the AquaSox’s Omar Falcon led their attack.

Two errors–on back to back plays–by Dust Devil shortstop Pedro Strop (each a throw through the first baseman’s legs), plus another by second baseman Jason van Kooten stretch the top of the seventh into six outs, eight runs, twelve batters, and about fifteen years. Not that I’m complaining.

In July 2005, I saw what looked to be a stud-pitcher-in-the-making…Shane Lindsey, a free-agent pitcher, struck out 11, walked none, and gave up only 3 hits in 5 innings in a Dust Devils victory.

A crazy close to a game in July 2009. Tri-Cities scores their winning runs in the eighth inning on a combination of two hit batsmen, a wild pitch, a passed ball, an intentional walk, and a sacrifice fly. Low-level A baseball. Catch it.

D.J. Peterson scored on a Huascar Brazoban wild pitch in the 11th inning of a 2013 game to give Everett a victory.

Crazy game in 2017 is highlighted by an ejection: pitcher Mike Bunal was tossed for some word or other: just walked off the mound after he was, too. The Dust Devils win in the 11th on a double, sacrifice, and fielder’s choice.

(Written July 2004. Updated July 2009.)

former san diego padres affiliates, minor league, no longer in use, oregon, pacific coast league, san diego padres affiliates, triple a

PGE Park, Portland, Oregon

July 6, 2009 Paul Comment

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PGE Park, Portland, OREGON

Number of states: still 5
States to go: 45
Number of games: 40
First game: July 4, 2004 (Portland Beavers 3, Edmonton Trappers 1)
Last game: September 3, 2010 (Las Vegas 51s 9, Portland Beavers 2)

(PGE Park was converted to an MLS soccer facility after the 2010 season, and is still used for soccer.)

(Click on any image to see a larger version.)

Portland was the third stop on what I hope will become an annual event–the Paul and Michelle July 4th weekend trip to minor league ballparks. It’s possible we won’t be able to afford to go to new stadiums every year, as by the end of this year, I’ll have all of the Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia stadiums crossed off my list. But who can come up with a better July 4th tradition than baseball…minor league baseball? It’s American, kids and adults

love it, and you get to see a fireworks show safer than what your crazy Uncle John puts together with marginally-legal explosives he spirits in over the state line. If you do the weekend right and are willing to drive a little, you can get two fireworks shows (Eugene’s was after their July 3rd game, Portland’s on the 4th). Plus, the minor league baseball atmosphere is better–bigger, louder, more looking-for-a-good time crowds. So even if we just dip down to Tacoma or Everett every year, I’m thinking this will become a tradition. And it’s a good one.

And we could certainly do worse than to visit Portland again. I was extremely impressed with the setting of the ballpark. Field level is significantly below street level, so from throughout the stadium, when any fan looks out past left field, it’s easy to see city life go by. Portland’s light-rail MAX train goes past the fence out there, and better still, people who want to watch the game for free can do so easily by walking up to the fence between the sidewalk and the left-field pavilion. It’s not that bad a view, actually, as these pictures should show.

The MA

X trains and the Beaver mascot are only a tiny part of what gives this fine ballpark local color. A good chunk of that local color is supplied by Timber Jim, the de facto human mascot for the Beavers and A-League soccer’s Portland Timbers. Timber Jim is a bona-fide lumberjack. If you don’t believe me, just check out how he clambers up the giant log/pole

beyond the right-center field wall and watches several innings of the game from there. Also, check out how he repels down from a beam to dangle in front of fans and lead cheers from midair. He’s an excellent asset to the team–not really detracting from the game, but very much adding to the experience.

Speaking of detracting from the game, this is the first game since my early youth where I have done the wave during the game. I know, I know, disappointing. But I think you’ll understand when I say why. I attended this game with Michelle the Girlfriend and a whole gaggle of her college buddies (and their spouses and kids). They don’t know me terribly well yet, so as they did the wave, I was explaining to them that “I don’t do the wave.” Matt, one of Michelle’s best friends, was trying to talk me into doing the wave. I, of course, remained adamant. Michelle knows how passionate I am about the wave. But she made a tragic mistake. She cavalierly–and, as she soon

learned, too hastily–said to Matt: “I’ll give you a hundred dollars if you get him to do the wave.” Matt didn’t miss a beat before he turned to me: “Paul, I’ll give you fifty bucks if you do the wave.” Hey, we all have our price–fifty bucks is significant money to a teacher–and it’s not like doing the wave is a crime. So when the wave rolled by next time, I stood up, shouted, and did the best wave I’ve ever done. Alas, Michelle was very disappointed in my lack of morals. I hope I didn’t cause long-term damage to the relationship. How much money would YOU take for doing the wave once? I bet it’s less than fifty bucks. Fifty bucks which, by the way, both Matt and I are still waiting for. Michelle–hurry up. We’re charging interest.

The other thing I’ll remember from this game, besides forever losing Michelle’s trust in my integrity, was teaching a woman in the group to score. She was given a scorebook for a recent birthday, and it was suggested that I help her through the game. No problem…it’s very nice to help somebody out, and I love both scoring and teaching. But my…it wasn’t scoring this woman didn’t understand, it was baseball. Case in point: after a double play, I started to explain to her where to mark each of the outs.

“Here’s how you mark the double play,” I told her. She gave me a blank look, so I continued: “A double play. That was a double play.” Still nothing.

“They got both the runner and batter out.” Now she’s looking a little panicked behind her cluelessness. “You know, a double play. Two outs on one play.”

Finally, both confused and astonished, she responded: “They can do that????”

It’s not so much my efforts to teach her how to score that interest me…it’s the whole notion of the situation that I’m interested in. Why would somebody who didn’t understand baseball happily receive a scorebook as a gift? To be honest, even though she wasn’t yet a proficient scorer at the end of the day, I admired her a good deal. I sure wouldn’t try to score cricket or bridge.

At this writing, it looks like the Montreal Expos have next to no chance of moving to Portland. I admit I wish they would–not so much for the possibility of a new NL team down the road in a new stadium, but because it’d be fun to see major league baseball in this cozy, interesting venue. No sweat: I’ll have to settle for the quite pleasant alternative of a few minor league trips down I-5 to catch the Beavers at the very enjoyable PGE Park, where I’ll sit with Michelle and not do the wave. Unless somebody meets my price.

UPDATE JULY 2009: PGE Park has now become my home stadium, since I moved down I-5 to Vancouver, Washington in the summer of 2007. My knowledge of the park–a couple of years of partial-season packages–has led me to appreciate it a little more (still love those MAX trains heading by) and a little less (there’s no legroom, and a tall guy like me needs it).

The bad news is that it’s all academic, however, since PGE Park will become a soccer-only facility after the 2010 baseball season ends. As of this writing, there’s very little certainty as to what will become of the Beavers. They may be gone just like Timber Jim (who has hung up the repelling equipment since my original post).

There’s a chance that the Beavers will leave the area altogether, which would be terrible, but right now the number one possibility is that they’ll leave downtown and move to the suburbs. If they go to any suburb other than my own, the number of games I’d attend would drop precipitously. I will not fight rush hour out to the suburbs to catch a game more than once or twice a year. Stay tuned on this one.

BALLPARK SCORE:

Regional feel: 8.5/10
Outstanding. The MAX trains going by left field and a guy standing on top of a giant log? Can’t beat that. The former means you’re in the city, the latter means the Pacific Northwest. If this is the minor leagues, it must mean Portland. (I deducted a half point for the loss of Timber Jim, but the view of the Oregonian building still carries the day.)

Charm: 3/5
PGE Park is old…mostly the good kind of old. It gets docked for having a carpet, the right-field eyesore view of an extremely unattractive athletic club, zero legroom, and the stands being some distance back from the field. This weighs down the score in spite of its many positive quirks.

Spectacle: 4/5
A fair amount, but the game came first…about right for AAA.

Team mascot/name: 4.5/5

Lucky Beaver. The mascot is good–indigenous and intimidating (I’d hate to face a rabid beaver).

Aesthetics: 3.5/5
Wonderful to left field, hideous to right, and mixed within the old stadium.

Pavilion area: 3/5
Nice sense of ballpark history and a good sunny left field porch. I do wish that more of the pavilion were outdoors, however.

Scoreability: 3/5
The only balls-and-strikes scoreboard is hand-operated. Mistakes are a touch too frequent. I like the retro feel, but I like accuracy better.

Fans: 4/5
Attendance is often dismal, but when they show up, it’s a raucous-but-civil group.

Intangibles: 4.5/5
Overall, I like this place for baseball and I’m going to miss it.

TOTAL: 38/50

BASEBALL STUFF I’VE SEEN HERE:

A pitchers’ duel. Portland’s Chris Oxspring (who really should have been a mattress salesman…excuse me, I mean an attress salesman) gets the best of it, pitching seven innings of four-hit ball.

Edmonton’s Josh Karp is the hard-luck loser, pitching very well besides a three-run homer to the Beavers’ Jon Knott.

Portland’s Mike Thompson takes a no-hitter into the sixth in a marvelous pitchers’ duel with Tucson’s Shawn Estes (on a rehab assignment). He loses it on a solo home run by Keoni De Renne, and three runs in the ninth seal it for Tucson.

In 2007, Royce Huffman has a killer Father’s Day afternoon against Salt Lake, going 4-for-4 with a double, a home run, 3 RBIs, and a stolen base.

The 2009 AAA All-Star Game was an enjoyable affair. Eric Kratz of Indianapolis takes MVP honors in the International League’s win, but I’ll most remember Nashville pitcher R.J. Swindle busting out a few 50-mile-an-hour breaking balls that nobody could hit.

Best pitching performance so far is probably Fresno’s Kevin Pucetas, who set the Beavers down on 2 hits over 7 innings.

(Written July 2004. Updated August 2006 and July 2009.)

demolished, minor league, no longer in use, northwest league, oregon, san diego padres affiliates, short season single a

Civic Stadium, Eugene, Oregon

July 6, 2009 Paul 2 Comments

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Civic Stadium, Eugene, OREGON

Number of states: 5
States to go: 45
Number of games: 2
First game: July 3, 2004 (Eugene Emeralds 5, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 4)
Last game: August 11, 2007 (Spokane Indians 5, Eugene Emeralds 3)

Civic Stadium was no longer used for affiliated minor league baseball as of the 2010 season. Fire destroyed the structure in 2015.

(Click any image to view a larger version.)

As I approached Civic Stadium for the first time, I absolutely fell in love with the place. Beautiful. Charming. Venerable. Looking much the same as it did when it opened back in nineteen-twenty-whatever (just guessing on the date, but it has that Fenway and Tiger Stadium boxed-up,

team-logo-painted-on-the-outside-wood, held-up-by-beams feel about it.) As I walked in with 10,000 others for fireworks night, I was convinced that I was in for something special and that I’d feel about this beautiful old place the same way I did about Fenway Park, which is to say, totally entranced. Over the course of the next few hours, however, I fell out of love with Civic Stadium. There was just too much troublesome about it. The experience was akin to seeing that my blind date looked like Sue Bird or Julie Delpy or Claire Danes, then finding little things wrong…okay, she’s got an annoying, nervous laugh…okay, she’s a whacked-out crystal-worshipping new ager…okay, she’s had three drinks to my one…until I finally, the many flaws become overwhelming and I can’t let the original charm win out.

I can already feel traditionalists breathing down my neck on this one, since there are so few places like Civic Stadium left in the world. But my night at Civic Stadium was, if nothing else, an explication of reasons why

stadiums no longer are designed like Civic Stadium and an argument that maybe the changes since are progress rather than regression.

Make no mistake. I loved the look of the place! It had all the charm of bygone days. I felt connected to every fan who’d ever gone into the place. The beams, the real grass, the bizarre asymmetry of it (the seating bowl reaches almost all the way down the right field line, but doesn’t even make it as far as third base along the left field line). It’s accidental charm, and I love it.

The Eugene fans were fantastic. This was a sellout for fireworks night. Michelle The Girlfriend and

I arrived an hour early (after a wonderful day meandering down the gorgeous Oregon coast) to poke around the place and to find good general admission seats. Whoops! We needed to arrive a lot earlier than that to get good seats. We did okay–only about 3/4 of the way up to the top, only about 3/4 of the way to the end of the right-field stands–but I was highly impressed with how early the fans showed up to claim their stake. Maybe it’s different on a non-holiday Tuesday night in August, but even so, for so many to arrive that early speaks well for the Emeralds and their fans.

Here’s where the problems begin, though. Although the stadium technically can hold 10,000, it certainly can’t do so comfortably. While I’m sure that the season-ticket holders were enjoying

their seats with backs and arms on them, we in general admission were horribly uncomfortable. Whenever anyone wanted to leave (and I’m trying not to harbor enmity towards the butthead who left and returned to my row FIVE TIMES during the game), the entire row would either have their feet stepped on or their backs jostled. There just wasn’t enough room to sit. Even while at rest, I had to position my knees and feet just so to avoid contact with the fine young family in front of me. Net result: as the game progressed, we all became more and more uncomfortable.

Strangely, the Emeralds did little to keep its large crowd–who clearly were rearing to have a very good time–active. Music choices were baffling. “Deep in the Heart of Texas”? What the hell? Why not just throw in “Chicago,”

“New York, New York,” and “God Save the Queen” while you’re at it? Why not throw in “Streets of Philadelphia,” just to be both geographically inaccurate and breathtakingly depressing? No wait…they DID play “My City in Ruins”! Strange, strange choices.

STILL, I was eager to enjoy this beautiful old ballpark, but I actually became a little concerned for my safety at some points. A hard foul ball was smacked back into one of the beams on the first-base side and shattered a light bulb there. Surely, at some point in the last 80 years, someone must have at least realized the necessity of putting a cage around that. But later, things got even more bizarre. In the eighth inning, the entire bank of lights went out on the first-base side.

Salem-Keizer catcher Charlie Babineaux was ready to

take his first pitch from Eugene pitcher Jake Upwood when the lights went out. Babineaux called time, which was granted, but the home plate umpire seemed to want to continue play in the twilight combined with outfield lighting. But when the Salem-Keizer manager stepped in, play was delayed while they fixed the lights. Okay, I understand that maybe this could have happened anywhere. But I doubt it. The lights over the left field pavilion looked only slightly less old than the stadium itself, and they’re the only ones that went out. Plus–and am I the only one who could possibly have been thinking this?–if it’d been a blown fuse or a small explosion that caused those lights to go out, those wooden bleachers would have taken about a minute and a half to become a hellish inferno, and when this sucker was built, emergency exits and sprinkler systems were not exactly high in architects’ minds. So while I’m sitting and thinking about the tragedy at England’s Bradford City football grounds, the Emeralds’ staff could be doing some things to make sure we’re all having a good time, like playing some music or having the mascot run around and do the good stuff mascots do. Two problems:

1. The music people. At a time the audience needed something to do–“Minnie the Moocher,” “YMCA,” hell, even the damn

Macarena–the sound guys played Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First,” the radio call of Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard Round the World,” and “Dueling Banjos.” Audience participation possibilities? None. So we sat in our uncomfortable seats for 29 minutes doing nothing.

2. The mascot. There isn’t one. Come on. Is this even possible in the low minors? I must admit, I didn’t notice its absence until about the fifth inning, but I felt a little bit cheated, like if I’d showed up to an NL game and found they decided to use the designated hitter. It’s just not the rules! Low minor league teams simply MUST have a mascot…and during the big delay, this was a notable absence, since all we had to look at were the two umpires sitting around waiting for the lights–lights that were probably only slightly younger than Thomas Edison’s original–to kick back on.

In the end, as much as I wanted to love this place, I just couldn’t overlook these problems. I felt uncomfortable. I even felt a little unsafe. And I totally felt like I was missing part of the minor league baseball experience. Even the fireworks show didn’t redeem it…it only lasted about 7 minutes (although they had 15 minutes worth of fireworks…they just fired them all off in 7 minutes, thus eliminating any sense of buildup or climax to the show).

Michelle and I have agreed that, if we win the lottery for more than, say, $100 million, we will purchase the Eugene Emeralds and clean this stadium up a bit…maintaining its old charm without sacrificing the many, many comforts that Civic Stadium sacrifices. Yes, I am a traditionalist, but not militantly so, and Civic Stadium goes beyond my limits.

UPDATE: I received a nice email from a University of Oregon student who works concessions for the Emeralds, encouraging me to give the team another chance–saying that, among other things, the team “dreads” the July 3rd/4th games. And I also got the sense that many of the problems I had with the ballpark were a result of a crowded night. So Michelle and I headed back down to Eugene for a random Saturday night game in 2007. The team impressed me with their low-key calmness that ngiht, and I found it was worth every penny not to sit in general admission. I will adjust my score a little bit accordingly (although that first visit was so frustrating that it weighs a little bit heavier).

BALLPARK SCORE:

Regional feel: 8.5/10
Quite lovely here, with local promotions, a view of the Cascades, and many fine folks who clearly were from Oregon and Eugene. No question where I was.

Charm: 3/5
Yes, Civic Stadium has charm due to its age. But I don’t find cramped, backless seats, people colliding with my back or stepping on my toes every time they leave, endless concession lines, my toes up some poor person in the next row’s butt, a lengthy power outage, and the very real fear that we could burn alive to be very charming. (But on the second visit, it was quite lovely. Just don’t go there on a night where it’s packed unless you have a reserved seat.)

Spectacle: 1/5
Could have used a bit more for low-A ball.

Team mascot/name: 1.5/5
The name is fine…the mascot nonexistent.

Aesthetics: 5/5
Say what you will, but the place is gorgeous.

Pavilion area: 4/5
Fine. A bit cramped, but overall not bad.

Scoreability: 4/5
Lineups were available. Some close decisions were not made clear, however.

Fans: 5/5
Arrived early and maintained excellent enthusiasm under difficult circumstances.

Intangibles: 3/5
Pluses: Good game, fireworks, a polite letter from a ballpark worker that did all but apologize for the lamentable first night. Minuses: Power outage, aching back, and fireworks show that packed 15 minutes worth of gunpowder into 7 minutes. I didn’t leave satisfied on any count…until three years later.

TOTAL: 35/50

BASEBALL STUFF I’VE SEEN HERE:

Eugene’s Colt Morton (who wears #45…get it?) appears to be a stud-in-the-making. He homered twice, which made it 4 homers in 5 days for him.

Salem-Keizer’s Chase Smith gets his first professional loss without surrendering a hit: a leadoff walk, a sacrifice bunt, a deep flyout, and a wild pitch score Craig Johnson with the winning run.

Mitch Moreland homers to put the 2007 game in the bag for Spokane.

minor league, pacific coast league, seattle mariners affiliates, triple a, washington

Cheney Stadium, Tacoma, Washington

July 6, 2009 Paul Comment

WE’RE MOVING!

This page will only be here through 6/29, but I am saving these (and adding new parks as I see them) here, at paulsballparks.substack.com. See you on the other side!

Cheney Stadium, Tacoma, WASHINGTON

Number of states: Still 4
States to go: 46
Number of games: 8 (not including 1 before quest began)
First game in quest: July 1, 2004 (Tacoma Rainiers 7, Portland Beavers 6)
Most recent game: June 17, 2023 (Tacoma Rainiers 8, Albuquerque Isotopes 5)

(Click any image to see a larger version.)

In the Puget Sound region, Tacoma is the butt of a number of jokes. Its industrialization, crime problems, and, simply put, aesthetic unattractiveness lead stuffy, rich Seattleites to refer to “the aroma of Tacoma.” This stereotyping led me to expect that Cheney Stadium, the AAA ballpark in Tacoma,

wouldn’t be a great place. I was wrong. Cheney Stadium is a fine place to watch a ballgame, and even better when watched with enthusiastic seven- and nine-year-old nephews.

It’s easier to teach youngsters to score than one might think. My then-eight-year-old nephew did a fine job scoring a Mariners/Orioles game I took him to. It was a pitchers’ duel, which made it easier…very few baserunners to follow around the bases, which is the tricky part of basic scoring. So at the Tacoma game, I worked on the six-year-old. We started with the very basics…color in runs when they’re scored, and a K means a strikeout. Soon enough, David was working with me. He started by filling in the runs that were scored. He worked intently, like this was the world’s smallest coloring book. Adorable. He then wrote in a few K’s for me. This, also, was cute. It’s a challenge for a six-year-old to write small enough to fit into the scoring box. David concentrated so hard on writing the K that he actually came close to scraping through the page.

The ballpark itself has surprising charm. It’s fairly old, and the age shows well. The pavilion area was excellent–it included loads of minor-league promotions such as an opportunity to take kids’ pictures on top of horses (this would be the only time to date I’ve seen horses in a minor-league park). I was a little bit bothered by the number of people in the beer garden. The beer garden is in the pavilion, which means that

you can’t see the game from there. And it was absolutely packed. I’ve got nothing against enjoying beer at a baseball game, but why enjoy beer at a baseball game if you’re not going to watch the baseball game? Why not just go to a bar?

A fine sense of Tacoma baseball history is on display in the pavilion–a number of plaques for big names in Tacoma baseball history (I remember Matty Alou), but most tellingly, a lovely mural. The mural is of a dugout with a player wearing the uniform for each of the teams in Tacoma history. I was quite pleased and impressed. So much nicer than the usual cinderblock wall left blank! Additionally, they have reserved one of their better seats for a sculpture of Mr. Cheney, the bigwig in Tacoma baseball history for whom the field was named. Not only is he there in the front row of back section, but there’s a bronzed sculpted scorecard by his feet and even some sculpted peanut shells on the ground around him. I can’t think of a better tribute for a baseball lover than to be set down in a good seat to enjoy and score baseball

for eternity.

BALLPARK SCORE:

Regional feel: 7.5/10
Good sense of Tacoma history, Mt. Rainier on the scoreboard, and evergreen trees beyond the field. Too bad it’s in a nondescript semi-suburban location.

Charm: 4.5/5
Cheney Stadium manages to feel legitimately old without being ancient or kitschy-retro.

Spectacle: 4/5
Pretty good. Not too much–feels about right for AAA ball.

Team mascot/name: 3.5/5

Rhubarb is a silly name. A moose should have a proboscis bigger than his. The name Rainiers is fantastic–beautiful, local, majestic.

Aesthetics: 3.5/5
The ballpark was quite lovely, but there was almost zero in the way of views beyond merely trees.

Pavilion area: 5/5
Quite good–loads of activity, lineups, and the like.

Scoreability: 3.5/5
Nice use of scoreboard, but failed to give information on some borderline scoring decisions.

Fans: 5/5
How can I possibly vote against my sister and her family?

Intangibles: 4/5
A good ballgame and a lot of fun with the folks. I’ll be back.

TOTAL: 40.5/50

BASEBALL STUFF I’VE SEEN HERE:

The first game for Jeremy Reed in the Mariners’ organization after the M’s gave up Freddy Garcia to get him. He goes two for four with a two-run home run.

A.J. Zapp hits a pair of homers for Tacoma.

Portland’s Xavier Nady also homered just a few days before getting called up to the Padres.

In 2007, I see Salt Lake’s Joe Saunders for the second time in two weeks. He impresses, going 7 strong innings and striking out 7.

Salt Lake blows a 4-0 lead in 2007 before winning on Brandon Wood’s 9th-inning single.

A delightful experience in a pair of games in 2015 led to one of my favorite moments ever at a ballpark. Our family went to a game in May that year, and my son Steven, who was 6, did his usual trick of writing down the lineups before the game. A Rainiers photographer spotted it and took several photos. When I asked when they’d be used, he said that a shot like that looked like a cover shot for a future version of the program. Sure enough, the Rainiers were nice enough to notify me when he would be on the cover, and we headed back up there to get about a zillion copies.

In the pregame, the Rainiers’ Shawn O’Malley was giving autographs on the concourse. Steven went up to get one. Steven told O’Malley (and everyone else he saw at the ballpark) that he was on the cover of the program. O’Malley’s response has made me a permanent fan of his. He said “Well, I should be asking for YOUR autograph.” He then had an usher grab him a copy of the program…and thus it came to be that a professional baseball player asked for my son’s autograph.

(Written July 2004. Updated April 2016.)

colorado rockies affiliates, double a, minor league, no longer in use, texas league

Drillers Stadium, Tulsa, Oklahoma

July 6, 2009 Paul 1 Comment

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Drillers Stadium, Tulsa, OKLAHOMA

Number of states: 3
States to go: 47
Number of games: 1
First game: April 11, 2004 (Tulsa Drillers 1, Frisco RoughRiders 0)

The Drillers left this ballpark in 2010, and it was demolished in 2019.

I attended the ballgame in Tulsa on Easter Sunday. I challenge anyone to find another person who visited Tulsa that holiday who was not drawn there by family or business. The best part about the trip to (and from) Tulsa was avoiding the interstates. Just like I had done

with my father nearly twelve years earlier on our trip to Arlington Stadium, I stayed entirely off interstates–on state and county roads, my preferred mode of travel. And wow, was it fun. Driving through the little towns along the way in southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma…with every tiny town the host to one (or more) big churches, and every church packed to the gills with cars. I must admit, that morning was a little I-love-the-USA moment for me. Because of my recent ancestry, I have a soft spot in my heart for the Midwest, and looking at all of these packed churches even made my then-lapsed religious self feel like we are a country filled with a lot of decent, kind people. Sure, if I’d taken the time to step into, say, the First Baptist Church in whatever tiny town and listen to the sermon, I may well have been blown out of my I-love-the-USA reverie by whatever makes-me-embarrassed-to-be-Christian garbage was emanating from the pulpit, but on this morning, I gave everyone the benefit of the doubt. I drove through the crops on a cool sunny Easter with Jesus Christ Superstar cranked up on my rented car’s CD player. And I felt good.

I only wish the charm of my journey to Drillers Stadium was matched by the charm of Drillers Stadium. The stadium fails on a few counts, but mainly this one: it is absolutely impossible to tell what city you’re in while seated in the stadium. Seriously. Check out the photo here.

Were it not for the Tulsa World advertisement, would you have any idea what city you were in? What state? What region? There is literally no hint to that in the photo. We had a Walgreens past left field, a Lowe’s past right, and a city utilities department behind a foul line. There’s no skyline in view (although within city limits, the ballpark is several miles from downtown, in a suburban-feeling location near the state fairgrounds and an old horse track…cars park on the infield of the track). There are no natural landmarks to see from the park (the nearly dried-up Arkansas river runs on the other side of town), and not even any local promotion that leaps out at me as “Only in Oklahoma” or even “Only in the Southwest.” Look, I know we’re losing regional differences in this country, almost to the point where only weather, flora, fauna, and natural landscapes differentiate us. I bet that, with literally every ballpark on this journey, I’ll be able to sip a Starbucks before the game and head to either a TGIFridays, Outback, Chili’s, or Applebee’s afterwards. This bothers me, and the ballpark needs to combat that. It’s not that I’m incapable of grading suburban parks highly, even with our nation’s similarities between suburban locations–Everett, for instance, is in a humdrum suburban location, but redeems itself by providing a huge grassy pavilion and a view of the mountains. Tulsa does nothing, and as a result, is charmless.

Even the mascot, which I felt was promising at first, fell flat when measured for local color. The blue-colored bull (with whom I asked an usher to photograph me…only to find when I got home that he didn’t properly take

the picture…what’s with my luck in choosing only complete incompetents to take my picture at ballparks?) is named Hornsby. What an awesome name for a mascot. I asked the mascot if it was after Rogers Hornsby. He gave me a thumbs-up. (He could only communicate with charades.) I then asked the mascot if Rogers Hornsby was from Tulsa. The mascot shrugged. I really wanted Rogers Hornsby to be from Tulsa, or at least Oklahoman. Didn’t turn out to be true…he just turned out to have played in the Texas League for a while. Close to a great mascot idea, but no cigar. There’s just a tiny little hint at Drillers’ history in

the ballpark, and it’s misplaced…it’s on the inside of the seating bowl, right under the press box behind home plate. There are nice paintings of past great Drillers, mostly Texas Ranger products of the ’80s and ’90s like Sammy Sosa and Juan Gonzalez. Surely Tulsa has a richer history than that. Another near miss.

My ballpark experience was certainly not helped by an astonishing screw-up by Drillers ticket staff. Not long after my arrival, a good-natured guy seated a few seats to my left asks me a strange question. “Did they sell you that seat?” The answer was yes…row two behind third base, right on the aisle. “Really? Man. I bought that seat as a season ticket, and they’ve been selling it to people.” Geez, I said, do you want me to move? (Hardly a problem, due to the very low attendance on a chilly Easter Sunday afternoon.) He said it wasn’t necessary. Apparently the fine folks at the Drillers had taken his money for season tickets…and then went ahead and sold his seats to anyone who wanted them on Ticketmaster. Worse, when he called to complain, their solution was this: that, in the event there was another patron with his seat, he was to tell them to report to the ticket office for reseating. Amazing.

It was here, in the fifth ballpark of the minor-league quest, that I became conflicted about the “Promotions” portion of my score.

Tulsa did few, if any, between innings. But it occurred to me that, at least with quality Double-A ball in front of me, I didn’t miss them. Short-season A ball? Okay, distract me a little between innings (but never during the game). So I will take care to remember that only distracting promotions are to be penalized from now on.

So, in the end, the nice people of Oklahoma were the best part of this ballpark. Although I can’t say I had a rip-roaring conversation with any of them, one did let me stay in his season-ticket seat without sending me to the ticket office as he’d inexplicably been asked to do. Good thing, too…being in the second row of a quiet, nearly-empty ballpark like this enabled me to hear Tulsa manager Tom Runnells argue a safe call at third base. (He was actually quite polite in his disagreement…no foul language or personal attacks.) Another let me take a photo of her with rabbit ears on her head. And this high-school-aged couple were terribly cute and clearly quite affectionate for each other without any groping or tonsil hockey…it was very sweet to watch. So it was certainly a nice Easter at the ballpark, but I’m afraid the ballpark left an awful lot to be desired.

I know there’s a lot of Tulsa/Oklahoma City rivalry, but if ever I’m back in Oklahoma, I’ll look forward to visiting the ballpark in Oklahoma City’s Bricktown. It certainly looks to be superior to Drillers Stadium.

BALLPARK SCORE:

Regional feel: 2/10
Quite simply none. The Walgreens in left is hardly Fenway’s Citgo sign. The Lowe’s Hardware in right could be any Lowe’s. Flat Oklahoma offers no real views from the seating bowl. Drop me in the ballpark and cover up any text that says “Tulsa,” and I would have no Godly idea where I was. Only the few photos of ex-Drillers save this score.

Charm: 1/5
Simply none. Between the utilities plant and the former horse track…nothing to show any personality. I’m writing this two weeks after my visit, and I barely remember anything about it.

Spectacle: 3.5/5
Nicely and quietly integrated promotions…both quiet and effective. Strangest promotion…the Kansas City Royals, neither the parent club of the Drillers nor at all close to Tulsa, advertised heavily, including giving away tickets to home Royals games.

Team mascot/name: 4.5/5
As I said, I have minor quibbles with the name “Hornsby,” but the name “Drillers” may be one of the best nicknames in the minors. Perfectly locally appropriate, unique, and sort of intimidating. The usher screwed up my picture of Hornsby, so instead, I will reproduce this photo of this innocent, completely non-stereotypical mascot from a local Mexican restaurant.

Aesthetics: 1/5
Neither the ballpark nor its surroundings do anything for me.

Pavilion area: 3/5
Not bad. Good lineups, but not a lot of character.

Scoreability: 5/5
Excellent job by the scoreboard guy communicating a tricky passed ball/wild pitch ruling on a botched intentional walk.

Fans: 3.5/5
Nice people, but not enough of them.

Intangibles: 3/5
Maybe I was just tired from the drive, but there just was nothing that seemed to impress me on this day. The game was pretty good, though, which helps.

TOTAL: 26.5/50

BASEBALL STUFF I’VE SEEN HERE:

A pitchers’ duel between Tulsa (the Rockies’ affiliate…the Rockies basically only draft pitchers because they figure no decent free agent will willingly pitch for them) and Frisco (the Rangers affiliate, who had drafted a lot of pitching lately due to a complete lack of it with the big club). Justin Hampsen and Kameron Loe, the starters, put a lot of zeroes on the board.

RoughRiders reliever Frank Francisco (that’s Spanish for Frank Frank) gives up the only run of the game in one of the most bizarre fashions I’ve ever seen. Bottom of the eighth. He walks the Drillers’ Tony Miller, who steals second. He strikes out Jayson Nix, then intentionally walks Shawn Garnett. But catcher Josh McKinley lets the ball get by him on the first pitch of the intentional walk. Passed ball. First screwed up intentional walk I’ve ever seen at any level, in person or on TV. So, they finish the walk. First and third, one out…and Francisco balks in what turns out to be the winning run. Weird. Minor league baseball…catch it!

minor league, northwest league, seattle mariners affiliates, short season single a, washington

Everett Memorial Stadium, Everett, Washington

July 6, 2009 Paul 1 Comment

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Everett Memorial Stadium, Everett, WASHINGTON

Number of states: still 2
States to go: 48
Number of games: 15 since quest (about 5 before)
First game in quest: July 28, 2003 (Everett AquaSox 4, Tri-City Dust Devils 2)
Most recent game: August 19, 2012 (Everett AquaSox 7, Eugene Emeralds 1)

Everett Memorial stadium is my “home” minor league park. It is about 40 minutes from my place, and Safeco Field is both closer and major league…so my local baseball budget is pretty well filled with the M’s. Still, I make it up for a game or two a year. They’re always enjoyable–so unabashedly minor league. It’s fun.

There’s one word I think of when I think of “unabashedly minor league,” and that is PROMOTIONS. I knew we were in for a treat when they announced the umpires’ names and said “The umpires tonight are brought to you by Everett Optometry clinic. Everett Optometry Clinic is not responsible for any missed calls.” Stupid. Corny. Still, kinda funny, even though I normally hate ref/ump

jokes. And there was some sort of promotion in between every half inning of the entire game except for two or three. Plus, any patron who buys a program can select for which promotions he or she can be considered! They have a massive list of every promotion they do every night, and by checking off items on the list, you put yourself in the running for said contest/promotion. On the night I graded this stadium, I declared myself eligible for about a dozen contests and promotions. Through five and a half innings, my name wasn’t called, but then: WOW! I was the contestant in the Grand Slam Inning Contest! If the AquaSox hit a grand slam in the sixth inning, I win $5000! What a wonderful feeling of anticipation…and very, very short-lived. The bottom of the sixth lasted exactly five pitches. (Apparently the M’s are not teaching their minor leaguers plate discipline.) Brian Lentz popped the first pitch to right. Bryan LaHair grounded his first pitch to first. And Mike Cox watched a whole two pitches go by before flying to right. Oh, well–no five grand for me. But at least I got to hear my name.

This is a ballpark that’s worth getting to early. Inside the gates are lots of places for kids to jump around, a few wandering mascots, some music, and a football-field sized grassy area in which to play catch or settle in to have a pre-game picnic. There was also a prominently-displayed lineup board, where I saw something for the first time. Check out the difference between the elderly fan on the left, who is writing the lineups in a scorebook, and the fan on the right, who is–swear to God–programming the lineups into a Palm Pilot.

Only in Microsoftland! I’m sure this will grow more common down the line, but man, I sure hope I never make that switch.

Two mascots. Webbly the frog is awesome, but Frank the Frank is what it’s all about. A giant walking hot dog slingshotting T-shirts at patrons! (I can’t be the only one who thinks of Maude Flanders when this happens, can I?) So while I’m impressed with both the quality and the quantity of mascots, there’s one fairly severe problem: accessibility. Neither mascot stepped off the field of play and into the stands even once. No hugs, no high fives, no direct interaction at all. This is completely unacceptable at the single-A level! Even major-league mascots will get into the stands, frequently to all levels of the stadium. With only a couple thousand fans on hand and two mascots, each person in the stands needs to be personally greeted. This highly disappointing shortcoming hurts the score.

Still, however, a fine ballpark and a fun experience every time I go. The problems here are easily fixed…with some work on the grass and some mascots in the stands, I may change the score later on.

BIG UPDATE: Michelle and I enjoyed our wedding rehearsal dinner at Everett Memorial Stadium in 2005. Click here for all the fun!

BALLPARK SCORE:

Regional feel: 7/10
Espresso stands and a view of Mt. Baker.

Charm: 4/5
Mostly quite sweet.

Spectacle: 4/5
Constant, clever, wonderful, and I could have won $5000…but never interferes with the game. That said, the score is hurt because mascots never leave the field.

Team mascot/name: 4.5/5

Frank on the left, Webbly on the right. Multiple mascots, and Frank is a fine idea.

Aesthetics: 3.5/5
Nice overall. It’s a bit of a strain to see the mountains, and metal bleachers aren’t pretty.

Pavilion area: 5/5
Huge areas of grass to play catch or have a picnic. Outstanding.

Scoreability: 4/5
Nice job by the PA guy, but there needs to be an “At Bat” notation on the scoreboard.

Fans: 4/5

Intangibles: 5/5
This score has gone up since my first visit–as Everett will always have a place in my heart for hosting my rehearsal dinner.

TOTAL: 37/50

BASEBALL STUFF I’VE SEEN HERE:

Four Dust Devil errors–three by shortstop Jonathan Swearingen–play a role in all 4 AquaSox runs.

A funny mental error by the AquaSox’s Josh Ellison. He’s called safe after sliding into second on a fielder’s choice…he beat the throw. But I guess he didn’t think so much of his speed…he definitely didn’t think to look at the umpire, because he moseyed right on towards his dugout and was tagged out in the consequent rundown. (To be fair, I’ve seen a similar error in person by a major leaguer…Quinton McCracken thought an out on a teammate’s rundown was the third when it was the second. He stepped off second base, and Ken Griffey Jr. snuck in behind him to tag him out for the third out of the inning for the Mariners. It turned out to be a 7-2-4-6-8 double play.) So chin up, Josh…happens to everyone. I guess.

A horrible 19-9 win by the Yakima Bears over Everett, which I mention for one reason only: All nine of Yakima’s starters finished the game with at least one run, hit, AND RBI. That’s right…there were no zeroes in the traditional box score.

BRANDON CASHMAN, bay-bee! Set a Northwest League record (and the Northwest League has been around for 50 years!) by hitting four homers for Spokane in an 18-9 victory over Everett in 2004. He also tied the record for RBIs with 9. I’m keeping my eye open and hoping this wasn’t an anomaly. (January 2007: It was. He peaked at low-A ball and is now out of the affiliated minors.)

In 2005, I saw Yakima’s Brandon Burgess hit a home run–notable because I was sitting next to his grandparents. That was awesome.

Salem-Keizer’s Adam Cowart looked nearly unhittable in short-season A…his ERA was under 1 late in the season when he gave up two hits in 6 innings with 7 strikeouts. His delivery was bizarre…I swear it looked like he was, um, taking a dump. He crouches down to a Jeff Bagwell crouch, then pitches…and nobody in the Northwest League could hit it. Another guy to keep an eye on. He was fun to watch.

A hilarious 20-7 loss to the Vancouver Canadians at the end of the 2006 season. Vancouver scored runs in every inning except the fifth; Everett scored all 7 of its runs in the fifth.

(Written August 2003. Updated August 2009.)

colorado rockies affiliates, former chicago cubs affiliates, idaho, minor league, northwest league, short season single a

Memorial Stadium, Boise, Idaho

July 6, 2009 Paul 1 Comment

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Memorial Stadium, Boise, IDAHO

Number of states: 2
States to go: 48
Number of games: 2
First game: July 5, 2003 (Tri-City Dust Devils 6, Boise Hawks 4)
Most recent game: June 28, 2013 (Boise Hawks 5, Eugene Emeralds 4, 10 innings)

After attending my first game in Spokane, I had a bit of a problem. How did I know whether the first minor league park on my trip was a good one or a not-so-good one? Well,

all it took was a trip to Boise and I knew. Spokane has a good ballpark. Boise’s? Not so good.

There were a number of problems, but (and I’m sorry, Idahoans) the primary problem was with the raucousness of the fans. It was like a library in there! I could have gotten some good studying done–or maybe written some music–while you sat not cheering at the game. And it’s not just that you weren’t cheering. You weren’t even speaking.

Not making any noise at all! Normally, during the quiet moments of a ballgame, I’ll hear the low hum of a few thousand conversations. Not here. Yeah, it was a little hot–in the upper ’80s–but I know this is a problem with the fans and not the heat. How do I know? As we observed moments of silence around each

pitch, I heard the following priceless utterance from the high-school aged guy behind me: “Do they let you shout while the pitcher’s pitching?” Come on! These guys aren’t Tiger Woods; they can handle the noise. Politeness is nice–it’s an aspect of life that’s falling from favor. And I suppose I’d rather have polite folks who are quiet at ballparks than rude folks who are loud. But still, REV IT UP a bit!

Game management wasn’t all it could have been. After ball three to the first or second batter of the game, our PA guy went ahead and announced the next hitter. The home plate umpire turned around and gave the PA guy this look–and beneath that look I could see his thought–“It’s going to be a long, long day.” If you can’t trust the PA guy to follow the pitch count, can you trust him to give all the scoring information when it’s more difficult? Also, there was another blunder–there was several simultaneous sounds that melded together into an indecipherable muddle. For example: We had songs over the PA while a fairly cool bluegrass band was playing. Two competing sounds were not enough for the Boise Hawks people, I guess, because

while these songs competed with each other, they’d be doing a promotion on the field–where a guy had a microphone. Apparently they didn’t want that guy to be even that easy to hear, because his microphone kept fritzing out. What a mess. How can I enjoy music or promotions I can’t hear? There was a particularly stupid scoreboard graphic too. Immediately after Dust Devils pitcher Brian Lynch delivered low and outside on his first pitch to a batter I don’t remember, they put the numbers one through four on the screen, and put a check mark over the number one. That’s right…they had a wacky scoreboard graphic for ball one! How desperate do you have to be for graphics to invent a ball one graphic?

To be sure, there were some positives. The ballpark had a lovely panorama past the outfield, and therefore did fairly well in the “is there any question where you are” test. And the bluegrass band was a good idea, even though I couldn’t hear it. I also liked the way they rounded up every kid in the stands and brought them onto the field to sing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” for the seventh-inning stretch.

The mascot joined them, as did the bluegrass band and a couple of creepy clowns. Also, there was another “only in the minors” moment: apparently the amenities aren’t all they should be in the home locker room, as thirty minutes before his start, I spotted Boise’s starting pitcher that day, Rich Hill, stepping outside the locker room to get some cellphone reception!

BALLPARK SCORE:

Regional feel: 7.5/10
Some nice hills beyond the outfield ratchet up the score here.

Charm: 3/5
For whatever reason, this stadium did nothing for me in this area.

Spectacle: 2.5/5
I simply couldn’t hear a lot of what was going on. Would have been better to do none at all.

Team mascot/name: 3.5/5

Humphrey the Hawk and me. Kinda ugly, but not bad. (Need I say I’m referring to Humphrey and not me?)

Aesthetics: 4/5
Can’t beat the view. The ballpark itself isn’t too attractive, however.

Pavilion area: 3/5

Scoreability: 2/5

Fans: 1.5/5

Intangibles: 3/5
Maybe it was just a bad game or a rough day (drove 8 hours to get there), but there wasn’t much exciting to me. The heat might have also gotten to me a bit. By the way, if you’re planning on going to a game at Boise Memorial Stadium, the third-base side is the shady side.

TOTAL: 30/50

BASEBALL STUFF I’VE SEEN HERE:

Boise’s Rich Hill struck out 10 in six innings, but took the loss. Sandy Almonte and Tony McQuade homered.

The 2013 star was the Hawks’ Rony Rodriguez, who hit a pinch-hit, two-out, two-strike game-tying home run in the bottom of the 9th. Two singles and two walks before an out in the 10th won it, culminating with the walk-off single by Jacob Rogers.

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Dwyer Stadium, Batavia, NEW YORK

Number of states: 8 States to go: 42 Number of games: 1 First game: July 26, 2004 (Batavia Muckdogs 6, Mahoning Valley Scrappers 2)

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Stanley Coveleski Regional Stadium, South Bend, INDIANA

Number of states: 6 States to go: 44 Number of games: 1 First game: July 17, 2004 (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 4, South Bend Silver Hawks 2)

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Fifth Third Field, Toledo, OHIO

Number of states: still 5 (rainout) States to go: 45 Number of games: 0 (rainout, July 16, 2004)

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Tri-Cities Stadium/Dust Devils Stadium/Gesa Stadium, Pasco, WASHINGTON

Number of states: still 5 States to go: 45 Number of games: 6 First game: July 7, 2004 (Everett AquaSox 16, Tri-City Dust Devils 4) Most recent game: July 18, 2019 (Tri-City Dust Devils 5, Everett AquaSox 4, 10 innings)

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PGE Park, Portland, OREGON

Number of states: still 5 States to go: 45 Number of games: 40 First game: July 4, 2004 (Portland Beavers 3, Edmonton Trappers 1) Last game: September 3, 2010 (Las Vegas 51s 9, Portland Beavers 2)

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Civic Stadium, Eugene, OREGON

Number of states: 5 States to go: 45 Number of games: 2 First game: July 3, 2004 (Eugene Emeralds 5, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 4) Last game: August 11, 2007 (Spokane Indians 5, Eugene Emeralds 3)

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Cheney Stadium, Tacoma, WASHINGTON

Number of states: Still 4 States to go: 46 Number of games: 8 (not including 1 before quest began) First game in quest: July 1, 2004 (Tacoma Rainiers 7, Portland Beavers 6) Most recent game: June 17, 2023 (Tacoma Rainiers 8, Albuquerque Isotopes 5)

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Drillers Stadium, Tulsa, OKLAHOMA

Number of states: 3 States to go: 47 Number of games: 1 First game: April 11, 2004 (Tulsa Drillers 1, Frisco RoughRiders 0)

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Everett Memorial Stadium, Everett, WASHINGTON

Number of states: still 2 States to go: 48 Number of games: 15 since quest (about 5 before) First game in quest: July 28, 2003 (Everett AquaSox 4, Tri-City Dust Devils 2) Most recent game: August 19, 2012 (Everett AquaSox 7, Eugene Emeralds 1)

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Memorial Stadium, Boise, IDAHO

Number of states: 2 States to go: 48 Number of games: 2 First game: July 5, 2003 (Tri-City Dust Devils 6, Boise Hawks 4) Most recent game: June 28, 2013 (Boise Hawks 5, Eugene Emeralds 4, 10 innings)

Number of states: 8
States to go: 42
Number of games: 1
First game: July 26, 2004 (Batavia Muckdogs 6, Mahoning Valley Scrappers 2)

Number of states: 6
States to go: 44
Number of games: 1
First game: July 17, 2004 (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 4, South Bend Silver Hawks 2)

Number of states: still 5 (rainout)
States to go: 45
Number of games: 0 (rainout, July 16, 2004)

Number of states: still 5
States to go: 45
Number of games: 6
First game: July 7, 2004 (Everett AquaSox 16, Tri-City Dust Devils 4)
Most recent game: July 18, 2019 (Tri-City Dust Devils 5, Everett AquaSox 4, 10 innings)

Number of states: still 5
States to go: 45
Number of games: 40
First game: July 4, 2004 (Portland Beavers 3, Edmonton Trappers 1)
Last game: September 3, 2010 (Las Vegas 51s 9, Portland Beavers 2)

Number of states: 5
States to go: 45
Number of games: 2
First game: July 3, 2004 (Eugene Emeralds 5, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 4)
Last game: August 11, 2007 (Spokane Indians 5, Eugene Emeralds 3)

Number of states: Still 4
States to go: 46
Number of games: 8 (not including 1 before quest began)
First game in quest: July 1, 2004 (Tacoma Rainiers 7, Portland Beavers 6)
Most recent game: June 17, 2023 (Tacoma Rainiers 8, Albuquerque Isotopes 5)

Number of states: 3
States to go: 47
Number of games: 1
First game: April 11, 2004 (Tulsa Drillers 1, Frisco RoughRiders 0)

Number of states: still 2
States to go: 48
Number of games: 15 since quest (about 5 before)
First game in quest: July 28, 2003 (Everett AquaSox 4, Tri-City Dust Devils 2)
Most recent game: August 19, 2012 (Everett AquaSox 7, Eugene Emeralds 1)

Number of states: 2
States to go: 48
Number of games: 2
First game: July 5, 2003 (Tri-City Dust Devils 6, Boise Hawks 4)
Most recent game: June 28, 2013 (Boise Hawks 5, Eugene Emeralds 4, 10 innings)