I joined Plundo and his father-in-law for a ballgame between the Akron Aeros and the Altoona Curve, here in beautiful downtown Altoona. The Blair County Ballpark is a very nice place to see a game, with clean facilities and a friendly atmosphere. At one point during the game, a gentleman who works for the team came by with a trash bag and asked if he could take any trash for us. That's a team that cares about their ballpark.
But more compelling than this was the fact that the game was at 10:30 in the morning. It turns out that many local elementary, middle, and high schools sent groups to the game, and in fact the entire upper section was almost completely filled with these guests. Of course, being corporate fat cats, the three of us sat in the first row right next to the home dugout.
But yeah, 10:30 AM. This means that we were under the sun for the brightest part of the day, prompting a double-dose of sunblock on my part that feels like it missed a few spots. My face has that dry, warm feeling you get when you apply sunscreen while you're sweating. It's not bad, but I'll definitely be feeling it for a couple days.
The Curve won the game (take that Mandi), and we got to see a home run. Well, we had the opportunity to see two, but Plundo and I were walking back from the lemonade stand when the second one was hit, and honestly, the crowd didn't react enough for us to even realize what was happening. I think that's one of the weaknesses of a day game: it's very easy to lose the ball in the sun and then not realize when the ball leaves the park.
It was a good time, I forget sometimes that minor league baseball is pretty fun. It's great fun being so close to the action (and having to only spend 10 bucks to get there).
1 comment:
I would like to take this opportunity to agree, that I did attend the game with Joe. It was nice to see a couple of "future Pirates" play, in former first-round picks Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker. Walker had a solid game with some good play in the field and a solid double. McCutchen (the #1 prospect in the pirates organization) looked lost at the plate, continuing his season-long batting woes after a strong spring training. It was hot and sunny, but joe and I stuck it out and neither of us (seemingly) got a sun burn. And there was pizza, wings, and beer for all afterwards, now that's a quality day.
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