More Harbor Park

As I mentioned way below, Harbor Park in Norfolk, VA is my home park. I try to get there 15-20 times a year, and make it a goal to catch each visiting International League team at least once during the season. It was built in 1992-93, and opened in April of 1993.

At opening night this season, Ken Young, the Tides owner, mentioned that it was the 19th opener at Harbor Park, and I was stunned. First, because I can't believe it has been that long since I moved here, but also because this ballpark, which was in the vanguard of the modern "retro" minor league parks, still looks great. People in Columbus, Chattanooga and Corpus Christi can in part thank The Norfolk Tides, the Mets, and the City of Norfolk for setting the standard.

Here are a few reasons I think my home park is one of the best:

RAMPS- As I mentioned below, you enter the ballpark by climbing a ramp. A nice nod to older major league parks, and something I haven't seen in any other minor league parks. Much better than climbing a couple flights of stairs.

BOATS AND TRAINS- You can take the ferry to the ballpark, and next year, you will be able to take the Norfolk light rail line, called the "Tide" to a station behind the third base stands.

BEER VENDORS- How many minor league ballparks have beer vendors? I can't think of many others. Willie the beer man is one of my favorite baseball voices. When he booms out "ICE COLD BEE-YAR!" you can hear him all over the park. One day he sold peanuts and crackerjack, and fans asked him to do his beer call, just because!

TUGBOAT SALUTE- On opening night, tugboats from the busy harbor line up behind the right-field fence. Once the last notes of the national anthem are sung, the boats blast their horns. When the park first opened, it was a 21-tug salute, but now, it is usually between 5 and 10 tugs. throughout the season, tugs will pull up and watch an inning or two when they have a little time.

SCORES- The Tides keep updated major league and International League scores scrolling on a board in right field. Again, I can't think of another minor league park that does this.

Some little things, but sometimes the details matter. Most of all, it is just a fun place to see a game, and it is my baseball home.

It's baseball season! Enjoy your home park.

Roy Steele Bobblehead Day

While surfing around the ballgames on XM Satellite Radio, I tuned in to the Oakland Athletics broadcast, with Ken Korach and Ray Fosse. I heard them mention that it was going to be Roy Steele Bobblehead Day, and it brought back some great memories from when I lived in the Bat Area from 1986-1990. Steele was the A's public address announcer then, and continued until 2006 or 2007. I enjoyed hearing his deep voice and sense of humor resonate throughout the Coliseum. Another voice of the game that sticks in my memory over 20 years later.

Apparently he is the first PA announcer to be honored with a bobblehead. I wish I was there to help honor him...

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
Originally uploaded by jmharper

Welcome to Regency Furniture Stadium, in Waldorf, Maryland, southeast of Washington, DC. The southern Maryland Blue Crabs are a first year franchise in the independent Atlantic league, a full-season minor league.

The stadium is located literally in the middle of nowhere, in a soon-to-be developing area a couple of miles off US-301. At night, the stadium has the only lights for about a mile.

A seat was $13, a little pricey, but even the worst seats have a great view of the field. Lawn seats beyond the right field fence are $6.

Up Close and Personal

Up Close and Personal
Originally uploaded by jmharper

The stadium has about 4,000 seats, and like a few other smaller parks, the seats in the outfield corners are turned in towards the infield. Makes for a great view of the game, unless a ball is hit into the corner closest to you.

Regency Furniture Stadium is well set up for groups, with a party suite in the left field corner with a large room and skybox style seats in front. The skyboxes behind home plate are also VERY close to the action.

Bumper Boats in the Outfield!

Bumper Boats in the Outfield
Originally uploaded by jmharper

Apparently, the Blue Crabs have decided to go the Arizona Diamondbacks one better, putting a large pool with bumper boats in left field. Kids can pilot these boats like bumper cars, and use the water cannons to soak their friends.

Regency Furniture Stadium

Regency Furniture Stadium
Originally uploaded by jmharper

Regency Furniture Stadium is a nice, cozy ballpark, with plenty of good seats. The hot dogs are great, as is the beer. If only the baseball could have been a little better. The Blue Crabs beat the Riversharks 12-8 in nine innings, and the game took over 4 hours!

END BLUE CRABS

Jacobs Field- Beyond Centerfield

Jacobs Field- Centerfield View
Originally uploaded by jmharper

Jacobs Field sits on the south edge of Downtown Cleveland. Freeways sit to the south, behind the first base stands. A few parking garages, the Quicken Loans Arena, and buildings like this are on the other three sides. This view looks east.

A ballpark neighborhood has sprung up around Jacobs Field, with many bars and restaurants within a couple of blocks of the park for your dining pleasure before or after the game.

Jacobs Field- Big First Inning

Jacobs Field- Big First Inning
Originally uploaded by jmharper

I've been to many games at Jacobs Field, at least one a year since it opened. I've sat in all kinds of seats, from the bleachers, to the nosebleed seats, to a luxury suite once, but had never seen anything like this!

This is a shot of the scoreboard on August 13th, 2006. take a good look now...

The score is 11-0 Indians, and there is ONLY ONE OUT in the bottom of the first. A Travis Hafner grand slam and nine other hits helped the Tribe get to this point. Shin Soo Choo is batting for the second time.

Jacobs Field- Upper Deck View

Jacobs Field- Upper Deck View
Originally uploaded by jmharper

This is a view from far left field in the upper deck. The club seats are along the first base side- nice seats if you can get-em! The mezzanine in right field is similar, and a nice place to see a game.

Cleveland Flats

Cleveland Flats
Originally uploaded by jmharper

And this is the view to the west from the upper concourse. it really shows off the industrial character of Cleveland, with the Cuyahoga River winding through the picture.

This is looking towards the Flats, an area along the river on both banks just west of Downtown. It used to be an awesome place to go after a game, but has seen some harder times lately, as the party tastes of Clevelanders have changed.

There is a complicated network of drawbridges and a few high-level bridges in this area. A few different railroads serve the businesses along the river, and the street network is confusing to the uninitiated. the river was here first, and still seems to be the best way to get around!

Jacobs Field- Tall Grandstand

Jacobs Field- Tall Grandstand
Originally uploaded by jmharper

One thing I really don't like about Jacobs Field that few people mention is the height of the upper deck above the field. It seems the park was built at the height of the luxury suite boom around the majors. That's THREE leverls of suites between the lower and upper decks. It can be great to sit in the upper deck, and some of the best fans in Cleveland sit there, but it kind of feels like you are detached from the rest of the game and park. From the lower deck, it feels like this huge wall is sitting above you.

But, it probably isn't any higher than the upper deck was at the old stadium!

Silence in Oakland

I learned today that one of my favorite baseball broadcasters, Bill King, passed away yesterday. I've been a little down since I heard the news. Who, you say?

Bill King has been the voice of the Oakland A's for the last 25 years. He also called games for the Oakland Raiders, and the Golden State Warriors, and did all three for a couple of years. I never got to hear him call basketball or football games, but had the pleasure of listening to him and Lon Simmons do A's games on the radio while I was living in the Bay Area. Simmons was inducted into the broadcasters wing of the baseball hall of fame this year, and many will say that Bill King was better.

My memories of A's baseball while I was out there include some great baseball, and some great A's teams, with Canseco, McGwire, Weiss, Steinbach, Stewart, Welch and Eckersley. The Oakland Coliseum was still a decent ballpark, before the monstrosity called Mt. Davis was erected in center field. But I think what I remember most about those times were the voices. The deep voice of Roy Steele, still the A's public address announcer, the baritone voice of Lon Simmons on the radio, and the unique, sometimes staccato, always crisp tenor of Bill King.

I loved how he described the game- smooth and steady, often painting a picture for you. Plenty of humor, with personal anecdotes that never seemed to get in the way of the action on the field. When things got exciting, you never quite knew what he would say, but you knew it would be classic, and would describe the situation perfectly. No matter what, you got the sense that he was really enjoying what he was doing, and who he was working with, which made it all the better.

His most famous call was with the Raiders, the famous "Holy Roller" forward fumble of the early 70's. He capped off his description of the frantic play with "Nothing is real anymore, The Oakland Raiders have won the game!" My best memory of him was a call for a Jose Canseco home run I heard one night. After hearing the crack of the bat, he rattled off in about three seconds: "That one is high! That one is deep! That one is gone!" Then, after a second or two, his trademark "Holy Toledo!" followed by a more detailed description of the homer. Simple, eloquent, and capturing the raw power of the Bash Brothers.

It is often said that fans develop a special attachment to their team's broadcasters, because they hear them so much, because they represent the team, and especially because radio can be such a personal medium. Here in Norfolk, I've enjoyed the last couple of years with Jeff McCarriger calling our Tides games. But the truly great broadcasters stick with you, even when you don't listen regularly. Luckily, thanks to the internet and satellite radio, I have been able to tune in to the A's broadcasts every once in a while over the last couple of years, and listen to Bill King. I think it was almost more important that I was listening to him call the game than that I was listening to the A's game. Next year, I'll be able to tune in and listen to Vin Scully, Bob Uecker and Marty Brennaman, but it just won't be the same without Bill King, one of the best.


Here is a great tribute to King written by Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/19/SPGD1FANUT1.DTL

Wahconah- Old Wooden Grandstand

Wahconah- Old Wooden Grandstand
Originally uploaded by jmharper.

Just the basics in Pittsfield. Some box seats, which sold for $6 each for this game, and some wooden bench seats that reminded me of church pews. Wahconah Park was built in 1919, and like most older ballparks, has been added onto, subtracted from, and fiddled with; but it maintains its character. It is a fun place to see a game and feel like you are part of a community.

A familiar name is involved in keeping baseball alive in this little gem of a park. Dan Duquette, former general manager of the Red Sox, is president of the Dukes.

Pittsfield- No Sun Delay Today

Wahconah- No Sun Delay Today
Originally uploaded by jmharper.

Wahconah Park has the distinction of facing the wrong way. The sun sets over the outfield fence, in the BATTER'S eye! The game sometimes has to be stopped when the sun gets in a particularly hazardous spot, but the night I was there was not a problem. It was overcast, so us fans could watch the game without squinting!

Wahconah- A True Backyard Ballpark

Wahconah- A True Backyard Ballpark
Originally uploaded by jmharper.

Located in an established residential neighborhood, Wahconah park is literally in some people's backyard, as can be seen here.

Squeezing into a neighborhood means that sometimes a ballpark's dimensions are sometimes a little strange, and Wahconah Park is no exception. it measures 400 feet to the right-field power alley, and 374 feet to straightaway center-field. Normally these dimensions are reversed.

Wahconah Park- an Old Classic

Wahconah Park- an Old Classic
Originally uploaded by jmharper.

The second stop on my dad and I's little trip was Pittsfield Massachusetts, and Wahconah Park. It is the home of the Pittsfield Dukes of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

Over the last 10-12 years there has been a boom in construction of new minor league ballparks, and a flurry of team relocations. The Pittsfield Mets of the New York-Penn League moved to Brooklyn, and have become one of the higher drawing teams in all of minor league baseball.

College summer leagues give college baseball players a chance to play ball all summer long, using wooden bats instead of aluminum. The college leagues have seized a ready-made opportunity, and have taken over many of the parks abandoned by the minor leagues, including Wahconah Park.

A Midsummer Night at Yale Field

A Midsummer Night at Yale Field
Originally uploaded by jmharper.

This is the second year for the New Haven County Cutters. Hopefully they draw better than the did the night my dad and I were there. The announced attendance was 905, the actual crowd was something less.

Cutters management does try hard, and has a sense of humor. Their slogan is "Fun is Good." The between innings stunts and promotions are over the top, from the obstacle race to the plunger toss.

I was impressed with the concessions also. "Brew Haven" was a welcome sight, with eight different imports and microbrews on tap. The Bar B Q in the left field corner looked to be in the southern tradition, and even had macaroni and cheese on the menu! Of course, the hot dogs tasted good!

Yale Field Grandstand

Yale Field Grandstand
Originally uploaded by jmharper.

In preparation for the Ravens arrival, the grandstand was renovated and modernized. Wooden stands were replaced with metal stands- some of the noisiest stands you will ever hear. The Cutters management takes advantage of this, and encourages foot stomping by the fans at every opportunity.

Yale field has a semicircular grandstand, which means there is a large amount of foul territory. A pitcher's dream!

Yale Field

Yale Field
Originally uploaded by jmharper.

I took a short trip with my dad right after the 4th of July to visit two old parks. First stop, Yale Field, home of the New Haven County Cutters, a team in the independent Can-Am league. The New Haven Ravens in the AA Eastern League once called Yale Field home, but moved to greener pastures a few years ago. This ballpark is located at the athletic complex of Yale University, across the street from the Yale Bowl football stadium.

The most distinctive feature of Yale Field is probably the open arches in the outer wall of the park. They sit above the top row of the grandstand, and are rather striking.