The Baseball Trip 2014 / Day 2

Saturday, July 12, 2014

O day of days! O good fortune! 

The gale winds that steer the destinies of all that is baseball geekdom and all that is pop culture geekdom have met, come together in a perfect storm in Williamsport, Pennsylvania - home of the Little League World Series. Williamsport is also home to the Williamsport Crosscutters, Single A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. Tonight they play host to the Tri-City Valley Cats, a Houston Astros affiliate. The tri-cities are Albany, Troy, and Schenectady, if you're counting. Oh sure, we get to watch a minor league game and try to figure out who the next phenom is going to be while eating and drinking at one-third the cost of Major League prices. But here is what was totally unexpected, waiting for us on this momentous Saturday night:

1. It's Star Wars night at the ballpark!
2. Denny McLain, the last  30 game winning pitcher in the Major Leagues, is in the ballpark. He'll
    sign autographs and take pictures!
3. It's fireworks night!

I know! Right?

This'll wash that sour taste out of our mouths from yesterday.

Random observation from Randy:
"I'd listen to some sports talk radio, but it's gonna be 24 hour LeBron."

The scenery improved as we rode out of Cleveland and into Pennsylvania. The National Forests offer some of the more scenic roadways in America, and the temperatures were mild. No sitting in pools of our own sweat.  Just rivers, forest, mountains and small boroughs like Johnsburgh nestled into the sides of the hills, tight little bungalows cascading in terraces down the hills.We rolled into Williamsport with about an hour and a half to spare, so we grabbed a hotel room at what we thought was a Days Inn. All of the normal signage was missing except for a small neon sign out front that said "Kaba." The lady at the front desk told us that the franchisee decided he wanted to own the place outright. But that was two years ago, and the place seemed in disarray.

Random observation from Randy:
"I bet Days Inn invited him to leave."

We settled in and left for the ballpark. The wrong ballpark. Apparently we pulled into an all-night men's softball tournament. This was not on our agenda. The real ballpark was about a half mile down the street. We splurged for preferred parking, $2.00.

Star Wars storm troopers greeted us at the ballpark. They attacked me, but I held my own:

Here are  few shots of Susquehanna Bank Ballpark:

 

Front Gate

 

Center Field

 

Left Field

 

Right Field

 

Umpires, managers, and Star Wars characters going over the ground rules.

 

Batter up.

During the sixth inning I had my chance to meet Denny McLain, hero of the 1968 World Series winning Detroit Tigers. I told him I didn't want his autograph - you know, like those creepy guys who tell superstars it's for their kids and then sell the memorabilia on eBay. I just wanted a picture of one of baseball's greats:

 I'm laughing because Randy wanted a good tight shot and Denny said, "Hey, you think you're close enough?"

Oh, and that's not the end of it. We didn't stay for the fireworks because we could watch them from our not-a-Days Inn-motel that sits on top of a hill! But I did manage to get a great shot of me and Boomer, the sedated, awkward, cross-eyed mascot of the Crosscutters:

 

What the hell?

Anyway, a great day all around.

Best Town Names:

Broken Straw, PA

Shintown, PA

Best Signs:

Marsha Marsh, Realtor

Scientific Road
Scandinavian Festival and Rodeo

Many tributes to artillery in Pennsylvania:
1-howitzer in Albion
1-Howitzer and 2 cannons in Correy
1-Howitzer in Emporium
1-tank in Loch Haven

0-Grand openings.

Tomorrow: Cooperstown.