Throughout our travels, baseball has been in short supply, though the XM while driving or the MacBook whenever I can get on the Web have kept me updated with most of the news. But, neither the Rockies in Denver nor the Diamondbacks in Phoenix (where we never really approached) had favorable schedules. Oh, I could have made an effort, but I've been to Coors Field before, and I'm at the point where I either want massive convenience or a never-before-visited ballpark if I'm not going to see the Red Sox live.
Tucson, however, does have a minor league team, the Sidewinders, the AAA-level affiliate of the Diamondbacks. The park is about six miles from the house, a quick and simple drive, the team was in town, and I was cleared to go forth and enjoy myself -- so I did.
Tucson Electric Park, opened in 1998 and the spring training home of the Diamondbacks and the White Sox, is a nice little park, I think. Roomy seating, wide walkways, excellent sightlines. The outfield grass was rather scruffy, but it is near the end of a long season. Everything else was very nice for a ballpark, and I was glad to be there.
I shelled out $9 for a reserved seat behind the home dugout, but would have been fine had I bought a $6 general admission ticket, as the park was nowhere near full. Announced attendance was 1600 or so, but it looked like maybe half that many people were actually there. I moved about freely, and walked a full circuit of the park in the middle innings. Taking up an outfield position near one of the bullpens for a few batters, I could hear the relief pitchers talking about the sorts of things young men discuss in groups. The concessions were ballpark standards, nothing fancy or unusual but served quickly and hot (a benefit of the small crowd -- no lines). I partook of a few hot dogs and some soft drinks, which isn't a very good dinner, but an appropriate one for the setting.
Tucson Electric Park, a perfect evening's distraction. That cloudbank in the distance? Thunderstorm. (Full-sized.)Ballgame! The Sidewinders took on the Portland Beavers and won, 4-0, but the game wasn't really close -- the Beavers never made any serious threats, and after the home team got two runs in the first on a homer, it was just a matter of playing nine innings. I was pleased to see several attempts at stealing bases, some successful, some thrown out with deadly accuracy.
The park lived up to the "Electric" part of its name thanks to a distant thunderstorm past left field, wherein lightning frequently lit up the storm clouds for the first half of the game. Later, the moon, just past full, rose over right field. The weather was perfect -- mid 80s once the sun set, light breezes, dry (the storm never approached the ballpark).
The game ended routinely, no surprises, no rallies. It was over in under 2 1/2 hours, and that was that. I collected my program, tossed my trash, had another look around the field and park, and took my leave. Some 15 minutes later, I was back at the house, and it wasn't even 10:00 pm.
I love baseball, and in some ways, the minors are even more fun than the big leagues.
Box score: Tucson 4 - Portland 0.
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