Things I'm Doing This Summer - Baseball

I have my priorities.  This summer ranking high on the list are ball games.  The grandkids are on, respectively, softball, baseball league and baseball traveling teams.  And the youngest will be doing some sort of T ball when school is out in a few days.  

Not all games are well played.  The weather is not always idyllic.  But when things are perfect, well, there's nothing better.

The bench.

A new puppy, sunk into comatose sleep after hyperactive play with kids.

The parent and grandparent chair array.  We follow each other from game to game, from year to year, from sport to sport.

When my son was the age my grandson is now, I coached him on a traveling baseball team.  I was a good coach.  My son is better.

With Father's Day near, what better sentiments than: "I did my best.  It was pretty good.  You turned out great and will now do your best.  Your kid will turn out excellent."

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Addendum.  At last report my grandson's two teams - regular league and traveling team - are both undefeated.  The latter just won their second straight tournament when our lad came on in the last inning with the tying run on base.....and put away the batter with three straight strikes.  It's good to be focused and well coached.  It's also good to be left handed.

Baseball with The Chicago Ladies

Well, here the Chicago Ladies are in 1908.  You'll notice a few Chicago dudes there as well.  We'll get to that in a bit.

This is an example of what became known as a Bloomer Girl team.  In the years before they had A League of Their Own, these barnstorming teams traveled about playing exhibition games.  Specific to Chippewa Falls and Athletic Park, the Chicago Ladies came to town in August of 1909.

A bit of explanation is in order here.

First of all, this was far from the "only" recognized professional ladies team.  There were an assortment of such teams touring about, with the Boston Stars seeming to be the most famous.

And, its a stretch to call the members of this squad Ladies.  I mean, there's no reason to doubt the virtue of the female players, but it was common practice for such teams to have several men on them.  Usually in the higher skilled positions like catcher and pitcher.  Sometimes these would be players that traveled with the team, sometimes locally recruited lads.  As they would be expected to wear wigs - and I'm assuming skirts! - these were sometimes referred to as "toppers".

For the record - and of course this was a decade before another Chicago team got into trouble with betting - there was a bit of money wagered on this game with the odds supposedly being near even up.  Guess the smart money got it right, because the Chippewa Falls team prevailed by a modest 8-6 margin.  

Interestingly it was mentioned that a certain Dorais would be pitching for the Colts.  It has to be THIS GUY, who not only went on to an impressive pro career in sports, but also has the current high school football field named after him!

Their stop in Chippewa Falls would seem to be fairly typical for the Chicago Ladies.  Actual details of the team's history are hard to piece together.  The manager was a Birdie Carleton, who was said to have been involved in women's baseball teams since 1902/03.  In 1908 she was described as being "about 30", so I'm going with born early 1870's.  

There's a book's worth of interesting material on Miss Birdie Carleton.  I sincerely hope somebody has already written it, otherwise...well, the last time I came across something like this I had to write it (POW Baseball in World War Two).  Maybe I can get away with just tossing out some bread crumbs and somebody else will take up the task!

There's much that is speculation.  But I think Birdie - probably not her given name - got her start in Bloomer Girl Baseball around 1902.  In 1906 Smokey Joe Wood, one of the "toppers" who later made it big in the Majors, seems to have played for her on the Kansas City Bloomer Girls.  

There were quite a few Bloomer Girl teams in the first couple decades of the 20th century.  It does not sound like a stable business model.  Games were arranged on short notice.  The gate receipts were divided up; in the case of Birdie's teams often with skimpy results.  One time, out in Montana in the summer of 1909....

I'm not quite sure what "making a rough house" would have been in 1909 out on what could almost be regarded as a frontier community.  But displaying themselves in an "unladylike manner" makes it seem they were showing a little too much of something.  Their ankles perhaps.  

There tended to be strong efforts to maintain an aura of propriety on these teams of traveling young ladies.  Teas and other social events usually followed the games.

In any case the Trouble in Bozeman soon was left behind.  The sheriff released the team's equipment which had been held pending resolution of the matter, new girls were recruited from somewhere, and the road show went on..

Another aspect of the instability of this venture was the frequent changes.  In general Birdie was listed as the owner and manager of the club.  Why the photo up top lists someone named White is not clear. 

As we've seen, the Chicago Ladies may not have always been, well, Ladies.  And the connection with Chicago seems tenuous.  It was helpful to have a big city associated with your team, but the players were recruited wherever they could be found, and the team did not seem to have any "home games".

By 1912 Birdie - by the way both Carleton and Carlton appear as last names - was the manager of the Boston Bloomer Girls, at that time probably the best known and most successful team of their sort.  In 1916 there is mention of a name change to "Birdie Carleton's Athletic Girls".  The last trace of Birdie that I have - so far - located is an article from 1920.  She's in Long Beach California, playing with her team.  It is again the Boston Bloomer Girls.  They were to play a game on the  high school team field against a nine from local Elks club.  One of the players, a Miss Treglia, was slated to catch a ball dropped from an airplane!  The line up for the "girls" team lists feminine first names for all but four of their players.  These presumably were the guys, the "toppers".  In a delightful "oh so close" moment I noticed that one of these players was named Ott.  Did Birdie give a start to Mel Ott, future Hall of Famer?

Alas, no.  Mel Ott was 7 years old in 1916.  But she probably did have one Hall of Famer to her credit. Smokey Joe' career was great, but cut short by injury.  He never got the call from Cooperstown*.  But Rogers Hornsby did.  And he got his start in ball at age 16 when he answered an ad in the newspaper and played a few games with the Boston Bloomer Girls in Texas in 1912.

So what happened to Birdie Carleton?  The novelty of Bloomer Girl Baseball waned, and the Great Depression finished it off.  I have to date not learned much about her.  She was a member of a couple of women's organizations, Eastern Star and Rebeccas.  She continues to be referred to as "Miss" to an age where marriage in that era was low probability.  But finding an obituary or a gravestone somewhere has so far eluded me.  Was her name actually Roberta, or Alberta, or something less common?  

Oh I hope somebody will see this and let me know.  I don't want to write another book.

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*Although to be fair the last one I wrote did mean that I got the Call from Cooperstown.  I was asked, and of course accepted, to give a talk there during a special Memorial Day recognition of Major Leaguers who had served in World War Two.  Fun, and a neat anecdote to tell people.  I rode in an elevator with Hall of Famer Bob Feller.  The hand that threw the then fastest ball in baseball history not only shook my hand but tousled the hair of one of my boys!

Baseball....and a lot more, at Athletic Park

My recent post on the Baseball Riot of 1903 gave me a nudge to finish up a bit of research that had previously only been a vague set of questions.  And, the history of Athletic Park in Chippewa Falls did not disappoint.  So lets talk about it's rise, heyday, decline, fall and revival, shall we?

I suppose there is no way to know just when baseball - and other things - were first played here.  In the 19th century, heck on into our times, kids got a pickup game going on any open space.  But it is safe to assume that there was nothing organized before the Great Floods of 1880/84.  And a birdseye view from 1885 shows nothing but an empty field.

But in 1894 a couple of local businessmen got their act together and built something more substantial.  Nice leveled off field, grandstand bleachers.  Interestingly the accounts of the day suggest that there were some previous bleachers but that they were not that great.  So I'd theorize that the site was in use for playing ball starting at some point between 1885 and 1894.  Here's the best view of Athletic Park, from a birdseye view created in 1906.

Chippewa River behind the grandstands.  Canal street off a ways beyond the outfield fence.  Not too much else right at hand, although as I mentioned previously somewhere nearby was the Rosseau House, pioneer boozery of our fair community.  It survived the floods and was moved to someplace very close to the ball field.  I'm not sure which building.  And to put a sort of end point on the story, here's a plat map from 1938...it shows the site vacant.  But not forgotten!  Construction of the city ball field on the spot must have come later.  Post WWII I figure.

So, on to what happened on the grounds of Old Athletic Park.

The history begins, naturally for baseball, in the spring.  Of 1894 specifically.  The May 15th edition of the local paper announces that a five acre lot "on the South Side" had been purchased and that work was about to start.  The primary purpose was baseball but there was mention of also putting in a bicycle track.  An ice skating rink came later.

By the end of May games were already being played.  It was mentioned that ladies got free admission, and that there were provisions for 40 - 50 carriages....you could watch the ball game from the comfort of your 19th century horse n' buggy!

By June construction had begun on a grand stand that could hold 700-800 fans.  Brief mention that it was much sturdier than an earlier structure could mean there had been previous play on the site....or maybe they just tossed out some simple bleachers in May.

It's not easy recounting the ball games, and other things, that happened at Athletic Park.  It is clearly a story too long for a casual posting - and too short for a book.  So here's a sampling.  Bear in mind that this was a privately run, for profit enterprise, and so the level of hype and hoopla is significant.

There were of course amateur teams representing most of the area communities.  Eau Claire, Mondovi, Rice Lake.  And further afield, from places like Minneapolis and Saint Paul.  

Of somewhat greater interest were the specialty teams.  Married Men vrs. the Less Fortunate.  Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire Post Office employees squaring off.  There was a game between railroad union members from Chippewa Falls and from the adjacent suburb of Irvine, aka Wallerville.   

Businessmen took on Bankers, the two high schools in town played each other (usually in football), enigmatic local teams such as The Crescents and Moonshiners played for a $20 "stake".

Some of the games thus undertaken are a bit, well, jarring to modern sensibilities.  In 1910 a team called Baby Bliss' Fat Men came to town.  The aforementioned Baby Bliss was a 640 pound catcher, with the rest of the team of like proportions.  They came out of Waterloo Iowa, courtesy of the Fat Men's Amusement Company.*

In 1901 a team of Native Americans came up from Nebraska.  The Nebraska Redskins took on the Chippewa Whites.  

On at least two occasions local Gun Clubs held competitive pigeon shoots.  Not clay pigeons, real ones.  In 1896 one such 3 hour exhibition had the Chippewa Falls squad beating the Eau Claire group by a tally of 48 - 47 dead birds.

Of the most interesting game played I'll have more to say on another occasion.  But this was an era of "Bloomer Baseball".  No, not teams from the neighboring community of Bloomer, but "girls" teams that barnstormed playing men's teams.  In August of 1909 The Chicago Ladies came to town.  As was generally the case, there were a couple of guys on the team, usually playing higher skilled positions such as pitcher and catcher.  They were expected to wear wigs.  I'm not sure if they had to wear skirts, or later the weird short pants called "bloomers" after the Suffragette, Amelia Jenks Bloomer!

As the years went by things started changing at Athletic Park.  There were more football games.  And the facility must have gone down hill a bit.  By 1911 it was referred to as Old Athletic Park, and by 1919 it was just called the Southside Ball park.  By then the newspaper was openly saying a new field was necessary, and indeed one was built at the current fairgrounds around that time.  The last game I can find referenced was in June of 1919, and it was noted that the field was in poor shape with lots of tall grass growing up.**

We've certainly seen in modern times that sports facilities are built, age, decline.  Communities build newer, better ones.  At this point in history the South Side really was a seedy part of town.  And perhaps the disruption of World War I and the subsequent influenza pandemic contributed to the grass growing tall on a once busy sports complex.

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* Here's the sad story of Baby Bliss.  The team was short lived but amazingly there are some surviving photos and jerseys out there....

** Another factor may have been the death of Maurice Poznanski, one of the businessmen who launched this venture.  He passed in 1917.  Odd that his name is still on the property map two decades later.  Especially since the Poznanski had by the time of his death, moved to Minneapolis and changed his name to Pond.

The Baseball Riot of 1903

In honor of the start of Pitchers and Catchers reporting to Spring Training, a little baseball story from the history of Chippewa Falls.  It happened here:

This is a birdseye view created in 1906.  The ball diamond is fainted titled "Athletic Park". It is on the South Side of town, in roughly the area once known as Frenchtown.  To be more precise, Frenchtown historically was in the open area just downstream from the ballpark, but people still used - in fact still do use - the term a bit liberally.  And in this case perhaps appropriately, as Frenchtown was always the site of much mischief...  

The story is related in an article dated August 18th, 1903, with the title:

BASEBALL GAME ENDS IN TROUBLE

It sounds like quite the messy affair.  Evidently the Eau Claire manager, a man named Peterson, refused to take action when a group of his fans got out onto the field and obstructed the base paths.  Chippewa Falls fans obviously took exception to this and went out to try removing them by force.  

It was said that at one time there were three "scraps" going on - presumably individual or group in nature, and that there was work for "an army of policemen".  There actually were some police officers on hand, and they came in for criticism for not collaring the ring leaders.  Arrests were made, most notably of a Chester Bell.  He was said to be doing no worse than several others, but as we'll see, he was a dubious character.

With the score actually being debatable due to fan interference, the umpire eventually adjusted the final tally from 8-5 for Chippewa Falls to a 9-0 victory.  I'm aware of no existing rule that would justify this.  Although the Eau Claire manager came in for criticism, and may also have been arrested, the teams were not involved and were said to be gentlemen.   

A few parting thoughts on the nature of lawlessness on the south side of Chippewa Falls.  As mentioned above, this is in a loose sense the area called Frenchtown.  This was the earliest European settled site in the current city limits and has always been a place of raised glasses, raised tempers and mischief.  That remarkable pre-Civil War community was essentially wiped out by floods in 1880 and 1884.  But.....  The oldest and most notorious saloon in old Frenchtown, the Rosseau House survived the floods and was taken a couple hundred yards upstream to a location described as "..moved to the ball park.." where it continued on as a saloon.  Sadly for today's narrative it had been moved again one year prior to the Baseball Riot and converted to a private residence  another couple hundred yards up on higher ground.

Chester Bell would seem to be a 20th century version of a typical Frenchtowner.  I may be mixing up two different men here, but the newspapers of both Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire have numerous references to a man of that name.  In the 1890's he was a peripheral figure in a burglary ring and escaped from the Eau Claire jail.  Recaptured he did a few years behind bars.  Later a gent of the same name had several instances where he claimed to suffer injuries, usually walking on old plank sidewalks, and sued for damages.  Certainly seems like our lad.  Being tossed in jail after the baseball game he was given the option of paying a $100 fine or sitting it out and having his day in court.  He went with the former.

And then tried unsuccessfully to have the money paid back to him!

Athletic Park was built in 1894, although there are suggestions that the site may have been used informally for a longer time.  It's demise is not well documented, but by 1919 subscriptions were being sought to fund a new field on the site of the Fair Grounds over on the "respectable" side of town.  Over those roughly 25 seasons a lot of interesting contests were held there.  But those ae stories for another day.

Interestingly, the legacy of baseball on this exact spot continued.  I came to town in 1985.  It was a decade or so later when my oldest son was playing ball.  One year, perhaps 1987 or so, the baseball playoffs for his league were thrown off schedule by several days of torrential rain.  His game was rescheduled, and moved to Murphy Field, an old and seldom used facility on the south side.  I remember that we didn't play all that well in this game, but that the field was impressive.  Back behind home plate there were huge walls rising up, clad in some sort of cement if I remember rightly.  Not long after this area became pat of the sprawling city yard waste dump and gravel storage lot.  Until about 9 years ago there was still a lonely concessions stand along the first base side, waiting for customers who would never return.  

Here's the site today, with Murphy Field and Athletic Field roughly marked off.   Athletic Park in blue, with the batter hitting the ball from roughly where the word Riverside sits.  Murphy Field in red, where none of our little leaguers were in danger of plunking one into the river despite the outfield being in that direction.  Those buildings around the edge are on top of that big wall.  Fun to have a century of baseball, and more, in one spot.  Notice that there is a rail line, more riverbank, and a new road since the early days.

The first Baseball in Chippewa Falls

Looks like spring is on the way.  And, although I no longer follow it closely, that means baseball.  I've been meaning for some time to write a bit about early baseball in my town of Chippewa Falls, and was pleased to find an Old Timers reminiscence in a 1905 newspaper that basically did my work for me.  It discusses the purported arrival of the game in 1867.  After a few preliminaries it begins:

Some prominent names on that list.  Coleman has a street named after him, Stillson a school.  Taylor ran the ferry across the river and was the fire chief.  

The comment was made that most of these men were former soldiers, and that they played without mitts or masks; with a somewhat larger ball that was thrown underhand.  The playing field was improvised, just an open space between Bridge and Bay streets.

The first game was refereed by a visiting agent for the Chicago Times who supposedly gave it a big write up in his paper and left with a long list of new subscribers.  The Chippewa team played regularly, almost every afternoon in fact.  But of course a challenger was not long in arriving:

We need to read between the lines a bit here.  It seems as if the local boys played a spirited style of baseball in all senses.  Old Mose Hebert has turned up a few times in my historical writings.  He ran one of the first and most patronized saloons in town.

In some fashion the Eau Claire team tried to get their Chippewa rivals drunk past their usual levels.  Alas, to no avail.  And it turned out to be the Eau Claire nine that came up on the short end of the score, and with the bigger headaches the next day!

That seems to have been the high point of the 1867 season.  Soon afterwards:

Baseball has been played every year since then, although these days it has a fair bit of competition from soccer and other sports.  A complete history of it would be a major undertaking and probably of limited interest.  But one final snippet.

I spend some time studying old maps.  On a "Birdseye View" from 1906 - one year after this historical rambling - you can see what I think was the first official ball field in town.  Its on the south side of town and is labeled "Athletic Park"

I can't say how early it went back, but I can report that a ball field was still there in the early 1990's when my son was playing.  It was seldom used, there being newer and better facilities around, and was tucked in behind the City Shops and yard waste dump.   The field is now gone, with the last remnant - a disused concessions stand - finally being removed just a few years ago.

Fungus or Fungo?

My usual walking route goes by a school facility that has baseball fields.  The other day there was a family there, the dad pitching to his young son.  When I walked by today I saw this:

So was this a ball hit a surprising distance for a fledging ball player?  Nope.

Fungus.  Some kind of puff ball.  Well what about this?  Did the kid leave his glove behind?

Again, no.  Again, some kind of fungus, although almost the right size for a kid's glove.

Got me thinking.  The term in baseball for fly balls hit for fielding practice is "fungo" or "fungoe".  The origins of the phrase?  Unknown.  Maybe this is where it came from, going back the next day looking for the balls in tall grass and finding fungus instead!

Family Reunion Part Three - Play Ball

Three generations.  Two Canadian provinces and four US states getting together makes for a pretty good All Star Team.  The "Raccoons versus Everyone" shirt is a nice touch.  A number of us had not played ball in many years including a young lady who started the game with two cleanly fielded plays at first base.  I told her: "You have proven your worth.  You may join this Family".

4th of July 2023

I usually commemorate the day by putting up a picture like this:

It is apt.  Nothing wrong with tipping the cap to both patriotism and capitalism, albeit the second part inadvertently involves enriching a China that wishes us little in the way of good will.

But I think this is a better sentiment for the day.  Photo taken at a Coach Pitch baseball game.  Obviously there is some variation in age group, interest level, and attention span.

But everyone is enjoying a perfect evening in their own fashion.  Its a small town, these kids all know each other.  I'm getting to know them too.  There's a kid who is advanced enough to hit screaming line drives but still gets a little tearful when they are caught (to the surprise of everyone including the kid who caught it).  There's always a kid who doesn't really want to be there.  Often as not they are a star a year or two later.  And the diminutive third baseman you see above.  He did something that over a half century of baseball experience did not prepare me for.....attempting a hidden ball trick!

Different.  The same.  Everyone enjoying things in ways that only differ in style rather than substance.  Happy 4th of July, America.

Lefty

Little League baseball on a warm summer evening.  This is "coach pitch" level, hence the somewhat larger looking guy on the mound.  But it is also the first time that perhaps half the players actually have a clue what to do when the ball comes to them.  When two such are on either end of a fielding play it is a thing of wonder.  Dandelion picking is minimal....

Players look cooler now than they used to.  "Why, when I was your age we didn't wear sunglasses.  They hadn't been invented.  In fact, we didn't need 'em.  Sun hadn't been invented either!"

The Lansing Lugnuts

On our voyage through Michigan we needed a stopping off spot.  So why not Lansing?  After all, it has a minor league ball team.  Specifically the Lansing Lugnuts.  Even in the world of  single A ball it is an odd name, reflecting the auto industry of the Wolverine state.  I  like their logo.  I've had one of their hats for a while now, it fits in well for wear at robotics sessions.

As is my custom, I'll review the experience in several important categories.

1. The Ballpark

Quite a nice place.  It is just across the river from downtown.  As you'll see in assorted pictures the crowd was pretty small despite nice weather on a Sunday afternoon.  Perhaps being in sight of the Michigan state capitol building has had an inhibitory effect.  I'm told that Fun is frowned upon by the current governor.

Out beyond the center field wall there are fancy upscale condos.  Nary a fan on any of the balconies.

2. The food and drink.

Sometimes when I travel I remind myself that not every place is Wisconsin.  So the fact that I found the bratwurst and beer to be not up to the standards of the Badger State should not be regarded as a condemnation.  Their ways are not our ways.  I always try to have my provisions in hand by the time the National Anthem is sung.  Here is a tasty looking glass of a Mexican style lager.  Lansing uniquely to my experience has three official names.  The Lugnuts, the Black Rhinos and the Lansing Locos.  The latter two names are to reflect the tradition of earlier Negro League teams in Lansing and the Hispanic influence on the game.  Maybe also to sell extra merch.

3. The Anthem

I did not make it all the way back to my seat, so when the Star Spangled Banner was sung I was actually standing next to the center field flag pole looking up.  The lady singing was pretty good, and she in fact came and sat down four rows in front of us.  The experience was made better, for me and likely for others, by the fact that I was pretty much all by myself out there and could attempt some serious cross octaves harmony!

4. The Mascot

Meet The Big Lug.  He/she/it is some kind of toothy dinosaur whose only connection with the actual team name are those creepy nose piercings which indeed are huge lug nuts.  The Lugster was good with young fans:

Oh, you thought I'd forgo my usual picture?  Silly you.  This is one of the "huggier" mascots I've run across, but when you turn up at the photo backdrop reserved for such interactions that's only to be expected.

5. The actual game.

It's minor league ball.  You don't judge teams by the same standards as the Majors.  In fact if you have a decent single A team it won't be that way for long, the better players get called up to "The Show" or are traded off for future considerations.  Lansing was having a tough day when we where there.  

But there was one bright spot.  A shaggy first baseman/catcher named William Simoneit.  The rest of the team frankly looked rather blah.  But this guy ran hard and got excited when he made a good play.  He eventually broke up the No Hitter that the Lugs were suffering through with a 7th inning single.  He later also broke up the shut out with a 9th inning RBI double.  But best of all he got to come in and pitch two innings.  When a position player pitches it is never a good situation, that means the score is out of reach.  But he went at it with verve, mixing his "fast ball" which looked to be about 70 mph with a....something or other pitch that often did not register on the speed gun at all.  When it did it was in the low 40's, so roughly half the speed of a creditable major or minor league fastball.  It was lots of fun.  Hey, if Simoneit ever makes it to the big time you can say you read about him first at Detritus of Empire!  (Hint, he will not be making it as a pitcher).

Minor League Baseball 2021 - Cedar Rapids brings the A Game

After our visit to the Twins Triple A club in St. Paul it was time for a drive down to Cedar Rapids Iowa to take in a game at the lower "A" level of ball.  This has become our favorite destination on these road trips.  

On the drive down the car thermometer hit 101 degrees.  Frivolous side trips should have been curtailed but were not, so we arrived parched and a bit loopy.  A thunderstorm brushed the edge of town cooling things off a bit and giving the sky a nice color as the sun finally stopped blasting UV for the day.

They must be used to this sort of thing.  Here's something I'd not seen before...a jumbo sunscreen dispenser!

We had not been to a ballgame in several years.  Heck, as the pandemic wanes I can look back and say I have not been anywhere really for 16 months.  So perhaps I was tuned in a bit more to how different it is being out in the world.  More things struck me as unusual.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels play at Veteran's Memorial Stadium.  It is a nice, well kept up stadium.  Parking is free.  And the lot is under the watchful security of a couple of decommissioned tanks.

The National Anthem was played by a high school brass ensemble called Heavy Metal Tubas.  It was appropriate.  Somber, majestic, respectful.  My only minor quibble is that I prefer to sing along and this was a rendition that made you stand a little straighter, think of traditions and just listen.

At the higher level AAA club the fans were into party mode.  That's fine, it has been a long lockdown and minor league ball had just gone from 40% capacity to full.  At Cedar Rapids people were also having a good time but these are serious fans.  When the umpire called a Kernels player out on a dubious 3rd strike there were howls of indignation and boos.  This for the first batter of the first inning!  

Having driven through triple digit heat we arrived plenty thirsty.  This is not what you want as your first view of the concessions....

A number of the food and drink outlets were not open for our Thursday night game.  Regards the latter they seem to have significant extra capacity.  I assume this is because every Friday night game is two for one beer night.  Plenty of options were available at the stands that were open.  I got a large, sprawling barbeque sandwich from a vendor with a pig tattooed on his arm.  And a beer from a wild looking character whose name tag simply had BEER GUY scribbled on in black Sharpie.

It was a good game.  The home team faltered early, steadied themselves and then rallied for 9 unanswered runs late.  

I would not be doing my job as a roving observer of the American scene if I did not check in on an old friend....Mr. Shucks.  Since we first met 8 years ago I assume that the person in the suit has changed.  But were they up to the high standards of Shucks?  Did they fill those gigantic red shoes well?

Yes.  Yes indeed.  The current Shucks was a worthy successor.  He or she was stuck inside a suit with minimal visibility and which must be a portable kiln even on temperate days.  But as ever, Shucks worked the crowd, hugged small children (or kept a distance from the frightened ones), participated with enthusiasm in various small between innings antics, stood atop the dugout to cheer on a Kernels rally....and so forth.

And even posed for fan pics with slightly deranged elderly patrons.

Cedar Rapids was a fun stop.  I suggest you take in a Kernels game if you find yourself within reasonable proximity.  The team is OK,  currently about .500.  But the food and drink are excellent.  And Mr. Shucks remains - unchallenged as I see it - the Best Mascot in Baseball.

Sizzle and Silly at Triple A ball.

My brother and I from time to time take a summer road trip visiting minor league ball parks.  Obviously the pandemic made that impossible last year.  And even in the rapidly improving conditions of 2021 there are challenges.  One of our favorite stops, Clinton Iowa, got booted from the system as the Lords of Baseball decided to reduce the number of lower level ball teams.  This makes no sense whatsoever.

But at least one stop is easier.  The Saint Paul Saints, formerly a scrappy Indie team, are now the official Triple A club of the Minnesota Twins.  Just across the river from the big club and one step away for the players.  Of course steps can be either forward or backward, and in a year when injuries and incompetence have plagued the Twins there is a regular shuttle going back and forth.

Some pictures and thoughts from a perfect Wednesday evening.

The Saints have a new ballpark on the edge of down town.  I got there early to have a look around.

I always plan on dinner at the ball park.  Consulting the older stadium staff I got a recommendation for a stand called Von Hanson's.  Interestingly they don't take cash, just plastic.  But behold, a Superior brat smothered with fried onions and peppers.

The Saints used to be an independent team and always aimed for a bit of fun.  So there are lots of odd things to see.  Here the grounds crew is dragging the infield.  In pink dresses, so literally in drag...

And a couple of innings later.....in Halloween dragon costumes.

Of course I had to have a picture taken with the mascot.  The Saints have a pig mascot.  There is an actual pig named Muddonna.  And also a human mascot.

A fun evening.  The Saints had just gone from 40% capacity games on up to full capacity.  That plus the weather had everyone in a good mood.  I did pay attention to the game.  After all, this is one step away from the Majors, and with the Twins having a horrendous season it would be reasonable to expect some of these players to get a promotion soon.  Pitching in particular has been a problem this season.  I was chatting with one of the ushers asking if any Saints pitchers would might be helping the Big Club soon.   Shaking his head he looked across the aisle at a fellow usher who had his arm in a sling.  "That guy would be an upgrade".

 

Baseball Fan Post 001

It has been a full generation since I sat down to watch a T-ball game.  If you are not familiar with this entre into the world of baseball it involves 5 year olds with jerseys that hang down to their knees and with the sponsors emblazoned across the shoulders extending down towards the elbows.  The kids hit off a T.  Then they run, or maybe they don't, while the fielders try to figure out what to do with a ball somewhere in their general vicinity.

It's fun, and even after a half century of baseball fandom I still get to see things I've never seen before.  One kid lunged after the ball.  He grabbed it then ran back to where his hat had fallen off, put it back on and then launched a throw somewhere towards first base!

A few pictures taken in early morning sunshine at the dawn of a new era.

Coaches getting their teams warmed up and generally paying attention.  That by the way is the T.  It took quite a pounding by players who swung with more enthusiasm than direction.

Some are watching the action intently.  Others are watching butterflies.

I'm now taking my photos from this side of the chain link fence.  I certainly spent enough time a generation ago on the other side.  Here an enthusiastic coach has his players running the bases after the game and getting high fives at home plate.

'Round the Horn

One of the great things about baseball is the "non linearity" of it.  Like seasons - of the year or of your life - there are cycles.  This picture shows a circuit coming complete.

Baseball on a delightfully warm day in March.  This is the field my son played on starting at age 9.  There are a lot of great memories there.  And some other ones too, I was after all the coach of the team.  But mostly it was great.  Today for the first time it was three generations of us out there.  Myself, my son, my grandson.

He has considerable talent, especially as a left handed hitter.  He'd routinely smack it over my head as I played somewhere around first base.  The footprints you see are, in the most straightforward sense, from him sprinting around the bases when he got ahold of a pitch and sent it to the outfield grass.

I think my dad came over to watch a game or two when my son was not much bigger than this.  So in a sense we have at least the ghosts of four generations here.

My dad was a good physician and, given the difficulties of his times, a good father.  He could neither play nor coach baseball.  Growing up on a farm there was no time for such foolishness.

I may have been a slightly better physician and dad.  No disrespect intended, I simply am a more determined individual, and one of the things I was good at was dividing my energy into work and family categories...and throwing all I had into them.  I was a lousy ball player and only a fair coach.  I have a bad throwing arm, but am a darn good judge of talent.  So I lack some abilities but I always get the most out of my teams.

My son is probably a better dad than I was.  He was/is also a much superior ballplayer.  Focus, coordination and an early growth spurt will do that.  I've not seen him coach, but based on his years as a camp counselor I project him to be outstanding.  And remember, I am a good judge of talent.

And the Kid?  As a ballplayer he is way better at this age than any prior generation. If he keeps up the interest he will be outstanding.  Little League isn't ready for him.  I suppose there's no point in speculating further, but I also think he has the makings of being an excellent human in all respects.  You raise 'em right, or more plausibly you give it your best shot, and that's what you hope for.

Pitchers and Catchers Report

The unofficial end of winter is when "pitchers and catchers" report for spring training.  That actually happens next week but it is not unheard of for some eager beavers to turn up early.  With February becoming a long cold slog its easy to see why.

I don't know how my Minnesota Twins will do this year.  In addition to the usual roster shuffles there is the lingering off feeling from the Covid impacted 2020 season.  For me baseball is an escape from the mundane world.  Last year reality was far too intrusive.

Oh well, perhaps there will be another pennant for the home town lads.  And in that spirit a rare "guest blog".  Or rather simply sharing some nice work by a learned fellow with whom I periodically correspond.  

 

The blue one on the right was something of an enigma, clearly it had stylist similarities to the white pennant but it had no company mark or MLB logo, so presumably was a bit earlier.  Well, courtesy of the Pennant Fever blog, here's the whole tale!  

Pennant Fever

Soon, but none too soon for my tastes, baseball will return.  Hope Springs Eternal.

Good Versus Evil on a Tuesday Night

It certainly has been a long campaign.  It has had ups and downs.  And now it comes down to this...on Tuesday the first of three crucial meetings.  Most people say that the first one is the most important of all, because a disaster there would be hard to overcome later.  Emotions are running hot, as this is a high stakes situation and one of the participants is widely held to have shamelessly cheated a few years ago.  Nobody likes cheaters.

I am of course talking about the baseball playoffs where "my" team the Minnesota Twins is facing off in a best of three series with the sign stealin', cheatin' Houston Astros.

What?  You thought I was referring to something else happening on Tuesday night?

Well I suppose I'll have to watch the debate instead.  If I can figure out how to watch it later and enjoy the game live I'll do so.  But lacking new technology (TiVo) or functional old tech (VCR!) I'm not sure if that's possible.

It has been an odd year in so many ways.  Both in baseball and in politics.  But there is one big difference.  Soon the baseball season will be over and I'll miss it.  Soon the 2020 election season will be over and I won't.

* To be clear I don't actually see the world of politics as being neatly divided into good and evil. Nor do I see the world of baseball that way with the obvious exception of the clearly evil New York Yankees.

Another Pennant for the Minnesota Twins

Tomorrow was supposed to be Opening Day for the Minnesota Twins.  If you are not a serious fan this might not be a big deal.  But even for you passionless types I'm sure the beginning of baseball still stirs something.  It is synonymous with hope, something we could use more of these days.  And it represents renewal, rebirth.

In general American culture is very linear.  Charge straight ahead into the future, or down the busy highway, or on into the next phase of your career.  Timekeeping systems that cycle are rare, and the two that come immediately to mind - baseball and agriculture - are holdovers from our simpler past.

Oh well.  Time for baseball posts anyway.   

This was to be a season of strength for the Twins.  There might have even been a pennant - in the sense of a championship win - at the end of it.  Now, who knows, so lets just take a quick look at another pennant - in the sense of a ballpark souvenir - to distract us.

Unlike the last Twins pennant I featured (its shown here on the left) this one has no identifying marks.  Judging from the difficulty I had finding an exact match out in the jumbled world of the internet I suspect it is not a common one.  But of course most of these sorts of things are not super rare.  So here's what I can say about it.

1. Pre 1969.  It has no MLB logo and so is from the free wheeling days when small manufacturers just contracted directly with clubs.

2. Pretty darn high quality.  Notice how the red uniform sleeves and the skin colored hands are slightly different shades?  Every extra color you add to such a design adds cost and probably reduces your margins. The felt is in good shape and the lettering nice and crisp.  Somebody took plenty of care with this design.

3. Probably not much before 1969.  This is close enough to my specimen that it may have come from the same unidentified manufacturer.  Slightly different font on the team name.  And the post 1969 MLB logo.

Today's featured pennant is in good enough shape that I'd consider taking it to a Twins game and waving it.  Gently.  But until that happy day, well I'll take it off the wall tomorrow and give it a brief, gentle wave anyway.