I'm on a mission to visit as many baseball parks as I can before I die. You can follow my progress via Google Maps. Here's the second installment!
The second weekend of May I had the chance to catch a minor league game in Pensacola, Florida with my whole family. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are the AA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and play their games in a pretty little park by Pensacola Bay.
The right field fence stands between the field and the bay and has a patio area for corporate and group events. The left field fence looks towards a dock where several sail boats were docked for the evening. You can smell the salt air from every inch of the park.
We had originally purchased tickets for Thursday but schedules dictated we switch the tickets to Friday night. This worked in our favor as on Friday's the Wahoos wear the Guy Harvey variant of their home uniform. Florida is one of those states where you pack your swim trunks along with your rain poncho on the same day because the weather will turn on a dime. Sure enough, around 3:30 pm on Friday the heavens opened and the rain came pouring down. It rained non-stop until 6 pm. The game was originally scheduled to start at 6:35 but with the rain the start was pushed back to 7 pm.
My mother assumed the game wouldn't happen when it was pouring rain at 4:30 pm. But I told the family to grab the beach towels and a jacket. We drove to the park in the rain and stepped out of the car just as the precipitation ceased.
Our seats were on the third base side and in the first inning we had quite the belligerent fan sitting behind us. Thankfully there was a small kerfuffle in the second inning that silenced the rowdy spectator and allowed us to enjoy the rest of the game.
The beach towels ended up being quite the hit as every fan that sat near us ended up asking to borrow the to wipe of their seats. We were happy to oblige and made some new friends along the way. The rain clouds were dark in the sky but the breeze was pleasant and we had no delays or further rain.
The Wahoos played well, winning 6-0. The Pensacola pitcher threw threw seven strikeouts over six innings and did not get into any real trouble. My father noticed one of the Pensacola players' last name was Landry and remarked that there was a strong chance the player hailed from Louisiana. As usual, my father was right.
Minor league parks are known for the crazy promotions and family-centric entertainment. That night happened to be lionfish night at the park. The Wahoos were promoting the lionfish as an alternative seafood option for local restaurants and families. Apparently the lionfish eats baby fish of all kinds and has a tendency to take over an area and overrun the other marine life.
I gave in and bought a cup of chocolate chip cookie dough from a food cart on the concourse. The homemade sign said "Cookie Dough sold here" and my curiosity was piqued. The friendly cashier assured me there were no raw eggs and directed me to where the spoons were dispensed. I have to say this: it tasted like cookie dough.
It doesn't get more American than baseball, a sea breeze, and cookie dough on a Friday night.
The second weekend of May I had the chance to catch a minor league game in Pensacola, Florida with my whole family. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are the AA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and play their games in a pretty little park by Pensacola Bay.
The right field fence stands between the field and the bay and has a patio area for corporate and group events. The left field fence looks towards a dock where several sail boats were docked for the evening. You can smell the salt air from every inch of the park.
We had originally purchased tickets for Thursday but schedules dictated we switch the tickets to Friday night. This worked in our favor as on Friday's the Wahoos wear the Guy Harvey variant of their home uniform. Florida is one of those states where you pack your swim trunks along with your rain poncho on the same day because the weather will turn on a dime. Sure enough, around 3:30 pm on Friday the heavens opened and the rain came pouring down. It rained non-stop until 6 pm. The game was originally scheduled to start at 6:35 but with the rain the start was pushed back to 7 pm.
My mother assumed the game wouldn't happen when it was pouring rain at 4:30 pm. But I told the family to grab the beach towels and a jacket. We drove to the park in the rain and stepped out of the car just as the precipitation ceased.
Our seats were on the third base side and in the first inning we had quite the belligerent fan sitting behind us. Thankfully there was a small kerfuffle in the second inning that silenced the rowdy spectator and allowed us to enjoy the rest of the game.
The beach towels ended up being quite the hit as every fan that sat near us ended up asking to borrow the to wipe of their seats. We were happy to oblige and made some new friends along the way. The rain clouds were dark in the sky but the breeze was pleasant and we had no delays or further rain.
The Wahoos played well, winning 6-0. The Pensacola pitcher threw threw seven strikeouts over six innings and did not get into any real trouble. My father noticed one of the Pensacola players' last name was Landry and remarked that there was a strong chance the player hailed from Louisiana. As usual, my father was right.
Minor league parks are known for the crazy promotions and family-centric entertainment. That night happened to be lionfish night at the park. The Wahoos were promoting the lionfish as an alternative seafood option for local restaurants and families. Apparently the lionfish eats baby fish of all kinds and has a tendency to take over an area and overrun the other marine life.
I gave in and bought a cup of chocolate chip cookie dough from a food cart on the concourse. The homemade sign said "Cookie Dough sold here" and my curiosity was piqued. The friendly cashier assured me there were no raw eggs and directed me to where the spoons were dispensed. I have to say this: it tasted like cookie dough.
