Baseball!

I went to the Biscuit Basket today to pick up a cap as a Christmas present for Tim’s best friend. It’s the gift shop for the local AA baseball team, the Biscuits. The store is in the main walkway behind home plate, and the side that faces the field is all windows. I expected the store to be empty, because baseball season is still four months away, but evidently others had my Christmas idea in mind. A man ahead of me in line was talking to the clerk about his son, who played on a traveling team on the East Coast, and I watched the rest of his family run around in the stands.

It was a cold but sunny day, and seeing kids run around made me remember the first time I’d ever been there.

A few days after we moved, before Tim started classes, we spent one evening driving around, exploring the town. Not discovering much but strip malls, we discovered the desolate downtown area about the time we started to get hungry. We drove aimlessly, looking for a restaurant, but there was nothing. Then we drove past a small baseball stadium where people were gathering. Because I love ball-park dogs, and Tim loves baseball, and because we were on an adventure exploring our new hometown, we parked, paid a minimal parking fee, and went in.

—where we paid an even more minimal fee to get two tickets on the 3rd baseline. To be more exact, we were two rows back from the grass, within reaching distance of the bullpen. The weather was mild, the stands were sparse-to-moderately filled, and the night was electric. Once we sat back with beers and hotdogs, it was heaven.

The players were decent, but the inning break entertainments were the best. They shot a cannon filled with Biscuits tees into the crowd; picked people to Sumo wrestle; blindfolded folks, spun them around, then made them locate the batting mound; etc. It was evident by how everyone got into the activities that the whole town really supports the team and the ball park. And the facilities are amazing. Fancy, clean—I think it’s the beginning of a downtown revitalization/tourism project for the area. It’s right by the river; the area is beautiful.

We left under a navy sky filled with stars, vowing that our next visit, we’d sit in the grass of right field, where tickets are only $5 and you bring your chair, blanket, picnic, and flask.

God, I can’t wait for baseball season!

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This is Big Mo, the . . . anteater? . . . mascot:

This is also a mascot, a little biscuit dude: