Thursday, July 18, 2013

Is there a better way to pass time in the summer time?



By Will Brown

Baseball is the national pastime because it’s a wonderful way to pass time.

With some of the best minor league prospects a short drive away, it was the perfect opportunity to get an intimate look at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville for the first time. Watching baseball beat watching game shows in the suburbs and getting some of the answers correct.

A record 9,373 people watched the 2013 Southern League All-Star game Wednesday night. We occupied four seats in the grandstand down the right field line.

As we made our way to our well-lit perch a familiar face threw out the first pitch. When Hall-of-Fame outfielder Andre Dawson fired home, most people in the stands yelled “Hawk” in homage to his nickname. Being the baseball fan that I am, instead of yelling Dawson’s nickname, I shouted out his alma mater—“FAAAAAAAAAAAMU!”

It’s possible some were lured by the fireworks show promised at the end. Whatever the motivation there were not too many empty seats when David Holmberg, a farmhand of the Arizona Diamondbacks, fired the first pitch a few minutes after 7 p.m.


The teams were separated into the North and South divisions. As the South started out hot, it led to hilariously inappropriate jokes about the Civil War from my wife’s father. Holmberg held the North hitless in his one inning of work. He fanned Joc Pederson to end the inning.


North batters failing to get good wood on pitches
was a common theme throughout the night. The South scored two runs in the first to lead them to a 6-0 victory.  The longer the North went hitless, the more my wife’s dad attempted to use levity to inspire their bats.

It turns out baseball players must be flattered to perform—even if there is no way they can hear the compliment. When Seattle Mariners prospect James Jones walked to the plate in the top of the fifth, my wife noted how “cute” he was.

On cue the right fielder lined a double right over first base for the North’s only hit of the entire night.

In the top of the ninth, with the game essentially over, and most of the dynamite prospects out of the game, Jones had one more at bat. After picking on my wife for her newfound crush, Jones made me, and a few thousand others, happy by flying out to left field to end the game, which meant the much anticipated fireworks were soon to come.

Justin Greene made the running catch to end the game. He was named the game’s MVP because his 2 RBI triple in the first opened the scoring. The award presentation was one more obstacle between the fireworks show that was as advertised.


Fans were treated to a salute to the home run, which interestingly included Mark McGwire hitting his steroid-tainted 62nd home run in 1998, as well as Chris Hatcher’s 2010 home run that clinched the Southern League title for the hometown Jacksonville Suns, before the explosions began.

At first the fireworks seemed as potent as the North’s offense. But as the 15-minute show wore on the explosions became bigger, louder and a celebration of baseball. Two boys standing on the concourse kept yelling “Merica!” when they were not singing along with Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” which was being played over the loudspeaker.

First pitch to final out was over in less than three hours. Had a bevy of relievers not come in to make a brief showing in the final four innings, the game would have breezed along. Wednesday was a wonderful day to pass time, watching our past time.

Laughs and liveliness,

-Wb
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