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MLB ROAD TRIP 2003
2003.04.07 <VOL.3> Days 5-8
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Location: New York City
Day # 8
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B-B-B-Brrrrr-Buffalo
Opening Day in Buffalo was on Thursday, April 3rd. But it seemed more like January 3rd. By which I mean it was cold. Really cold. Like, really, really, really, bone-chilling, wish you were anywhere else but here cold. And it was raining too. But they still played the game.
In a vain attempt to attract fans to the ballpark despite the Arctic weather, the Bisons had a unique promotion: "Guaranteed 60 degrees day". If the temperature at game time wasn't 60F, then everyone in attendance would get a free ticket for a future game. Well, when the game began, the temperature wasn't even close to 60. In fact, if you doubled the temperature, it would still be less than 60 - that's right, the game time temperature was 29F, about -2C. So all fans would get to see another game for free. Frankly, if this wasn't a road trip, I would have stayed home and listened to the game on the radio. But since I was on a road trip, I had no choice but to brave the elements and see Dunn Tire Park.
Thankfully, I wasn't alone on this miserable day. For those of you who remember my 2001 trip, I met up with two other roadtrippers, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell. At that time, they were in the midst of their Ultimate Sports Road Trip, a 5-year quest to see every venue in the 4 major league sports (MLB, NHL, NFL, and NBA). Last December, they finally completed their journey at Ford Field in Detroit and enjoyed a couple of months of international publicity, highlighted by an appearance on NBC's The Today Show as well as a blurb in Sports Illustrated. Andrew and Peter are living in Buffalo, so when they found out that I would be visiting, they were happy to meet up with me.
Unfortunately (or fortunately perhaps, given the freezing weather), Peter had to work and couldn't attend the game (a 2:05 start), but Andrew met me outside the park and used his influence to get me in the door for free. The game started about 15 minutes late due to pre-game ceremonies (including the Canadian national anthem which was surprising given the rather chilly relations between our two nations) and it moved quickly for 3 innings before the rains began and the pitchers began to lose control. Suffice to say that watching pitchers throw ball after ball and give up hit after hit while the temperature hovers just below freezing is NOT ENJOYABLE! The organist tried to lighten the mood by playing "Let It Snow", but it was to no avail. The high point of this game was the very tasty fried bologna sandwich, topped with a slice of cheese. Mmmmmmmm good!
Anyway, Buffalo took an 8-3 lead after 5, but the umpire didn't call the game, and of course, Pawtucket stormed back to make it 8-7 after 6 innings. At this time, Andrew and I had had enough - the game had gone on for nearly 3 hours and we were too cold to even move. We listened to the rest of the game on our car radios as we drove to our post game meal (Buffalo won 10-8 by the way).
Andrew had recommended the Anchor Bar for dinner - it's claim to fame is that it is the restaurant that invented chicken wings. As most of you know, chicken wings with hot sauce are referred to as Buffalo Wings, and they got started right here in Buffalo at the Anchor Bar. Check out their website at www.anchorbar.com for more info. Peter had finished work and so met us there. We spent a couple of hours discussing various road trip stories and chowing down on wings, which were pretty good. All in all, a very enjoyable time talking to the kings of the sports road trip - too bad the weather couldn't have been better.
Thanks to Andrew and Peter for a memorable start to the minor league portion of my trip. For those of you who are interested in viewing information on all 121 major league sport venues, please see their website at www.thesportsroadtrip.com - it is very interesting.
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Go With The Snow
When I awoke on Friday morning, Buffalo was covered in ice. Yes, the weather had amazingly turned worse overnight and an ice storm was in full swing! A check of the forecast indicated that Syracuse was also being hit by this ice storm, canceling the game that I had planned to see. But a road tripper always has a backup plan. Rather than be disappointed by the winter weather, I changed my plans accordingly. A quick look at the American Hockey League website showed a night game in Rochester that night - and with Rochester only about 80 miles from Buffalo, the drive would not be too difficult. Interestingly, the visiting team would be Syracuse. So instead of Rochester at Syracuse in minor league baseball, I would be witnessing Syracuse at Rochester in minor league hockey. Even better, I had never seen an AHL game before, so I would be crossing another league off my list. (For those of you who are wondering what the AHL is, it is the league below the National Hockey League).
Once arriving in Rochester, I drove downtown in search of the Blue Cross Arena, home to the Rochester Red Wings. It was easy to find, and parking was plentiful, so I decided to look for some munchies to bring into the game. (I prefer to avoid buying stadium food as much as possible - it is only good for increasing your waistline while decreasing your wallet.) I found a small convenience store and while I was looking for some food, the proprietor asked me if I was looking for a meal or just a snack. I said that I just needed a snack since I was going to the hockey game. He then asked me if he knew anyone who needed tickets to the game. "Well, yes", I replied, "as a matter of fact, I need a ticket". He opened his cash register and handed me a pair of tickets. My luck was turning - free hockey!!!
I thanked the man profusely and, after buying some snacks, went to the arena. Due to the ice storm, the rink was only half full, which allowed me to take a variety of seats and shoot plenty of pictures. The game itself was very entertaining as Rochester played a hard-hitting and gritty affair, winning 5-2 and sending the faithful fans home happy.
All-in-all, what had looked like a dreary day at 11 am turned into a very enjoyable experience by 11 pm, which just goes to show that you should never get down when on a road trip - there is always something interesting just around the corner.
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Scranton Sports Doubleheader
The ice storm had also cancelled the baseball game in Rochester that was scheduled for Saturday afternoon. Faced with a free day, I decided the best course of action would be to travel south towards Scranton, PA, where I would be watching my hometown Ottawa Lynx on Sunday (weather permitting, of course). Amazingly, only 20 minutes south of Rochester, the snow and ice had completely disappeared. The ice storm had essentially hit a thin strip of New York State, including Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse (of course, the cities where I was hoping to watch baseball), but just 20 miles away, spring was progressing nicely.
Leaving the winter weather and seeing a baseball game weren't the only reasons to head to the Scranton area. Once again the sporting gods had smiled upon me and scheduled an AHL game in Wilkes Barre on Saturday evening. For those of you unfamiliar with the United States, Scranton-Wilkes Barre is a region in Northeastern Pennsylvania that contains two reasonably large cities (Scranton and Wilkes-Barre) about 15 miles apart. The metropolitan area is fairly big and it supports a number of minor league teams, including the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL
I arrived at the arena about an hour before game time and was surprised to find the game was sold out. I didn't know that minor league hockey was so popular in SWB, but I shouldn't have been surprised. This was the 100th consecutive sellout for the Penguins, a record in the AHL. I was worried about finding a ticket, but a gentleman out front had an extra which he was willing to sell to me for face value. It was 3 rows from the ice, which made for an exciting game. Both teams had excellent goaltending and the game ended in a 1-1 tie. But with the point, the Penguins had clinched a playoff spot, so the fans were quite happy.
The next day was Sunday and I awoke tired due to daylight savings time. But a quick look out the window woke me up - it was sunny!!!!! Yes! The baseball game would be played! I drove out to the park with a big grin and enjoyed a nice, relaxed afternoon watching my hometown Ottawa Lynx lose 6-0 to the Red Barons. Although the score wasn't so close, it was actually a good game that was close until the 8th inning. I'll put the game details on my website, but suffice to say that after the past few days, it was extremely uplifting to sit through 9 innings of baseball on a sunny, albeit slightly cold, afternoon.
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My First Win!
One of the enjoyable things about minor league baseball is the number of contests that are held throughout the game. Prizes range from free tickets to a future game, dinner at a local restaurant, car washes, and even cash. In most cases, you have to enter the contest, but sometimes, your ticket can be drawn. I am generally unlucky in these things (although I did win a dozen donuts during my 2001 trip) and usually don't pay much attention.
So on Sunday, when they announced that 5 tickets had been drawn for a prize, I just glanced at the scoreboard. But I had to do a double take. One of the selected tickets was in my section. I pulled out my ticket and compared it to the one on the scoreboard - it was a match! I had won something! I was so excited!!! What did I win? Cash? Food? Clothing?
I raced to the guest relations desk and showed the guy my winning ticket. He said "Congratulations, I had won a........satellite dish and free installation!". Well, unless they are going to install that dish on my car, it ain't gonna do me any good. Since I didn't live in the area, I couldn't get the prize (perhaps I should move there?). I was disappointed that my prize was something that I couldn't really use, but at least my luck was looking up. Hopefully things will just get better from here.
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Other Comments
As I am going solo on this trip, I have to do the work of two people. In 2001, Aya was responsible for all the photos as well as getting autographs and keeping track of all my stupid mistakes, while I was in charge of the planning, the driving, and updating the website. Now that I am alone, the amount of work is too much, so I have decided to cut down on some of the work. Fortunately, being alone means that all stupid mistakes will not be reported, so that reduces the workload somewhat, but there is still a bit much to worry about, especially given that I will be seeing 34 games in 34 days. Therefore, I will not be updating the website with as much detail as I did in 2001. In particular, minor league cities will not be described at all, although I will put some pictures of each minor league ballpark up. Game recaps will not be as detailed as before, and many of the other sections (stats, route maps, etc) will not be updated at all. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I hope that these e-mail updates will suffice.
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I am in New York now, resting at my friend Oliver's place. This week involves almost no driving, as I will be in New York watching the Yankees for 3 games, and perhaps a day in Philadelphia for one last visit to the Vet. Unfortunately, I have brought the bad weather with me - there is a snowstorm scheduled for NYC tomorrow and already the Yankee home opener has been postponed until Tuesday. This means another free day, but I am sure that I will find some sporting event to attend.
I then leave for Puerto Rico on Friday, which should make for an interesting weekend. I just hope that the winter weather stays home.
See you next time,
Sean
http://www.mlbroadtrip.com/english