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MLB ROAD TRIP 2003
2003.04.16 <VOL.5> Days 13-17
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Location: Lynchburg
Day # 18
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Perfect Puerto Rico
Last Friday, after over a week of cold, miserable weather that followed me from Buffalo to New York and Philadelphia, I boarded a plane for San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was raining heavily in NY, (so much so that that night's Yankee game was postponed), so words cannot describe the elation I felt knowing that at least for two days, my fingers would not be numb and I would be dry as I enjoyed a ball game.
The flight from JFK is just over 4 hours, but it passed quickly. Upon arrival, I walked out of the plane into a very sunny, 85 degree day. The previous week was suddenly a distant memory. I would not need a parka any more.
For those of you who read the previous update, you will remember that I mentioned Gary and Mike, two New York boys who devoted their existence to watching sports. They were also in Puerto Rico to watch their Mets take on Los Expos, and so we hooked up to enjoy the weekend together. Gary had rented a car so we picked it up and drove to the Stadium, about 20 minutes from the airport.
Once we reached the stadium, it took about 20 more minutes to park, since there was only one entrance and there were about 10,000 cars all trying to get in at the same time. I jumped out to pick up the tickets, while Gary and Mike tried to find a spot. Entering the stadium itself required a security check, sadly a regular occurrence at major league stadiums now. We then wandered around the concourse, which was crowded with fans, many of them excited to be viewing Major League Baseball for the first time.
The great thing about this park was the size - it was small, so there wasn't a bad seat in the place. I made my way down to field level to snap pictures of Los Expos warming up, and there was no-one around to kick me out, unlike many major-league stadiums. The players were a bit more relaxed too, signing autographs for the young fans, all of whom were seeing their first real-life MLB player, and their faces were showing delight at this new experience.
As game time approached, I returned to my seat and watched the player introductions. The Mets were introduced first and when the starting lineups were announced, the fans erupted. Batting second that night was Puerto Rico native Roberto Alomar and he received a long, loud, standing ovation. The place was electric. There were other Puerto Ricans on both teams, including Jose Vidro on the Expos, and they all received standing ovations. Once the players had all been introduced, 3 anthems were sung (Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S.) and then Orlando Cepeda threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Finally, we were ready for baseball, and Tomo Ohka delivered the first pitch. Ahh, heaven. A hot spring evening with baseball. It doesn't get much better than that.
I have updated the homepage with the details of the stadium and the games, so I won't go into those details here, other than to say that Montreal won both games that we saw (and the other two games, for a 4-game sweep of the Mets!). As Gary and Mike are Mets fans, suffice to say that I enjoyed the trip slightly more than they did. But I think the fans of Puerto Rico enjoyed the games the most.
It would be nice if MLB made this move permanent, but realistically speaking it won't happen. The stadium is too small and tickets are subsequently too expensive for the local population. But for one season at least, Les Expos will also be Los Expos and let's hope that their early success there continues in Montreal.
As for the rest of the island, we spent Saturday afternoon driving to Arecibo, a town about an hour west of San Juan and the hometown of Mike's mother. As we left the highway, we spotted a baseball stadium, so we stopped to have a look, but it was locked up. But next to the stadium was a roadside stand serving bacalaitos (codfish fritters) and kebabs. Yum. We then drove to the Arecibo Obseratory, home of the largest radio telescope in the world. Just getting there was interesting, as we had to drive through the hills for about 30 minutes, which was my first time to see the countryside.
I was quite impressed with the quality of the highways, which is as good as, if not better than, most interstates in the mainland. Along these highways there are plenty of malls and restaurants, just like the U.S., but not much else. In order to see more of the real Puerto Rico, you have to get off the highway and onto the smaller roads. There you can drive by farms and houses with animals on the road, and see the beauty that the island has to offer.
Although I was only in Puerto Rico for 2 days, it was the highlight of the trip so far. I strongly recommend that baseball fans pay a visit there when Los Expos are in town - it is an interesting experience well worth the trip.
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More Crazy People
On Monday, I enjoyed a game in Richmond, Virginia, the first outdoor game on the trip where the temperature was above 60 degrees. Although I expected to be alone for this game, I had been contacted by a Japanese man who was also doing a minor league baseball tour and would be in Richmond for the same day. His name is Yasu and he spent 2 summers working as an intern for 2 minor league clubs, which only served to increase his interest in the game. This year he will return to Japan, but before then he hopes to see about 80 minor league ballparks. What makes him crazy is that he has no car - he is travelling only by bus. Using the Ameripass from Greyhound, he spends 5 or 6 days away from home, travelling from park to park, avoiding hotels and sleeping on the bus whenever he can. After returning home to freshen up (to put it lightly) for a couple of days, he returns to the road for another week or so.
Once again, I have found someone who is nuttier than I am. As is my custom, whenever this happens, I feel it necessary to inform all my readers that I am not really crazy, at least when compared to these guys. Interestingly, Yasu called me crazy (huh?) but I am not sure why. Anyway, for those of you who read Japanese, his website is here.
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Big and Small in Virginia
The team in Richmond is minor league, but for some reason, the team has an inferiority complex. In their team song, they have a line "Our ballclub may be minor league but at least it is Triple A". Hey, the minors is the minors. But their stadium is another sign that they want to be a major league city - it is the biggest minor league stadium I have seen so far, with a capacity of over 12,000. The upper deck in Richmond has 30 rows of seats, more than most minor league stadiums have in their entire seating area. It is strange to see a game in such a large place with only 2,000 or so fans - reminds me of Olympic Stadium in that sense.
The next night I was in Lynchburg, home of the A-level Hillcats. Talk about your complete opposite. The stadium here is under renovations, with only 3 sections of seating along the third base line. With a capacity of 800, this is the smallest stadium I have ever seen. And with only 361 fans in attendance, it is the smallest crowd I have seen in the minors. But because they were all sitting in the same area, they were one of the loudest.
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Other Comments
Today marks the halfway point of the trip. To celebrate, I am off to Charlotte to watch some baseball. Thursday is my longest driving day, with about 500 miles total to be made between Charlotte and Nashville (with a game in Chattanooga in between). Thankfully, I brought the good weather with me from Puerto Rico (yesterday was 83 degrees in Lynchburg), so the trip should be a bit smoother.
See you next time,
Sean
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