FNB Field - Harrisburg Senators

Bowie Baysox (BAL) @ Harrisburg Senators (WAS)

June 16, 2024

Baysox 8, Senators 3

W: Alex Pham
L: Michael Cuevas

HR: John Rhodes (BOW), Dylan Crews (HBG)

Attendance: 5,846
Time of Game: 2 hours, 38 minutes

Stadium Facts

Location: Harrisburg, PA
Opened: 1987
Capacity: 6,187
Level: Double A
League: Eastern

The finale of my NY/PA trip was in Harrisburg, PA.  While Harrisburg is less than 100 miles from Altoona, the drive is considerably longer than that because of those pesky Appalachian Mountains in between.  It was still a relatively easy Sunday morning drive for me though.  Even though Harrisburg is only about a two hour drive from home for me, this was my first time visiting the city.  I was only there for the afternoon game however, after which I drove home.

FNB Field is one of the most uniquely situated stadiums I've ever been to.  It is located on an island, named City Island, in the middle of the Susquehanna River, west of downtown Harrisburg.  There is only one road to the island from each side of the river.  There is a pedestrian bridge as well though.  In retrospect, I should have parked downtown and walked to the stadium because getting out of the parking lot on the island after the game was a lengthy ordeal.  I have been meaning to do some research about the original design and construction of this stadium, because it seems to me they made some odd decisions.  Despite the incredibly unique location, the stadium is pretty generic and barely takes advantage of its surroundings.  From most vantage points within the stadium, it is not apparent that you are on an island in the middle of a river.  The main grandstand where a vast majority of the seats are located points to the south with trees being about all you can see beyond the outfield walls.  This is a fairly old ballpark that has received some upgrades over the years.  The upper portion of the main grandstand appears to have originally been aluminum bleachers, but now has regular stadium seating.  There is still a large bleacher section down the first base line.  The third base line out to left field seems to be the center of activity for the park, with the only entrance to the park being out that way as well.  This is the first AA park I've been to this year that has a concourse circling the entire stadium.  Despite some possible missed opportunities with the stadium design, this is a nice park in a cool location.

This game was the AA version of the Battle of the Beltways, with the Nationals affiliate hosting the Orioles AA squad from Bowie.  This game could have been very heavy on elite prospects, but Orioles top catching prospect Samuel Basallo had the day off.  The Senators had two MLB.com Top 50 prospects in their lineup though:  center fielder Dylan Crews and third baseman Brady House.  Crews was taken by the Nats with the #2 pick in the draft almost exactly a year prior and House is a former first round pick of theirs as well.  As it turns out, both were promoted to AAA soon after this game.  In fact, this wound up being Crews' last game with Harrisburg.  He made his last one a good one.  In his second plate appearance, he hit an opposite field home run down the right field line, his fifth of the season.  Later, he picked up his 15th stolen base.  While he doesn't have flashy tools, he does everything well.  I wouldn't be surprised to see him join James Wood in the Nationals outfield before this season ends.  Crews' homer was one of the few highlights for the Senators in this one.  Bowie pitchers recorded 14 strikeouts including eight by starter Alex Pham.  The Baysox took control of this game in the third.  The inning started with three straight singles, only one of which was hit hard.  Senators pitcher Michael Cuevas hurt his own cause by airmailing a throw to first on a comebacker that would eventually allow three unearned runs to score.  The big blow was a three run homer by John Rhodes that hit off the left field foul pole and gave the Baysox a 5-0 lead.  Rhodes had himself quite a day.  The homer was his second of five hits in five plate appearances.  The other hits were all singles, but three of them were of the RBI variety.  His line:  5 for 5 with 6 runs batted in.  Crews' homer got the Sens on the board and kicked off a three run inning that cut the Bowie lead to two after four innings.  But Harrisburg would not score again and Bowie added single runs in the fifth, seventh and ninth, each on RBI singles by Rhodes.  The game ended in an 8-3 victory for the Baysox, ending my walk-off homer streak at two.

Thus concluded my fun eight day, seven game trip.  There were three walk-off victories in those games, including two via home runs.  Home teams went 5-2 during the trip, with both of the losses belonging to Nationals affiliates (Rochester and Harrisburg).  This brings me up-to-date on minor league ballparks I have visited this year.  I will soon be venturing out on yet another trip, my last of the year.  I intend to write about the ballparks I visit on that one soon after I return home.

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Next ballpark:  TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ

Peoples Natural Gas Field - Altoona Curve

Erie SeaWolves (DET) @ Altoona Curve (PIT)

June 15, 2024

Curve 11, SeaWolves 8

W: Grant Ford
L: Jake Higginbotham

HR: Gage Workman (ERI), Jase Bowen (ALT), Brenden Dixon (ALT)

Attendance: 5,729
Time of Game: 2 hours, 59 minutes

Stadium Facts

Location: Altoona, PA
Opened: 1999
Capacity: 7,210
Level: Double A
League: Eastern

My longest drive between ballparks during this June trip was from Binghamton to Altoona, in West-Central Pennsylvania.  It was a rather scenic drive through the Appalachian Mountains.  The city of Altoona is located within the Alleghany Mountain Range.  It has to be one of the smallest cities in the country that is the home of a minor league team in one of the upper two levels of affiliated baseball.  But being a relatively short drive from the big league club in Pittsburgh, the area's passionate fanbase makes it an ideal location for the team.

I would say Peoples Natural Gas Field was my favorite ballpark I visited on this trip.  Its location provides a couple unique and scenic aspects.  First there is the mountainous backdrop in the not too far distance beyond left and center fields.  Then there is an old wooden roller coaster in neighboring Lakemont Park that rises just beyond the right field wall.  The amusement park appeared to be closed on this day, which I would later learn was because the park is closed for the year due to a lack of funding for maintenance.  No idea if it will reopen in the future, but I would hope they at least leave the roller coaster standing.  It is not just the exterior of the park that is nice.  There are two separate levels of seating with a legit concourse on each level and luxury boxes on top of the second level.  There is a party deck down the left field line and bleacher seating in straight away left, making this the first AA park I've been to so far this year with ample fixed seating in the outfield.  Beyond that is a berm that can accommodate additional fans on nights with especially large crowds.  As for concessions, I tried one of their renowned Curve Burgers, which was tasty.  The Curve have a pair of mascots, including a furry yellow thing named Loco who briefly sat down in the empty seat next to me at one point.  Then there is a fish appropriately named Al Tuna who would pop out of the center field wall gate whenever the Curve scored.  It was a fun atmosphere all-around on this night.  I really liked everything about this park.

As wild as the game in Binghamton was the night before, this one was right up there too.  It was my second time seeing Erie, the Tigers AA affiliate, on this trip.  Three of the same pitchers who had appeared in the game in Erie also pitched on this night, including the starter Troy Melton.  And all three of them fared much worse in this game as the team allowed 10 more runs than they did in the 4-1 home win.  Altoona's starter was Bubba Chandler, who recently became the Pirates top pitching prospect after Paul Skenes graduated from prospect status.  Chandler did not have a great night in this one.  In the third, the seven hole hitter Gage Workman worked a 12 pitch at bat that ended in a solo homer to tie the game.  It was the start of a trend for Erie's bottom of the lineup.  The bottom three hitters had all but one of their RBIs.  The Curve answered in the bottom half of the inning on a two run homer by Jase Bowen.  Chandler ran into more trouble in the fourth loading the bases on a pair of singles sandwiched around a walk.  He then struck out the next two hitters, but was unable to come out unscathed as Erie's #8 hitter, catcher Eliezer Alfonzo cleared the bases with a 3 run double.  #9 hitter Austin Murr followed with a RBI single which gave the SeaWolves a 5-3 lead and chased Chandler from the game.  Erie would add two more in the fifth on a whacky play.  With runners on first and third, Chris Meyers fouled out to right field, with the runner on third tagging and scoring.  The catcher then fired to second to try and get the trailing runner, but threw it into center field allowing the runner who had started the play at first base to come all the way around to score.  Erie carried a seemingly safe 8-4 lead into the bottom of the eighth.  Joel Peguero came on to pitch for Erie and proceeded to get seeing eye singled to death, surrendering five hits, four of which were relatively softly hit grounders that happened to find holes.  Altoona scratched out three runs to cut the lead down to a single run heading into the ninth.  Jake Higginbotham came on to pitch for the SeaWolves in the bottom of the ninth, looking for his second save on my trip.  It wasn't to be.  Carter Bins got the next Curve rally started lining one off the wall down the third base line, just barely reaching second safely.  Following a walk, Yoyner Fajardo lined a base hit to center to tie the game, setting the stage for Curve third baseman Brenden Dixon.  Dixon fouled off several 0-2 pitches from Higginbotham before finally getting one he could square up as he launched a three run walk-off homer to left.  Altoona won this one by a score of 11-8.  8 of the Curve's 15 hits came in the final two innings.

I think I can safely say this is the first time I've ever witnessed walk-off homers on consecutive nights in two different ballparks.  Surprising enough that I'd see it happen twice during the same trip.  Would it happen again the following afternoon in Harrisburg?  Find out soon!

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Next ballpark:  FNB Field in Harrisburg, PA

Mirabito Stadium - Binghamton Rumble Ponies

Somerset Patriots (NYY) @ Binghamton Rumble Ponies (NYM)

June 14, 2024

Rumble Ponies 9, Patriots 7

W: Trey McLoughlin
L: Carlos Gomez

HR: Alexander Vargas (SOM), Nolan McLean (BNG), Jeremiah Jackson (BNG), Ryan Clifford (BNG)

Attendance: 4,976
Time of Game: 3 hours, 20 minutes

Stadium Facts

Location: Binghamton, NY
Opened: 1992
Capacity: 6,000
Level: Double A
League: Eastern

While Binghamton is a direct shot south of Syracuse on I-81, I decided to take a detour to Cooperstown to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame, where I had last been over 20 years prior.  I could do a whole blog post covering my visit to Cooperstown, but I'll just make some quick comments here instead.  It should be a bucket list item for any baseball fan.  While the museum itself is awe inspiring, my favorite part of the experience was simply walking down main street in the quaint town.  I think Cooperstown is the perfect location for the Hall of Fame.  It is in the middle of nowhere, meaning the only people who go there are doing so specifically to visit the HoF.  So when walking the streets, you know you are surrounded by nobody but fellow baseball enthusiasts.  It is coincidental that I'm writing this on the day of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.  I imagine the town has a much different feel today than it did on the Friday afternoon in June in which I visited.  After spending a good chunk of the morning and afternoon in Cooperstown, I hit the road again and drove to Binghamton for a Friday night game.

Mirabito Stadium opened in 1992.  It is a bit of an old fashioned minor league ballpark in an old fashioned city.  This is a pretty nondescript stadium.  There is a closed concourse beneath a single level seating area.  It lacks the frills of most of the other stadiums I've visited this year.  Even though this is very much a city stadium, it is located in a spot that provides nice views of rolling hills beyond the outfield fence.  Really diving into the old fashioned theme, for this game the Rumble Ponies wore special uniforms and took on the identity of the Creatures, a nod to the Twilight Zone TV series whose creator Rod Serling was a Binghamton native.  The Twilight Zone was well before my time, so most of themes of this night flew over my head.  They seem to have an affinity for all of it in Binghamton though.  As for the team's usual name, Rumble Ponies is also a locally inspired identity.  Apparently Binghamton considers itself the carousel capital of the world.  Can't say I saw or rode any carousels on this visit though.

This game between the two New York MLB teams' AA affiliates was the first game I've attended this year that featured three of MLB.com's Top 100 prospects:  Somerset outfielder (DH on this night) Spencer Jones, Binghamton first baseman Ryan Clifford and starting pitcher Brandon Sproat.  I saw Sproat and Clifford playing for the Mets High A affiliate Brooklyn at Jersey Shore back in April as well.  This was actually my third look at Clifford who was playing for Binghamton in the game I saw in Reading a few weeks earlier.  All three of these guys played prominent roles in this game.  Sproat got the start for the Rumble Ponies.  He still seems to be on a pretty strict pitch count as he was pulled after 70 pitches and just 3 2/3 innings.  He was quite impressive in that time though, striking out eight batters and allowing a single run.  This was far more dominant of an outing than when I saw him in April at a level lower.  The only run he allowed scored immediately after his departure on a single by J.C. Escarra during which the final out of the inning was recorded at third base, starting a stretch of three straight half innings featuring an outfield assist, not something you see every day.  In the bottom of the fourth, Binghamton took a 2-1 lead on another run scoring play that featured an out on the bases.  Jeremiah Jackson doubled down the left field line, scoring Clifford who had reached on his second walk of the game and sixth in the three games I've seen him play this year.  But Jackson was thrown out at third in an ill advised attempt to stretch it into a triple.  Nolan McLean immediately followed that with an opposite field solo home run to give the Rumble Ponies a two run lead which would not last long.  The Patriots tied the game in the top of the fifth on a two run single by Jones, a 6'6" left handed hitting center fielder by trade who has been battling through strikeout issues most of this season.  He was the DH in this game, but if I didn't know better, I would not have guessed his usual position was CF.  That said, the Yankees are no strangers to tall dudes playing CF since Aaron Judge spends a lot of time out there as well.  A couple batters later, Jones was thrown out trying to score on a flyout to right, but Matt Rudick made a perfect throw to nail him.  The back and forth affair continued in the sixth.  Somerset took a 5-3 lead in the top half, but Binghamton responded with three in the bottom half, highlighted by a two run homer by Jackson.  Each team scored a run in the seventh thanks to pitcher wildness.  Somerset got theirs on a wild pitch and Binghamton answered with a bases loaded hit by pitch taken by Clifford.  Somerset reliever Luis Velasquez actually hit two batters in the inning, walked three and threw a pair of wild pitches in his wild outing.  The Rumble Ponies took a one run lead into the 9th.  But the Patriots tied the game on a solo home run by Alexander Vargas, his first home run of the season.  Vargas had just come into the game on defense the previous inning.  I'm not exactly sure why that move was made.  You don't normally replace your cleanup hitter for defensive purposes in a tied game.  Anyway, it certainly worked out.  But it was all for naught.  In the bottom of the 9th, Ryan Clifford polished off his incredible game with a no doubt, two run, walk-off homer to give the Ponies a 9-7 victory.  What a game!

This brought an end to the New York part of my trip.  It was back to Pennsylvania for the weekend for two final games.

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Next ballpark:  Peoples Natural Gas Field in Altoona, PA