Today was Day One of my nearly annual baseball trek with BallPark Tours – my 25th excursion with Julian Lescalzo’s traveling baseball festival. This year’s trek (the first of two for BallPark Tours in 2014) has been labeled the “Show Me State Ramble” and is taking us from Saint Paul, MN to:
- Des Moines – for an Iowa Cubs/El Paso Chihuahuas (now there’s an imposing team mascot) game.
- Saint Louis – for two Cardinals/Phillies tilts.
- Kansas City – for a pair of Royals/Mariners match-ups.
(For more information on BallPark Tours, click the BPT icon on the right-hand side of the page.)
As in the past couple of seasons, I thought I’d report on our progress occasionally, just to give you a feel for the BPT experience.
Wednesday, June 18
Approximately 45 of us left Saint Paul on the coach bus a little after noon – renewing old friendships and making new ones (all based on a passion for our national pastime). The specially designed tour t-shirts were distributed (photo in a later post), as were the traditional baseball trivia “Kwiz” and entry forms for a contest based on predicting how many runs will be scored across MLB during our travels. Beverages, snacks and lively conversation all flowed freely – and loudly – as we rolled on toward game one on the tour.
Jimmy Buffet made an appearance. Thanks, “rev.”
About an hour out of Saint Paul, we were introduced (courtesy of a tour participant who has earned the title “Lunchmaster”) to the newly constructed “Jimmy” buffet – which made the rounds of the bus smoothly and tastefully. We were required to sing a couple verses of “Lunchmaster, Lunchmaster” (to the tune of “Matchmaker, Matchmaker”) before being allowed to partake.
We arrived in Des Moines about 4:30, got our tickets and checked into the historic Hotel Fort Des Moines. Once we were checked in, a good percentage of the group made their way to the Racoon River Brewing Company – conveniently located right next door to the hotel – and even more conveniently featuring (upon our arrival) a happy hour with microbrews Bandit IPA, Tallgrass Light, Homestead Red, Vanilla Cream Ale and Stonecutter Stout for just two-dollars a pint. A good – and cost-effective – time was had by all.
From there it was on to the ball park, the 11,500 seat Principal Park, for a 7:05 game between the AAA Iowa Cubs and El Paso Chihuahuas (a Padres’ farm team). Depending on your preference, you made the journey via a healthy (if somewhat hot and humid) walk, the free hotel shuttle or taxi. (I chose to walk to the game and shuttle back.)
It might have been the weather (hot and humid), day of the week (Wednesday) or the Iowa Cubs’ 34-35 record), but the park was less than half full (announced attendance 4,802). And it was even Iowa Oaks night, when the team wore throwback Iowa Oaks uniforms and offered one-dollar hot dogs (of which our group consumed many). For those of you who care about such things, the Iowa team was known as the Oaks from 1969-81 (an Oakland A’s farm club 1969-71) and its most famous alumni from the period is new BB HOFer Tony LaRussa, who played for the Oaks (1969-71) and managed them in 1979.
Uninspiring Bloody Mary at Principal Park.
I always like to review each stadium’s Bloody Mary offerings in this blog and the review will be brief for Principal Park. First, the beverage of choice is available in “The Bottom of the Fifth” bar. Catchy name, but that’s as far as it goes. As much as the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers’ Bloody Mary Bar was awe-inspiring (see here), Principal Park’s offering was uninspiring – vodka, mix from a bottle, with no pepper, Tabasco, celery, olives or pickles. Hoping for better in Saint Louis.
Now to the baseball, the game offered a little something for almost everyone, as Iowa took an early lead and held on to beat El Paso 3-1. The Cubs scored first with speed, as shortstop/leadoff hitter Arismendy Alcantara (one of several “name game” tongue-twisters in the game) drew a seven-pitch walk, then stole second (his 13th steal in 16 attempts this season), moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on single by C/clean-up hitter Rafeal Lopez. Alcantara would pick up his 14th stolen base after a fourth-inning single. They added to the lead later in the inning, when Lopez scored on a single by 1B Josh Vitters (who came into the game hitting just .214, but would collect three hits). For those who prefer a power display, Vitters scored and drove in the Cubs’ third run with a fifth-inning home run to left.
Meanwhile, Iowa starter Dallas Beeler kept the Chihuahuas’ bats from barking, holding El Paso scoreless through six – thanks in part to (what later proved game-saving) a running/diving catch by Cubs’ right fielder Bret Jackson with runners on first and third and two outs in the sixth. Beeler, who evened his record at 3-3, left the game after being pinch hit for in the bottom of the sixth – and not too long thereafter, the fans who prefer a little “tension” in the contest got their wish.
The seventh inning was pretty much uneventful, but when Cubs’ reliever Zac Rosscup (sporting a nifty 2.77 ERA) came in, El Paso began hammering the ball. Although he gave up just one run on two hits, four of the five batters Rosscup faced laced the ball. There was more excitement in the eighth, as Cubs’ closer Blake Parker came in to seek his 14th save. He got it, but brought the fans up out of their seats (which they were stuck to by the humidity) by giving up two singles and a walk (after retiring the first two Chihuahuas he faced) to load the bases with two outs and a two-run lead. He ran the count full on El Paso’s Jonathan Galvez (the club’s leading hitter at .316) before retiring him on a fly to right. Good game. good night and – as we saw on some pale faces in the a.m. – it was just beginning for few of our group.
Now, about those names: Three who took the field that BBRT found interesting – the previously mentioned Arismendy Alcantara, El Paso starting pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne, and Cubs’ LF Matt Szczur (pronounced See-Zer).
On a side note: Manny Ramirez, signed as a player-coach on May 25, did not make an appearance and did not seem to be in the ball park. Appropriately, one of our intrepid touring group was wearing a “Manny being Manny” t-shirt (and she eventually showed up on the big scoreboard – much to our applause).
As is usually the case at AAA, a few players who have seen limited time in the big leagues were spotted on the field (like Iowa’s Ryan Kalish, Zac Rosscup, Chris Valaika, Josh Vitters, and Casper Wells. The most notable former MLBer who played in the game was El Paso’s Jeff Francoeur (who appeared in a pinch-hitting role), whose nine-season MLB journey includes the Braves, Mets, Rangers, Royals, Giants – and soon, he hopes, Padres. For all of the Twins’ fans in our group, former Twins’ catcher Brian Harper coached a perfect game at 3B
More tour posts to come – pardon any typos, hard to post on the bus.
