DAY SEVEN – CULTURE AND CUISINE … It’s all about the food, Baby.
Breakfast AND a show.
Day Seven was also Day Two in Louisville, with an evening Pawtucket/Louisville match up leaving us with time to explore the city – after the Holiday Inn and Suite’s excellent “multiple choice” and free breakfast (biscuits and gravy, four kinds of omelets, bacon, sausage, bagels and much more.) And, no veteran readers and travelers, I am not going to wax poetic about the pancake machine. But, for nostalgia’s sake, I will include a picture from the first time I referred to this baby as “breakfast and a show.”
Note: For Days One and Two, click here. Days Three and Four, click here. Days Five and Six, click here. Day Eight, click here. Days Nine and Ten, click here.
As we hit the town, the most popular stop was probably the Louisville Slugger (factory and) Museum. The tour provides a great look at how baseball bats are made (and tailored to the players who order them), as well as the history of this weapon of the game. In addition, there are opportunities to swing game-used bats of the stars. Of you are a baseball fan, the tour is well worth the $14 charge. The gift shop there also has a great range of offerings –from the usual trinkets like t-shirts and beer “coozies” to autographed game-used bats. (One of our group noted that the Kirby Puckett bat – at about $900 – was twice as pricey as the Stan Musial stick. A bat signed by my favorite all-time player, HOFer, Eddie Mathews, went for only $245.00. Ouch!)
My choices for the day were the KMAC Modern Art Gallery, with its “In the Hot Seat” exhibition of artist-designed chairs and the Muhammad Ali Center. I’d recommend them both. First, the KMAC is a free exhibit, with three floors of interesting, non –traditional art.
The Muhammad Ali Center features lots of film/video and deals as much with Ali from civil/human rights, political and humanitarian perspectives as from an in-the-ring point of view. You can also do some shadow boxing, punch the speed bag and watch of TV coverage of key Ali fights. I spent a very informative, entertaining and, in some way, inspiring 2 ½ hours there. Well worth the $13. The man was a master in the ring, but actually for bigger battles in the cultural arena.
Found the photo at the top of Ali throwing out the first pitch at the dedication of a youth ball field. The catcher is his son.
AT THE BALLPARK … IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FOOD, BABY
Good seats once again.
The game – a Pawtucket Greenjackets/Louisville Bats rematch started at seven. A few easy observations:
- The game started at 7:00, not 7:05 or 7:10 like most MLB games (which accommodate TV coverage).
- The announced attendance was 6,153 – and it appeared to be an honest count.
- Great seats, just to the first-base side of home plate.
- The National Anthem was again “old school,” live organ music and an, appropriately, brisk tempo.
- The game, like yesterday’s contest, illustrated the gap between the majors and (even) the high minors. In the first two innings, we witnessed:
- Seven runs scored;
- Eight hits;
- Four walks;
- Two errors;
- A wild pitch; and
- A Balk.
- It was “Thirsty Thursday” (following “Whiskey Wednesday” – these Kentuckians know their baseball), with 16-ounce Bud and Bud Lights available for $2. There was extra security around the center field Overlook Grill and Bar.
- Maybe, it’s me, but I found it strange that the sixth-inning scoreboard “Turbo Trivia” questions focused on basketball.
A WEIRD BALLPARK –WHERE THE MASCOT IS A BAT
There was one strange (to me) incident at the bat-themed ball park. First, let me note that there were three additional trekkers, within eye shot of me, who were keeping score. In the top of the sixth, three of the four of us (Bob, Joe and I) apparently had a simultaneous hallucination. We all three scored Bats’ lead off hitter Alex Blandino with a strikeout, followed by a Christian Colon ground out to third. The only problem was that, after the ground out, Colon seemed to again stroll to the plate. Only the fourth scorekeeper in our group, Nina, had it right. Blandino never struck out, he was the one who grounded to third. PS: Neither alcohol nor cannabis was involved in this simultaneous divergence from reality.
Ultimately, Pawtucket prevailed in the see-saw battle 10-8. Here’s a bit of the back-and-forth. After one inning, Louisville was up 2-0. Pawtucket tied it in the top of the second, but Louisville added three tallies in the bottom of the inning. Pawtucket came right back with three in the top of the third to tie the game at five apiece. Then Louisville plated three in the bottom of the fifth, to jump out 8-5. In the top of the sixth, Pawtucket scored a game-tying three runs. Pawtucket added single runs in the top of the eighth and ninth to complete the 10-8 scoring.
Overall, we ten pitchers, 25 hits (17 by Pawtucket); three home runs (all Pawtucket); 17 strikeouts; two errors (and a third that should have been charged); two wild pitches; one hit batter; and two balks. We also heard plenty of cheering, as the score went back-and-forth. For the purists, we did see both a 6-4-3 and 4-6-3 double play (the 6-4-3 to squelch a Pawtucket rally in the fifth, included leaping tosses by the shortstop, who went into the hole for the play, and the second baseman on the pivot); a catcher throwing out a base runner who strayed too far off first; and a nice tag-avoiding slide on a play at the plate.
OBLIGATORY BLOODY MARY REVIEW
Skip this one. Tried the Bloody Mary ($8.25) and was reminded that this is Bourbon Country. Nothing wrong with the pour, but the mix was pretty much thick tomato juice (not spicy at all) and the garnish a small wedge of lime. When in Louisville, stick to whiskey-based libations or craft beers
The food was once again All Star quality. Yesterday, I noted that the Rib-Eye Sandwich, Fried Bologna Sandwich, Gyros, and Black Angus Hot Dog all got rave reviews. Today, it was the Smoked Turkey Leg ($8.50); Buddy Bat Hot Browns ($5.50); and the $5 craft ice cream (both peach and mint-chocolate chip were reviewed) drew raves.
Jerry, who noted that he’s a turkey-leg regular at the Renaissance Festival and State Fair declared the Louisville Slugger Field turkey limb the best he’d ever had. The Buddy Bats (pretzel bites with turkey, bacon, tomatoes and mornay sauce) were described as “ball park rich.” I had the peach ice cream. The flavor was great and there were plenty of large peach chunks. Another BPT trekker (Joe) said the mint chocolate chip was well worth going back for more. In addition, another trekker (The Rev) was offered to test taste (free) a new organic all beef hot-dog. Thumbs up to the slightly spicy dog from Rev.
Really, the food (of all types) was a hit and we had just one criticism. While at the second Bats game, Casey (at the Bats) indicated that the offering of onions and peppers on the fried bologna sandwich bucked tradition. She noted that the old school fried bologna is simply bologna, cheese and mayo on white bread.
BBRT PLAYER OF THE GAME
Bryce Brentz 2012 card.
Today’s star was Bryce Brentz of Pawtucket (LF, batting in the three spot) – and his story shows just how hard it is to make (and stay) in the big leagues. In yesterday’s game, Brentz went two-for-four, with two home runs, a walk, three runs scored. On the season, Brentz is now .248-11-32 in fifty games.
Now for the background (and a lesson in how difficult it is to have an MLB career). Brentz is not one of those 21-year-old prospects (although he once was). He’s thirty-years-old and has 34 games of MLB experience (2014 and 2016), with a .287-1-9 stat line. He was All-State baseball player in at South-Doyle High School in Knoxville (hitting over .400 for his H.S. years). In college (Middle Tennessee State), he was a consensus All American (2009). In those college years, he went .329-17-68; .465-28-79; and .348-15-63 … and was the Sunbelt Conference Player of the Year as a sophomore. He was drafted in the first round (36th overall, a supplemental pick) of the 2010 MLB draft,
Once a top-ten prospect in the Red Sox system, Brentz now has ten minor league seasons under his belt – .262-152-539 in 822 games. He was a 2017 International League All Star and topped Dan Vogelbach in the IL Home Run Derby that season. He has played in the Red Sox and Mets minor league system, as well as in the Mexican Pacific, Dominican and Puerto Rican Winter leagues.
So, here he is at 30, ten seasons (and a couple of injuries) into his professional career, still looking for a chance to “stick in the show.” This game ain’t easy, folks.
For our group, here’s final tidbit. Brentz got his first MLB hit (a double) off then-Pirate Francisco Liriano and his first (still only) MLB home run off current Twin Martin Perez.
More posts from the road to come.
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