Friday. June 16, began a baseball adventure … Ballpark Tours Bleacher Bums XL – Tulsa Culture Tour. The trip will take our busload of 32 baseball fans and friends to six ball games (major- and minor-leagues), in five cities, in four states in eight days. Along the way, we’ll also take in a number of cultural/historical sights, visit a few breweries and enjoy the camaraderie and hi-jinx (always wanted to use that word in a post) that have become Ballpark Tours’s traditions. Over the next few days, I will blog from the trip to give you an idea of what a Ballpark Tours trip is like.
Day One – June 16
We departed in a coach bus from Saint Paul, MN on Friday morning, June 16, each of us with our commemorative T-Shirt in hand (or quickly stored in our luggage). Where else could you get a custom-designed, salmon-colored t-shirt with a home run-robbing catch on the front and Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie on the back?
As we motored toward our first stop, plenty was already going on on the bus. (How often do you get to key a sentence with two “ons” in a row?) Here’s a few of the first-day on-board activities to give you an idea of what a day on the bus is like.
“The Rev” in action.
The K-Kwiz – the Ballpark Tours’ traditional trivia challenge was distributed, as was the annual contest calling for a prediction of the total number of major-league runs scored over a three-day period during the tour. In addition, one Ballpark Tours regular, affectionately known as “The Rev” went into character as he prepared fed the masses with such treats as Cheez-Its, Oreos, beef sticks, pickled herring and more – even a baseball card for each trekker.
We also went through introductions, sharing baseball stories, as well as tales of misadventures from past Ballpark Tour trips (BPT has been in operation since 1982. I’ve been on 30+ of these “trips.” Those who were young adults during the ’60s will get my drift.)
One of our intrepid regulars set up a complimentary Bloody Mary Bar at the back of the bus – complete with such accompaniments as pickles, olives, multiple cheeses, beef sticks, celery, horseradish and spices. It was breakfast time, so one trekker chose to added a fried, glazed cinnamon roll to his concoction.
The afternoon’s shared snacks also included Kentucky Bourbon Rice Krispie treats – as though we needed more foods (particularly an item with bourbon in its name).
As we rolled on, there was plenty of laughter and music as the Ballpark Tours family renewed old friendships and forged new ones.
Our first stop on this year’s tour was the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. For those readers not familiar with the Surf Ballroom, It was the sight of the last rock-and-roll concert featuring Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper before they died in a tragic small plane crash after a February 2, 1959 show. The Surf Ballroom continues as a concert and special events venue – as well as an historic site. You’ll find the story in the box below.
THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED
The February s, 1959, concert – featuring Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper (Richardson), Dion and the Belmonts and Frankie Sardo – was the eleventh concert in a Winter Dance Party series that was to take the group of rock-and-rollers to 24 upper midwest cities in 24 days. The Surf Ballroom, which had been host to such stars as the Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison and Little Richard – was an important stop on the tour. The travel (particularly the bad-weather bus rides ) was grueling and difficult. (In fact, one of the members of Buddy Holly’s band had to leave the tour after getting frostbite on the bus.)
Holly decided to charter a small plane to take part of the group from Mason City (an airfield near Clear Lake) to to an airfield near the next concert (Moorhead, MN). The plane never made it, crashing less than ten miles from Mason City in the winter weather – taking the lives of Holly (22-years-old), Valens (17-years-old), the Big Bopper (28-years-old) and pilot Roger Peterson. The tragedy has been immortalized in monuments, film and several songs (most notably Don McLean’s “ American Pie,” in which the tragic event is referred to as “The Day the Music Died.” The Surf Ballroom is also host to annual tribute concerts.
For those who like to know such things, the 1959 Winter Dance Party series continued, with such stars as Bobby Vee, Fabian, Frankie Avalon and Jimmy Clanton filling in.
In 2011, the Surf Ballroom was listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and, in 2021, it was designated a National Historic Landmark,
Next on the day’s agenda was a visit to the Lua Brewery Brewpub, before checking in to the Downtown Des Moines Holiday Inn Express and Suites.
The first game on our tour was a 7 p.m. contest between the Indianapolis Indians and the host Iowa Cubs (Des Moines) – a tightly played 2-1 Cubs win that featured a second-inning home run by Iowa SS David Bote and five shutouts innings from Iowa starter Riley Thompson, who came into the game 1-4, with a 6.74 earned run average. Four Iowa relievers finished the game, giving up just one run over their four innings, while fanning six batters. The capacity crowd of 11,000+ went home happy – with a win and post-game Friday Fireworks.
A few additional comments:
- The scorecard (free) was on two sides of one sheet of paper, but included pre-printed starting lineups (with key stats for each player), all players’ names and numbers and news and notes of interest. You will see the significance of the scorecard description when we look at the Kansas City Royals’ games.
- The game featured the Triple-A ball-strike challenge system (it was used four times), in which the home-plate umpire calls balls and strikes and a team can challenge calls. The electronic ABS – Automated Ball-strike System – is used to resolve any challenges. Each team gets up to three unsuccessful challenges, with challenges allowed to be initiated only by the catcher, pitcher or hitter. The challenge was used four times during the game and it was generally agreed that the challenges disrupted game flow and did not seem worth the inconvenience. (Note: The league is also trying out a fully automated ABS. In that system, the ABS call is communicated to the home plate umpire via an earpiece.)
- The Cubs’ Principal Park had a strictly enforced bag rule. Lots of fans – including several from our group – had to return their bags to their vehicles (and then re-enter the long entrance lines). I asked one official whether there was a place I could leave my bag (which, incidentally, I have carried into MLB parks) and pick it up after the game. The reply? “You could drop in the bushes somewhere and go back for it.”
Final wrap: Crispy played ball game (two hours-one minute), the trip’s first home run, first 6-4-3 double play (regular readers know how I love the ballet of an infield twin killing) and a handful of sparkling defensive plays.
Day Two – Saturday, June 17
Day Two started with the free hot breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express – lots of choices (all good). I opted to go southern and went for the biscuits and gravy and fried bologna. Then it was on the bus for Kansas City ( Missouri – and that will be important later).
We got into KC around lunch time and headed for the 18th and Vine neighborhood – and a prepaid visit to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. If you’ve never been there, find the time. You’ll get a look at the history of the Negro Leagues and black MLB pioneers. You can get up close to the displays; there are lots of great films (transferred to video); and you can walk among the greats on “The Field of Legends.” There is also an impressive display of nearly 200 baseballs signed by former Negro Leagues players – donated by Geddy Lee, lead singer for Rush.
After touring the Museum, a number of our trekkers headed for nearby, renowned Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque; while others went into the neighborhood, where the streets were blocked off for the Juneteenth celebration – lots of stands featuring African-American crafts, clothing, music and foods and even a Corvette Car show. It was a fortunate coincidence that we were there for this event. I did some shopping and then lunched on a chicken-skewer grilled street-side and doused with homemade hot sauce. Sadly, some of the favorite nearby drinking and eating establishments have closed since my last visit to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (pre-pandemic).
Our Next stop (even before hotel check-in) was Kaufmann Stadium and a 3:10 p.m.Royals/Angels matchup.
Kaufmann Trivia
Kaufmann Stadium has the second-most playable square footage in the major leagues – behind only Coors Field.
We had great seats at Kaufmann – lower deck, just beyond third base – great sight lines and in the shade on a hot, humid day. (Good luck or the expertise of tourmaster Julian? We’ll never know.) We saw a rarity in today’s age of pitch clocks, disengagement rules, limited batter timeouts – a nine-inning game that exceeded three hours (three hours-13 minutes). The 2023 average time for a nine-inning MLB game, through yesterday, was two-hours and forty minutes (per Baseball-reference.com). The reason for our three-hour + “show?” Plenty of action on the field. We witnessed 19 runs, 22 hits, five home runs, 11 walks, one hit batter and five stolen bases. There were, in fact, only three half-innings in which there were no base runners. Notably, the Royals’ fans went home happy, after a dramatic comeback over the final three innings. We will not reveal the names of most of the pitchers, in order to protect the innocent (or not so innocent).
Obligatory Shohei Ohtani photo. You just can’t post about the Angels with an Ohtani picture.
The Angels jumped out to an 8-2 lead over the first 6 ½ innings. This was due in great part to four home runs, including two by 1B Brandon Drury, his 11th and 12th of the season. DH Shohei Ohtani and LF Taylor Ward also went deep.
Shohie Ohtani hit his 23rd home run of the year in the game – giving him the 2023 MLB lead in long balls. He also ranks fourth overall and second in the American League in strikeouts as a pitcher.
The Royals then began a remarkable comeback. Remember, these are the 18-51 (now 19-51) last-place Royals. They scored three in the bottom of the seventh and three in the eighth to tie the contest at 8-8 and put the fans into a frenzy. In the ninth, things got even more interesting. Angels’ SS Andrew Valazquez (he of two z’s and a q in his last name) led off with a six-pitch walk off Aroldis Chapman. Valazquez then stole second with pinch-hitter Hunter Renfroe at the plate. After Renfroe fanned, Valazquez swiped third base with Ohtani at the plate. Ohtani walked and then CF Mike Trout singled in Valazquez. Chapman then struck out Drury and pinch hitter Chad Wallach to end the frame. The Angels were now up 9-8 and it looked like the team that built its original lead on a foundation of four long balls would win it on the impact of two stolen bases.
Not so fast! The Royals were not done yet. Kansas City DH Edward Olivares, facing reliever Chris Devenski, singled to left and was replaced pinch runner Dairon Blanco, who stole second on the second pitch to 3B Maikel Garcia (two can play the stolen base game). Garcia then singled Blanco home and the game was tied. Next up was 2B Nicky Lopez. On the second pitch to Lopez, Garcia swiped second. On the very next pitch, Lopez laid down a sacrifice bunt (Remember those?) moving Garcia to third.
The next batter was 24-year-old rookie left fielder Samad Taylor – playing in his first MLB game. At this point in his MLB debut, he was zero-for-two with two walks and two runs scored. Taylor popped an 0-1 pitch to LF and his first MLB hit provided a walk-off Royals’ win. (Taylor, by the way, was hitting .304-6-37, with 34 stolen bases in 62 games at Triple-A when called up.) Note: If I had to pick a “hero” of the game, it would be Royals’ Bobby Witt, Jr., who went two-for-five, with one double and four RBI.
Youth Will Prevail – At Least This Time
Six of the nine players in the Royals’ starting lineup were in their first or second MLB season: 1B Nick Pratto; SS Bobby Witt, Jr.; RF MJ Melendez; 3B Maikel Garcia; LF Samad Taylor; CF Drew Walker.
Side Note: For those still reading, remember earlier I noted that the Iowa Cubs scorecard (free) listed the starting lineups and all the players’ names and numbers? Well, the Royals’ “Official Scorecard” cost a dollar (free, if you go to Guest Services), but provided no information (no players’ names or numbers). Not a major-league move.
On the food front, a good trekker review was given to the KCQ, which features a rotating group of Kansas City barbeque pit masters.
Post -game it was on to our hotel for check-in at the Crowne Plaza (Downtown Kansas City ) … a 28-story hotel in the “grand tradition.” More on this in a future posts “from the road.”
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