A Few New Baysox Pictures

It has been a while since I have posted any of my Baysox photos, so here are a few from the last couple games that we have been able to attend.

Reasons I Love Minor League Baseball

I have always been a sports fan. As a kid, I remember going to Washington Senators games with my father. It was always special to be at the ballpark. Back in those days, we basically had two choices locally, the Washington Senators or the Baltimore Orioles.

These days it is so expensive to try to take a family out to a ball game. I consider myself fortunate that the choices have improved greatly since I was a kid. In addition to the Orioles and the Washington Nationals, there are probably four or five minor league teams in the area, one of which is in my home town of Bowie. It's a good thing too, because my son loves going to the games, and the cost of a minor league ticket is so much more affordable than the big league teams.

Aside from the financial aspect of the cheaper ticket price, there are a lot of other reasons why I prefer minor league ball over the majors these days. It is such a family friendly atmosphere, and that is so important. You don't hear a lot of taunting or heckling at a minor league game like at the big league level. There is always something going on before the game and between innings to keep you entertained. Here are just a few of them.
Recently, prior to a Baysox game, the Chesapeake and Potomac Baseball Club gave an exhibition of vintage baseball. It was kind of cool to watch baseball how it was played in the 1860's. No gloves and totally different rules. They had an announcer explaining the different rules during the exhibition.
Another thing that I like is that ordinary people get to have the opportunity to go out on the field for a ceremonial first pitch. Here a young man with Downs Syndrome got to participate in the activity. I am sure it was a thrill for him because I know how I felt when my son got to go out on the field several years ago to throw out a pitch. He was so excited.
Then there are all of the between inning activities. Here, three kids from the crowd get to participate in a horse race.
The sumo wrestler challenge is one of my son's favorite activities. While this is going on, he is usually pretending to sumo me by jumping on top of me.
Another, and certainly not the last nor least reason, it the friendliness of the Baysox front office staff. They get to know a lot of the fans, and here one of them takes the time out of their busy game day schedule to pose for a picture with my son.

Feeling Old

The first time that I ever felt "old" was the first time that I looked at a Playboy Centerfold and noticed that her data sheet showed that she was born after I graduated from high school.

Well tonight was another one of those "feel old" moments. Tonight was opening night of the 2009 season for my Bowie Baysox. My family was in attendance and fortunately the Baysox were victorious.

The great thing about minor league baseball (or at least as far as the Baysox are concerned) is that they give us free programs at each game. While looking through tonight's program, I noticed that nearly half of the players on the Baysox roster were born after I graduated from college.

Unfortunately those "feeling old" moments seem to occur with a lot more frequency these day.

Some Baysox Photography

I know that baseball has been over for a while now, but I just wanted to post a few photos I took during the last two seasons at Bowie Baysox games. One of the things I love about minor league baseball is that there really isn't a bad seat in the house.

Adam Loewen pitching.

Oscar Salazar makes contact.

Chorye Spoone delivers a pitch.

Nolan Reimold connects for a homer.

NFL Season Opens

Today was the first day of the NFL season. For as long as I can remember, I have always looked forward to this day. Normally, with my Washington Redskins playing in the first game of the season, you could not keep me away from the tube and watching the game. The Redskins lost tonight to the NY Giants. I did not see the game tonight, and I just did not care. For the first time ever, I was not excited about the start of the NFL season.

It isn't because I think the Skins will have a poor season this year. Even during the lean years, I always looked forward to the start of the football season. In years past, I would never miss the start of the season. Hell, I rarely missed even a meaningless preseason game if the Redskins were playing. My wife pretty much knew that if their was a Redskins game, she could figure that I would not leave the house unless I was guaranteed to get home in time to park my ass on the couch to watch the game.

So where was I tonight that was so much more important to me than football? I was at a minor league baseball game here in Bowie, MD. For the first time in 11 years, my hometown team, the Bowie Baysox were in the playoffs. It was a great game to be at too. The Baysox won the game 11-3 behind strong pitching and five home runs, including three by Nolan Reimold (one a grand slam).

Granted, 11 years between playoff appearances is a little more special than a normal, regular season Baysox game. However, that was not the only thought in my mind tonight. I also had this thought. Once I get home from the Baysox game, I hope the football game is over so that it doesn't overlap with the Republican Convention and John McCain's acceptance speech. It isn't that I am that jazzed up about McCain as much as I can't stand the thought of the Democrats and Barack Obama winning the presidency. They scare the hell out of me and I honestly believe in the world we live in today, that their policies are wrong for America. This election season is more important to me than football. I never thought that would happen.

Don't get me wrong. If I am home, I fully expect that I will be watching the Redskins play. However, I can see myself being more willing to do something else if it comes up. There are some things that are just more important today.