Visitors At Home

PNC Field, home of the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees, is undergoing major renovations this year, so the team will be playing "home games" at various other parks around the International League North, ten of which will be played in Syracuse.

The first one was Saturday, April 14. I missed the game. Does it count, though, if it was considered a road game for the Chiefs?

The second one was today, Sunday, April 15. TV Stevie and I had been out of town for the weekend, so didn't get to Alliance Bank Stadium until the bottom of the fifth inning. Even then, we didn't go directly to our seats. You see, today is Jackie Robinson Day throughout baseball, and part of Syracuse's observance included Jackie Robinson's original plaque from the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Jackie Robinson's original Hall of Fame Plaque

A representative from the Hall of Fame explained to us that when Jackie went into the Hall of Fame, he wanted no mention of how he broke the "color" barrier and integrated professional baseball. He wanted to be known as simply a Hall of Fame player. (Which in my opinion is as it should be. The color of his skin had nothing to do with his skill and success in the game.) Several years ago, the plaque was recast to include the information about how he was the first African American to play in the major leagues. The original plaque (see above photo) is now used for educational purposes, such as today's celebration in Syracuse.

As I mentioned, I never got to my seat until the sixth inning. The score was 5-1 Syracuse. The Chiefs scored two more runs as I was settling in for the game. Sandee explained that there were 4 doubles hit in the sixth inning. She also mentioned that I missed another Tyler Moore HR. She also told me he'd hit a couple during the road trip, so he's probably going to be our HR guy for the year. I love it when the 1B is also a good hitter. 

It drizzled on and off for the rest of the game. 

After one pretty spectacular play by starting pitcher Mitch Atkins, the Superman Theme blared through the stadium. That was so cool.

I only saw Corey Brown and Bryce Harper one time each at bat. Pat Venditte, the Yankees' ambidextrous pitcher, struck out Harper. Brown popped out.

Once again, I had my camera on the wrong setting while snapping photos of Venditte.

Venditte 

Venditte pitching

Venditte pitching to Bryce Harper

Austin Bibens-Dirkx came into pitch for the Chiefs in the 8th. That was okay. But when he gave up enough hits in the ninth for the Yankees to score, we were not happy.

Mitch Atkins, the starting pitcher, is my choice for player of the game. Maven heard me say that, and he said I was absolutely right. Sandee also voted for him. He pitched 7 innings and the other team scored only one run? I think that's pretty darned noteworthy.

Crazy Fan Man (CFM) showed up, too. My latest crackpot theory about him is that he comes late so he doesn't have to pay for parking and there's no one taking tickets, so he comes for free. He was shouting stuff today that we couldn't understand. 

It was a challenge to watch the Chiefs be the visiting team in their own stadium, especially without a scoreboard. I mean, there's a temporary scoreboard that notes balls, strikes, hits, and the score, but we get no stats, no history of the game, no players names. And we're used to our team being the bottom of the inning, not the top. 

We're back to being the home team tomorrow night.