I was in the process of posting this information about a minor league game we went to see last Tuesday, the day the Black Forest fire started. By the time we got home, the fire news made baseball seem very trivial, which, in the grand scheme of things, it is. However, now that the fire is 75% contained and many who evacuated have been allowed to return home, this seems like a good time to post it.
Every time I see a video of Kirk Gibson's home run in the 1988 World Series, I see many cars leaving the parking lot behind right field, as people who spent the money to go to a World Series game decided to beat the traffic, and in so doing, they missed one of the great moments in the history of baseball.
On June 11, we went to see the Salt Lake City Bees play at our Colorado Springs Sky Sox (AAA). It is very nice to have a minor league team playing just four miles from home. We ended up seeing what may have been the most amazing baseball game I have ever seen.
After the top of the sixth, it was 9-1 in favor of SLC. Even though I have often said it is not a good idea to leave a baseball game before it is over, I actually entertained the thought of leaving, but we decided to see what would happen in the bottom of the sixth. Wouldn't you know it - the Sky Sox scored 10 runs, including a three run homer and a grand slam, and took the lead 11-9. They added four more runs in the eighth inning and won 15-9.
The 6,500 foot altitude does help the offense. The ball carries for more distance, and breaking balls don’t break as much as at lower altitude. The dimensions of the stadium, especially the 350 feet down each foul line, are somewhat larger than many major league stadiums to take this into account.
Moral of the story: Don't leave a baseball game early. As Yogi Berra would say, "It ain't over 'til it's over." Of course, he also said, "If you come to a fork in the road, take it," and his classic - "I didn't really say all the things I said."
Every time I see a video of Kirk Gibson's home run in the 1988 World Series, I see many cars leaving the parking lot behind right field, as people who spent the money to go to a World Series game decided to beat the traffic, and in so doing, they missed one of the great moments in the history of baseball.
On June 11, we went to see the Salt Lake City Bees play at our Colorado Springs Sky Sox (AAA). It is very nice to have a minor league team playing just four miles from home. We ended up seeing what may have been the most amazing baseball game I have ever seen.
After the top of the sixth, it was 9-1 in favor of SLC. Even though I have often said it is not a good idea to leave a baseball game before it is over, I actually entertained the thought of leaving, but we decided to see what would happen in the bottom of the sixth. Wouldn't you know it - the Sky Sox scored 10 runs, including a three run homer and a grand slam, and took the lead 11-9. They added four more runs in the eighth inning and won 15-9.
The 6,500 foot altitude does help the offense. The ball carries for more distance, and breaking balls don’t break as much as at lower altitude. The dimensions of the stadium, especially the 350 feet down each foul line, are somewhat larger than many major league stadiums to take this into account.
Moral of the story: Don't leave a baseball game early. As Yogi Berra would say, "It ain't over 'til it's over." Of course, he also said, "If you come to a fork in the road, take it," and his classic - "I didn't really say all the things I said."
