A good way to start our Memorial Day Weekend, we figured, was a trip with Elisabeth and George Three for some good, old-fashioned baseball.
And so my dear wife Karen and I piled into George’s car, Elisabeth at the wheel, for Saturday night’s Triple-A game between our Syracuse Mets and the Yankees’ top minor-league squad from down the road in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Rail Riders. (Yes, three of us had practiced slightly for ballpark beers at the house, with my daughter electing to be the smart and safe driver.)
George had visited the box office ahead of time, scoring us seats very close to where the four of us had taken roots for the full chill of opening day. This gave us a great view of the visiting team’s quick start.
By the end of the top of the first, the visitors had put up four runs. Oy.
The hitting went on, and the Mets had a little life, too.
Fan favorite Tim Tebow walloped a double to center field that just missed being a home run.
Hover over a gallery photo for a description. Click on an image for an enlarged slide show.
Tebow was ready to hustle on the basepath even when the next Syracuse hitter watched his pop fly drift in the winds for too long. His gaze in the batter’s box cost him and the squad. When the catcher missed the ball in fair play, he was able to throw the runner out at first. If the guy had been running from the start, he’d have contributed to the rally. Learn in Triple A, please and thank you.
It felt good to be immersed in a block of Mets fans without having to take that trip down to Queens to see the parent squad. Some Yankees fans were cheering for their Triple-A club, yes. Including George.
That made it interesting when the Mets were rallying in the bottom of the fifth.
But another kind of storm was brewing. Stadium workers and an announcement on the PA had asked all fans to take cover on the concourse because of the storm coming in from left field.
The teams kept playing. The Mets pulled within 13-12.
They were not kidding about that storm. I had to capture it on video from my iPhone 8.
We waiting on the concourse for about a half-hour. They announced that the fireworks after the game would hot happen regardless, sorry, but they still hoped to continue the game when the storm passed.
The almost four hours we’d spent at the park was already enough. The two big umbrellas George had brought in from his car were great on the way back out.
When I checked online later, I saw that they indeed had resumed. Bad news for Mets fans. After a 1 hour, 39-minute delay, the result was a 17-12 Rail Riders win.
Happy Memorial Day, all. May a little baseball visit your life, but the storms pass you by.
Nice that you have this so close. Sorry for the rain…!
Happy Memorial Day!
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The ballpark is so close we can hear the fireworks, Nance. Lucky us!
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Happy Memorial Day to you and yours, Mark! ❤
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We remember, Ann. Thank you, too.
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Thanks for the pics of a good day at the ballpark, win or lose. Let’s Go Mets!
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Thanks, Mike. It is rewarding having our Mets Triple A team here in Syracuse for sure.
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what a wonderful Memorial Day weekend activity for all! and that’s a long delay –
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We waited halfway through it and said that was enough time at the ballpark, Beth. Happy Memorial Day to you, my friend.
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