I've got good news and bad news.

The good news is the first trip of the second half contained my recently anointed favorite park, Lakewood.  The bad news is that this journey also includes my now least favorite stop, Hagerstown.

First up, the good news.

Lakewood, as mentioned earlier, does things right.  Not just at the park either.  The amenities are solid from start to finish, with the exception of the hotel air conditioner that broke during our first trip there (which, in hindsight, might have broken because I never allowed it to stop running).

Within a short walk from the Toms River Clarion Inn is a Walmart, sushi place, movie theater, and a pizza place that our manager, Michael Ryan, seems to swear by.  I gave that a shot.  To the left is a slice of stuffed eggplant pizza.

Eggplant makes this healthy right?  Don't answer that.

The BlueClaws visiting clubhouse is one of the largest in the entire league and most definitely gives off a big league feel.

Comfy couches, a big screen television, and autograph stalkers that wait outside the door.

We also played a game during an appearance by one of baseball's all-time best mascots: the Philly Phanatic.  I have had the chance to interview Tom Burgoyne, the man inside the suit, and he is nearly as much of a character as the character is itself.

The Power continued their strong play against Lakewood during the series, taking three out of four.  The series should have been split, however, with two wins apiece.  West Virginia benefited from some ninth inning help in a 5-4 win in the Sunday finale from a player I feel is the league's worst defender this season.  I'll spare his name during this post, but just know that if he gave any effort whatsoever, the Power would not have won that game.

Now the bad news...

On to Municipal Stadium in Hagerstown.  Since this is my first year of traveling with the club, I have not had the... pleasure(?) of experiencing this ballpark from the 1930's.

Renovations have been done a few times, including an upgrade to the playing surface so that the Suns could get Bryce Harper during the 2011 season.  Hagerstown lags behind the rest of the league in attendance (44,353 at the time of this post- nearly half of the next fewest).  There is talk of this franchise moving to another city, possibly Fredericksburg, VA, in the near future.  That would be a coup for that city and the league, no doubt.

I do think Hagerstown and Municipal Stadium deserve a team.  A New York-Penn League team.  Short season ball with 38 games creates demand, gives the Suns natural rival (the Orioles affiliate in Aberdeen), and allows the staff to focus more on the fan experience.

I also find it... amazing... that multiple people who work for the Suns had been told that their experience was not indicative of life in Minor League Baseball.  They have been told that it is better everywhere else they might work.  I find this astounding.  Do you go to work and have senior staff tell you that you'll be better off working someplace else?  If you know that the place you work is lacking in some wayand you have the power to fix it, shouldn't you fix the problem?  Facility, amenities, and surroundings may have you behind the eight ball, but the human element can still make lemonade out of 80 year-old lemons.  Even if that lemonade tastes 110 proof... whatever it takes.

I'm not sure if that metaphor makes any sense.  Probably not.

As for my experience, it was less than lacking enjoyment for a few reasons.  They stem from the fact that I am apparently high-maintenance and someone thinks I am new to this business (please note the sarcasm).  Also I am afraid of heights (no sarcasm).

This is the spiral staircase to the press box.

This is my phone connection.  I'm going to stop there because the rest of this experience makes me mad.  My best friend talked me up into a fury and my wife talked me down to biting my tongue over the whole thing.  Feel free to read all the reviews of this ballpark and its' experiences.  

They are on the internet (making that a new inside joke... it really was a line that irritated me).

I had a great meal on the last day.  Crabcakes at Schula's Grill and Crab.  I had every intention about closing this post talking about the five mile (roundtrip) walk to get crabcakes.  Crabcakes and Football...  That is what Maryland does.  Once I got back from lunch, I changed my mind as to how this story ends.  First though, my crabcake.

And now the rest of the story.  Every stop along they way has autograph hounds.  Not just the fans inside the park waiting by the dugouts, but outside the clubhouse and by the bus as well.

This stop was a new low.  People in Hagerstown know where the teams stay and wait as players get on the bus daily.  On getaway day, stalkers... seekers... whatever... waited in the lobby as our guys sat around waiting for the bus to leave for the park.  After our guys were cordial enough to sign a whole sheet of cards that are clearly not just for you or your child, the seekers got in their cars and drove to the park to get a second of third sheet of autographs from the same players.  

I am baffled by this version of autograph hound.  I have been around the game long enough to see a lot of things, but never to this extent.  It was in a public space, yes, but borders on an invasion of privacy.

Another reason why I am happy to be calling the games rather than playing in them.  Then again... players don't have to worry about pulling tarps.

I'll never have another bad day.