(This following post was written by Power broadcast intern/ Media Relations assistant Mike Baggerman. I have not edited, reviewed, or really even read it.- Adam)
Greetings from Lexington!
Greetings from Lexington!
Well…not really, I’m actually at the offices of 601 Morris Street, reflecting my road trip to Lexington. First thing’s first: Many thanks to Adam for giving me the opportunity to go on the road by my lonesome to broadcast some games on my own. If you aren't aware of the life of minor league baseball, it’s a day in, day out grind for the entire staff. For me, I’m just fortunate enough to have this opportunity to get extra innings to call on the radio. As an added bonus, I’m glad Adam finally got some time away from the field to do his own thing. He hasn't had a day off all season. Whenever the team is on the road on a weekend, the staff at the stadium has off…Adam works.
Now…let’s talk Lexington.
I’m not sure what Adam really wants me to say during this blog post. He likes to talk about food, and the only “food” I found myself eating was Waffle House, which was right next to the hotel we stayed at. It was a quick walk, a cheap $5 breakfast, and highly entertaining place for people watching. Though, I will say that I felt out of place wearing a shirt that said “Drug Free”.
Anyway…
At Whitaker Bank Ballpark, I purchased their Bourbon Sandwich, which had the cheese and bacon inside the meatball, glazed with BBQ sauce as Adam mentioned in a previous posting. I didn’t mind the taste of it but the price for it was outrageous. It normally costs somewhere near $10 but I was fortunate enough to get it on the staff discount.
I was told by some Lexington staff members that about a week or two prior to our road trip to Kentucky, they had a concert series at their stadium. They had seating that included the regular stands, but also tons in the outfield grass. It was also raining during that time frame from what I was told, so the outfield grass was destroyed. I had the opportunity to see a before picture from Bret Lasky, the Delmarva radio broadcaster who saw it first hand. They've obviously made tons of improvements since, but you can clearly notice the patches in right field.
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| Picture from Delmarva's Bret Lasky |
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| Photo from WV's visit |
The road trip lasted from a Thursday to Sunday. From the games standpoint, the Power took three of the five games during the series. However, the first game on Thursday was a resumption of a game suspended at Appalachian Power Park earlier in the month. It was all sorts of confusing trying to explain that the game will be "officially played" on July 6, though it was completed on July 25. That was my major gripe about the series. Friday was your typical 7:05 game, Saturday was a doubleheader, and Sunday was an early 1:05 start.
Saturday was by far the most memorable. There was a capacity crowd at the ballgame that day and what made it better was the Power rowdies behind the dugout on the third base side. Lexington fans are your casual baseball fans, but the Power rowdies always make the games memorable. It’s not something everybody loves, but I think that for every old school baseball purist that doesn't like it, three modern fans love it. I’m part of the latter. They’re awesome, but leave the kids out of it.
My biggest complaint about the road trip was that I couldn't enjoy the area. One of my old bosses when I worked in Rochester, NY recommended this burger joint called “Sawyer’s” in downtown Lexington. My only chance to explore the area came on the Friday game, but I opted to take a jog and exercise for the first time in about a week. Because of the doubleheader Saturday, I didn't have time to do much else. I wanted to go out on that Saturday night, but because doing game notes after a doubleheader take a while to finish, I stayed up until roughly 2:00 before having to get up early again.
I’m all about trying to keep a PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) about everything. That doesn't mean being a happy-go-lucky person, it’s about trying to take the good out of the situations. For me professionally, absorbing knowledge is something I try to do with anyone I meet in the baseball industry. While there have obviously been those who I consider mentors and positive role models, there are others who I probably wouldn’t have taken as much from. I bring this up because I gained a much better appreciation for what Adam and I do on a daily basis after this road trip and seeing how other teams operate.
Adam likes to say “I’ll never have another bad day”. I can’t steal that quote. But I will steal this quote from pro-wrestler Colt Cabana
“Thanksssssssssssssss”
