My First Minor League Game
August 1, 2004
by Chelan David

The Technicolor billboard touting a local amusement park in left-center field says it all: Fun Park. An apt description for a family fun center, as well as for Everett Memorial Stadium in Everett, Washington, home of the Class A Everett AquaSox.

Where else can you see a relay race with a frankfurter, frog and moose? Or club employees dancing a jig on the visitor’s dugout to intimidate the opposing team – to a John Denver song no less?

Affiliated with the Seattle Mariners, the AquaSox play in a stadium that is easily accessible via Interstate 5. On my inaugural visit to the park I quickly encountered the first of many pleasant surprises: free parking. Affordability is one of the distinct advantages between a minor league game and a major league game. Reserved seats with great views are the price of a movie ticket, beers are under $5, and for junior, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, granola bar and milk combo is only $5.

The organization takes pride in being family friendly and as my wife and I strolled to our seats, the grassy field outside the stadium resembled a giant playground with dozens of children sliding, hitting, missing, throwing, catching and dropping.

I was again pleasantly surprised when we took our seats. The view of the field and the surrounding vistas are both spectacular. Mount Baker looms over the left-center field wall and snow capped mountains and lush pine trees tower over the scoreboard in right field. For the first time in my life I wished I had brought my baseball glove as we were in prime position for a lazy pop foul between home plate and first base.

Plush seating and proximity to the players are not the only features that make a minor league game more intimate than a major league game. As the players warmed up, an AquaSox employee scoured the grandstands with a mop in search of any culinary miscues while a bow-tied collector of garbage trailed closely behind brandishing a giant, canary yellow bag. The AquaSox vibe is clear; sit back and enjoy the show while they take care of you.

Like a dinner show, every fan seems to be a participant at Memorial Stadium. No fewer than nine fans threw out ceremonial first pitches and they were followed by an entire elementary school choir who trooped out to perform a rousing rendition of the National Anthem for the 4,292 in attendance.

Once the game begins, the play is not always splendid, but it is spirited. The AquaSox manufacture a run in the first inning and the players spill out of the dugout to congratulate the base runner. Soon a face peers out of the scoreboard as he updates the score manually a la Wrigley Field.

Unfortunately, the game soon tilts towards the opposition’s favor but the atmosphere remains lively with the crowd urging the AquaSox on while shopping cart races, trivia contests and balloon tosses keep the faithful transfixed during breaks in the action. By the eighth inning, food vendors were shelling out burgers for a buck causing additional commotion.

While I was entertained by the Veek-like promotions, there were a few things I could have done without: the cacophonous country music, the preponderance of bunts with no one on base and the errant pickoff tosses to first base.

Offensively the AquaSox could not manage to punch enough runs home and defensively the play was less than stellar with three errors, two via bad pickoff throws. No boos cascaded from the bleachers, however, following the loss. Only cheers for appreciation of the effort given.

As the scoreboard operator tallied the final numbers I noticed a sign on the scoreboard that reads "hit the sign and win a suit." A perfect incentive for a player looking to eventually progress to the flashier big league team. At Everett Memorial Stadium the possibilities are endless, just like the clear blue sky stretching above the diamond on a warm summer afternoon.

(Chelan David is a volunteer staff writer for 2 Walls Webzine)