Sep 04 2007
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
We’re back. Not that we went anywhere, but we’ve not managed to get anything posted here in a week. Uggh. On the bright side, we have several posts worth of material to catch up on, so let’s get started. For our “date night” last week, She and I headed down to Hadlock Field for the Sea Dogs Field of Dreams Fan Appreciation night. This is the second Dogs game we’ve caught–I think I mentioned that we took in a game from the right field bleachers back in May.
This time we had general admission seats for the Field of Dreams doubleheader and ended up sitting almost directly behind home plate. We weren’t sure whether they allowed cameras (they do), so we don’t have any pictures, but the theme for the night was that Hadlock Field is the Sea Dogs field of dreams (you know, the Kevin Costner baseball flick). The Dogs wore vintage 1920s Portland Eskimos uniforms and did the somewhat corny, but really pretty cool enter through the cornfield scene using some corn stalks out in center field. After thanking the great fans in Portland, the players actually came up into the stands to greet people. A very nice touch.
The first game of the doubleheader started around 6:00 PM on a nice sunny evening. The temperature was in the 70s and it was simply perfect baseball weather. We sat a few rows behind a particularly boisterous Sea Dogs fan. Her timing could have been a bit better, as I think she actually caused Portland pitchers to throw a few balls with her ill-timed “strike ‘em out” cheers, but she was really into the game, and that made us get into a bit more too. The Sea Dogs won convincingly in the opener (which are 7 innings in the minors), and the night cap of the twin bill was set to start at 9:00. We decided we’d had a good time and seen enough, so we didn’t stick around for that. We read the next day that they’d lost on four bases loaded walks, so I’m kinda glad we didn’t stay.
For dinner, there were the typical ball field eats available from the concession stands under the bleachers. We found out as we were wandering after the first game that the better food is available up the right field line, so if you’re looking for something nicer than a hot dog or slice of pizza, head that way. The better beer is also available out there too, though they actually have Shipyard seasonal in all of the concession stands (the Pumpkinhead Ale is very good). The prices are cheaper than Fenway, but this is still a ballpark, so don’t expect to find any bargains. At least the beer, at under $5.00, is not outrageously priced.
For $6.00 (general admission) to $8.00 (box seats), the Sea Dogs is quite the family entertainment bargain. Sadly, the season is just about over, so I don’t know if we’ll get to see another game this year. After losing at New Britain all weekend, they have a one game play-in tonight at Hadlock against New Hampshire. If they pull that one out, then perhaps She and I will try to score another couple of seats for the playoffs. Either way, we’re definitely looking into getting a package of tickets for next year. I don’t know that we’ll become season ticket holders, but 10 or 15 games would be great.