Sunday, April 15, 2007

Rained out in Dayton














Yesterday, I decided to make a trip up to Dayton to watch a little Midwest League A-ball, but it was not to be. The contest between the Dragons and Fort Wayne Wizards was rained out, and will be made up in a doubleheader when the teams meet again in mid-May. I shall return in the first week of June, since I get a ticket to an upcoming game in exchange.

In the brief time I was there standing in the concourse, protected from the wind and rain, I must say I was pretty impressed with the ballpark. Dayton is a ghosttown, and Fifth Third Field definitely proved to be the "diamond in the rough," so to speak. The Dragons have sold out over 500 consecutive games, and aside from the fact that I'm sure that there is not much else to do in Dayton, a large part of it is probably the quality of the stadium experience (also that the Dragons are the class A affiliate of the Reds, who are a mere 45 minutes south). If I was walking into this stadium not knowing anything about the team, I would have honestly thought it was a AAA stadium; it reminded me a lot of the Rochester Red Wings stadium, minus the nice scenery. Most of the A-ball and independent league fields ive been at contain little more than 15 rows of bleachers on either side and a cheap 9-inning tally in the outfield. But this was a very nice park, with a pretty outstanding little team shop (the Dragon Den) from which I acquired a T-shirt. I look forward to my return visit to actually see some game action from my right field GA lawn seat. And perhaps while I come back next time, I'll make a stop at the neighboring Mendelsohn's Furniture Warehouse for a nice ottoman.

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS:
Twins W (7-4)
Brewers W (6-4)
Reds L (6-5)

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