Tonight was the home opener for the independent American Association St. Paul Saints and, of course, I was in attendance. Under threatening skies, the Saints beat the Sioux City Xplorers 10-4 on a strong pitching performance from Charlie Ruud and a three run homer by new first baseman Josue Lopez. Most of the team had changed since last year so it'll time some time to get used to the new faces and names.
Both Peter and I love college, independent, and minor league ball for many reasons. First, the tickets are always cheap, usually $4 for a Saints game, and it is very easy to upgrade your seats. Food and beverages are more reasonably priced too. Another reason is that the players always give their all even though they are playing for very little or no money. The best part of these games, however, is the awesome promotions. At tonight's game I won three prizes for actions that occurred during the game. When Saints' DH Adam Olow tripled in the first inning I won a $10 coupon to Dick's Sporting Goods because Olow was the Dick's Pick to Click. Then when SS Brian Sprout recorded three hits I won a free Chilito from Zantigo. I've never heard of this restaurant and have no idea what a chilito is but, if it's free, it's me. Finally, when a Saint slide across home plate in the eighth inning I won a free Slider from White Castle. I have no intention of using any of these prizes but they're still nice.
Saints fans, we'll see ya, tomorrow night for game two of the series.
Tonight's MLB results:
Brewers 6, Phillies 8 (25-13, 6.5 games up in NL Central)
Reds 1, Padres 7 (13-24, 10.5 GB NL Central)
Twins off (18-19, 5 GB AL Central)
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
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