Wednesday, April 30, 2008
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When I was in Texas the weekend before last I stayed with my friend, Chris Grant (who I've known since 1995 or '96), his wife, Kelly, and his 19-month-old daughter, Eliana. Chris lives in Pfluggerville, which is about 20 minutes outside of Austin. Anyway, he's the Sports Editor there for the local paper and he runs a little column in it called "GRANT'S TOMB". Not sure what tombs have to do with sports, but that's what he calls it. While there we went to some triple-A ballgames in Round Rock, where the Express (the Houston Astros affiliate) plays. It was a damn fine experience. Minor League basseball kicks ass and the Express have a terrific little ballpark called Dell Diamond that's on par with many Major League ballparks-- it's just much smaller. And we had awesome seats just three rows behind the dugout on the firstbase line. Anyway, Chris wrote a little about that for his most recent installment of GRANT'S TOMB. Here it is, for yr reading pleasure:
When I was in Texas the weekend before last I stayed with my friend, Chris Grant (who I've known since 1995 or '96), his wife, Kelly, and his 19-month-old daughter, Eliana. Chris lives in Pfluggerville, which is about 20 minutes outside of Austin. Anyway, he's the Sports Editor there for the local paper and he runs a little column in it called "GRANT'S TOMB". Not sure what tombs have to do with sports, but that's what he calls it. While there we went to some triple-A ballgames in Round Rock, where the Express (the Houston Astros affiliate) plays. It was a damn fine experience. Minor League basseball kicks ass and the Express have a terrific little ballpark called Dell Diamond that's on par with many Major League ballparks-- it's just much smaller. And we had awesome seats just three rows behind the dugout on the firstbase line. Anyway, Chris wrote a little about that for his most recent installment of GRANT'S TOMB. Here it is, for yr reading pleasure:
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by Chris Grant
I had the great pleasure to spend three straight days at the Dell Diamond recently and while I'm sure there will be some dispute, I would like to crown myself (and my ball-game watching friend from California Logan Ryan Smith) the Express’ top two fans.
Believe it or not, it was not all that hard for us to earn the title. While the Express certainly have plenty of fans, I get the feeling there are few ‘die-harders’ among them and that makes me (and Logan as well) a little sad. You see, every baseball team needs die hard fans. High school teams have them, college teams do too and of course so do major league ball clubs. I guess it’s harder for minor league franchises, to attract a hardcore fan base, with the constant change of players, but that should not be an excuse. There is no need for idle chatter all game long, or a mass exodus of fans starting in the sixth inning. The Express are a first class operation with great players and a wonderful park and they deserve a first class following.
Thus, it is my plan (and Logan’s as well, even though he is working from his home office in San Francisco) to provide the Express with the die hard fans they so richly deserve. After appointing ourselves the team’s No. 1 and No. 2 fans (there’s some dispute as to which of us ranks where, but take our words that we’re numbers one and two) we quickly rounded up the Express’ third best fan, my daughter Eliana Grant.
Once the nouveau bandwagon was in tact there were other orders of business. We had to select a favorite player. Third baseman Mark Saccomanno was our unanimous choice. The guy has a great glove and a reliable bat. If you don’t like the ‘Big Sacc’ then you must not like baseball. In fact, ‘Sacc’ is such an impressive player one has to wonder how it is he’s not playing for the Astros. I suppose Mark Loretta and Geoff Blum are okay players but give me a break. Saccomanno is 27 years old and he’s coming off a year where he hit 22 home runs and drove in over 80 runs. He’s not getting any younger and it’s time for him to get his shot.
However, enough of the soap-box standing. Our second order of business was to come up with a rally cry for our beloved Express. I hate to say it, but this one we found to be a bit more difficult. In the end all we ended up with was something like, “go Express, woo, woo.” You know, like a train whistle. Hey, if you think you can do better, please do, we could use some help here.
Our final task proved to be the most difficult. It was to root the Express to victory. Apparently the team is kind of mired in a horrible stretch where the losses are outnumbering the wins, thus we did not get to take part in any victory celebrations. This, however, did not dash our spirits. After years of rooting for the Red Sox (me) and Giants (Logan) we realize being a fan is not always a good time. That, however, does not mean any of us are abandoning ship.
So, if you’re not too busy this summer, perhaps you’d like to join us out at the old ballpark. Maybe if enough folks fall in line behind the Express’ top three fans we can turn the Dell Diamond into the most hated place for opposing teams to play. Maybe we can give Saccomanno and his mates the home field advantage they need to win the Pacific Coast League. And maybe the higher ups working at the Express will recognize us as the great fans we are and offer us the chance to throw out the first pitch before some game.
A number one fan can dream, can’t he?
¶ 10:17 AM I had the great pleasure to spend three straight days at the Dell Diamond recently and while I'm sure there will be some dispute, I would like to crown myself (and my ball-game watching friend from California Logan Ryan Smith) the Express’ top two fans.
Believe it or not, it was not all that hard for us to earn the title. While the Express certainly have plenty of fans, I get the feeling there are few ‘die-harders’ among them and that makes me (and Logan as well) a little sad. You see, every baseball team needs die hard fans. High school teams have them, college teams do too and of course so do major league ball clubs. I guess it’s harder for minor league franchises, to attract a hardcore fan base, with the constant change of players, but that should not be an excuse. There is no need for idle chatter all game long, or a mass exodus of fans starting in the sixth inning. The Express are a first class operation with great players and a wonderful park and they deserve a first class following.
Thus, it is my plan (and Logan’s as well, even though he is working from his home office in San Francisco) to provide the Express with the die hard fans they so richly deserve. After appointing ourselves the team’s No. 1 and No. 2 fans (there’s some dispute as to which of us ranks where, but take our words that we’re numbers one and two) we quickly rounded up the Express’ third best fan, my daughter Eliana Grant.
Once the nouveau bandwagon was in tact there were other orders of business. We had to select a favorite player. Third baseman Mark Saccomanno was our unanimous choice. The guy has a great glove and a reliable bat. If you don’t like the ‘Big Sacc’ then you must not like baseball. In fact, ‘Sacc’ is such an impressive player one has to wonder how it is he’s not playing for the Astros. I suppose Mark Loretta and Geoff Blum are okay players but give me a break. Saccomanno is 27 years old and he’s coming off a year where he hit 22 home runs and drove in over 80 runs. He’s not getting any younger and it’s time for him to get his shot.
However, enough of the soap-box standing. Our second order of business was to come up with a rally cry for our beloved Express. I hate to say it, but this one we found to be a bit more difficult. In the end all we ended up with was something like, “go Express, woo, woo.” You know, like a train whistle. Hey, if you think you can do better, please do, we could use some help here.
Our final task proved to be the most difficult. It was to root the Express to victory. Apparently the team is kind of mired in a horrible stretch where the losses are outnumbering the wins, thus we did not get to take part in any victory celebrations. This, however, did not dash our spirits. After years of rooting for the Red Sox (me) and Giants (Logan) we realize being a fan is not always a good time. That, however, does not mean any of us are abandoning ship.
So, if you’re not too busy this summer, perhaps you’d like to join us out at the old ballpark. Maybe if enough folks fall in line behind the Express’ top three fans we can turn the Dell Diamond into the most hated place for opposing teams to play. Maybe we can give Saccomanno and his mates the home field advantage they need to win the Pacific Coast League. And maybe the higher ups working at the Express will recognize us as the great fans we are and offer us the chance to throw out the first pitch before some game.
A number one fan can dream, can’t he?
