Lexington Legends Opening Day 2012

I went to the first couple of Legends games this year.  I am sure I will be at many more games, but the first few are always special.

A few notes-

There was a 15 year old girl who sang the national anthem on opening night and nailed it.  perfect.

I tip my hat to the Lexington Herald Leader who put her picture in the paper the next day.  I actually clipped it and might put a scan up later.  The paper did a good job of covering the Legends opening day.

The charitable group "Wig Out" was there.  I like this group a lot.  They raise money to help people who have gone through chemotherapy and may lose their hair get a wig.

Go to their web site and read more about what they do:

http://wigoutinc.org/


Back to the action at the park.

The team was playing appropriate music and sound effects, as usual.  I was glad to hear the old video game sound effect of "finish him" whenever the other teams batter had two strikes.

Oh, at one point, Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" was played over the PA system.  Julio Vinas, the manager for the Kannapolis Intimidators, immediately showed his love of vintage hair band music by holding up two fingers and rocking out!  Seriously!  Check out the picture!  OK, maybe he was just signaling to his players that there were two outs in the half inning.

The Legends guaranteed that the team would win opening night, and if they lost, you could come back for free for night number two!

I don't want to say that I was hoping that my home town team the Legends would lose, but....  free baseball is free baseball.

Briggs Stadium- Detroit MI.

I never made it to a game here, but I have been to the lot where it once was (see previous post).

I found this old undated postcard recently and thought it looked great!

Inside the Astrodome- Houston Astros

This card was sent in July of 1966.

The back reads-
INSIDE THE ASTRODOME- The New York Yankees line up along the third baseline, The Houston Astros on the first baseline on April 9, 1965 for the OPENING GAME... the first major league baseball game in history played under a roof. A standing-room only crowd was on hand.

Bowling Green Hot Rods

Bolwing Green Hot Rods Easter Egg Hunt

This past weekend, we made it out to Bowling Green to catch a Hot Rods game!

This is a great park, very community friendly!

When I went to pick up our tickets, I realized that they were having a church sponsored Easter Egg Hunt!

I was a bit surprised to see all of the eggs in the outfield. I know most parks are very careful about keeping people off of the grass.

I didn't stick around to see the kids hunting for their eggs, but it was still a cool thing to see eggs in the outfield!

Crosley Field "Home of the Cincinnati Reds"

It is getting harder to find authentic Crosley Field items from the days when it was still around!

Home of the Reds from 1912-1970!

West Virginia Power Open House

Saturday the West Virginia Power held a very nice event for fans at their ballpark.

I really enjoy getting over to Appalachian Power Park for games during the year. The place is very cozy and casual. The staff is cool and laid back.

We got there early, and the weather wasn't exactly perfect, so we were among the first few in the doors.

Luckily, being among the first group in, we were given a very thorough and informative tour of the park by the team's broadcaster, Adam Marco!

I know, parks at the A level are pretty small compared to their major league parent clubs. Still, there is a lot to see, and getting the chance to actually step inside of the dugout, broadcast booth and suites is pretty exciting. To me, that stuff never gets old!

I was glad that Adam was giving us our tour, and I asked him about some of his personal favorite moments while working on the radio. He said that interviewing James Best from the Dukes of Hazzard was pretty cool. I asked him about his favorite promotions at the park, and he said that he enjoyed it when baseball legends come out to the park. he mentioned that he will enjoy the game at Appalachian Power Park on Friday April 27th, when Dave parker, Steve Blass and Kent Tekulve will be appearing!

Adam showed us the area (still under a bit of construction) where their new "Legends Club" will

be. It looks like this area will mostly be used for larger groups. Parties can be held there and it

will include a buffet during the game. Right now tickets can be bought in packages or the suite can be reserved for groups. I liked the space and the benefits of this more than at some other parks.

Also, Quaker Steak and Lube will be operating out of the former Power Alley Grill location! I love their wings.

The team was giving out samples of food that it will be serving during games this year. There are a couple if items I will be looking forward to at games this year. Apple sausage for one.

This was a really nice event in Charleston. I am looking forward to catching some games here this season.

wvpower.com

Barry Bonds

I SHOULD be seeing my first game of the season this weekend!

I mentioned earlier that I was going through some old photos to put up while I wait for the season to start.

Here is a short series of photos of Barry Bonds in Arizona, standing around in the outfield. Enjoy.