While we were in Ogden Utah we saw two rookie league
baseball games. Rookie ball is the lowest minor-league that is affiliated with
major-league baseball in the US at least. The stadium was a few blocks away
from our hotel so we could walk there. The games were between the Billings Mustangs
the Cincinnati Reds affiliate and the Ogden Raptors the affiliate of the LA
Dodgers.
Game one
We had a really good lunch at lucky Slice Pizza and walked
past the stadium to get tickets. Then went back to the hotel for a nap and then
back to the stadium at 6 PM. On this night they had a bobblehead giveaway which
was of their owner.
Once we were inside the stadium there was their wall of
fame with all of their prominent former players and coaches including Corey
Seager, Tommy Lasorda, Steve Garvey and Prince Fielder among others. Also in
the stadium there were various baseball quotes which were neat to see and read. Once we were done looking around we took the small elevator up to an open
walkway where the handicap seats were on the third base side. Immediately the
game started out with excitement when a Billings player thought he hit a
homerun. However the ump called it foul, the batter, third-base coach and
manager argued for a while. I couldn’t see what happened I just heard a loud thud
and couldn’t tell if it was fair or foul. Either way the ump said it was foul.
After this the game settled down and eventually the Ogden team won which is
unfortunate since they’re a Dodgers team
Game two
Game two was on a Sunday in the late afternoon so we had
brunch at a Mexican restaurant and had a bit of a rest and then back for the
game at 4 PM. For this game the stadium was almost empty. It was a very
low-scoring game and not too exciting until late in the game when one player
was hit by a pitch. He then told the pitcher what he thought and the benches and
bullpens cleared. Both teams just had a somewhat heated discussion and not a
real fight so that was that. The game went into extra innings where they were
using a new rule where each team starts each inning with a runner at second
base. I don’t like this rule but that’s a story for another day. A few innings later
the Ogden team won the game.
Going to minor league baseball games is one of my favorite
things to do even if it’s teams I don’t care about or players I’ve never heard
of and this trip was no exception and I had quite a bit of fun.
