# 9 Rookie League Baseball - Ogden Utah

 

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.