i go to ballparks

Baseball on the Fourth of July....
with my Uncle Kevin

Everett Merchants vs. Skagit Eagles
July 3, 2006 Skagit Valley Dream Field Mount Vernon, WA.

Aloha Knights vs. Bellingham Bells
July 4, 2006 Joe Martin Field Bellingham, WA.


All through the months of early 2006, I looked forward to the summer of this year when I planned on going on many road trips to baseball fields wherever I could find them. Majors, minors, collegiate...whatever. I was going. I would be on the internet for hours looking up schedules and leagues to see where and when I could cobble an itinerary. I had so many possible trips drawn up. The big trip would be Alaska in July: see the ballparks of the Alaska Baseball League and visit my in-laws throughout the state. When I would return in late July, trips whenever I felt like it. One-day trips, weekends, long term...sky was the limit.

The Fourth of July weekend came and I thought I could sneak in some collegiate games. As luck would have it, I could do a game in Mt. Vernon and another one in Bellingham. Nice little road trip to get me in the mode for Alaska and such. Booked a motel in Mt. Vernon and everything was golden. Baseball on the Fourth of July in small town America. Nice start, I thought.

The morning of July 3 was uneventful. No major packing or planning really had to be done: a change of clothes and some notebooks and that's it. Made sure the cats had plenty of food and water, car was gassed up. Game time in Mt. Vernon was 5:30 in the afternoon so I had plenty of time to get there.

And then the phone rang. My uncle, Kevin, was calling to see what I was doing for the holiday. I told him of my plans and that I was booked up. "Baseball in Mt. Vernon and Belligham? They have teams?", he asked. I told him of the leagues the towns belonged to (the Pacific International League and West Coast Collegiate Baseball League, repectively) and what I knew of their history. Kev was intrigued and asked if he could tag along. He thought it might be good to get out for a night away from his duties as husband, father, and grandfather. I hesitated for a bit. I felt like I just wanted to be by myself. Kev can sometimes get with you and change your plans, not that that is a bad thing. Well, what plans did I really have? As long as we made it to these ballparks for the game, that's all that mattered. And then I thought it would be great to have Kev's influence and input on the adventure. "Sure.", I said and plans were set to pick him up. This was going to be fun, we agreed.

We got on the road and my worries of Kev changing plans came out front and center. I said that I had reservations for a motel in Mt. Vernon. Kev suggested we break it and stay up in Bellingham. I told him that I had made the arrangements online and that I couldn't break it without forfeiting some money. "Pish posh..." Kev countered, or something to that effect. Kev then got on his cell phone, called up the motel, and said he was me and that someone in our family was sick and that I couldn't make it tonight. He said "thank you" and hung up. "All settled , Paul, and she mentioned nothing of you owing any money." Kev smiled. Well, OK. I wasn't married to the idea of Mt. Vernon anyway.

And then it dawned on me: Kevin lived in Mt. Vernon for two years when he was in high school. His father, my grandfather, bought and operated a laundry ther in the late sixties and he uprooted his family from Bainbridge Island to live there, much to my grandmother's and Kev's chagrin. "That's why you don't want to stay in Mt. Vernon, right? You hate the place." Kev laughed and concurred. He hates the town, hated his experience there, didn't much care for the people, etc. The trip up north was full of stories of the two years he lived there, how he loved the beauty of the land but yet how he couldn't wait to leave.The feeling he always had that the town was "dead end". Mt. Vernon is an agricultural town, then and now, and after coming from Bainbridge Island this type of living was not to my uncle's liking (then again, mine also). He even said that everytime he drives through the town when he is on I-5, he has to flip off the downtown area, which he did again when we entered. "Well, is it alright that we're going to a baseball game there?", I had to ask. "Oh, sure. But we will be leaving.", he said most assuredly.

So we headed to Skagit Valley Community College where Skagit Valley Dream Field was located.. I was a little wary of the "dream" in the name of the field. Is this a blatent attempt to cash in on the feelings of the movie and what baseball means even to those here in Skagit County, Washington? After a long walk from a parking lot and through a park, you enter the field and immediately realize the name. The Seattle Mariners and Boeing have a program called "Dream Fields" where they have spent money to upgrade alll kinds of baseball fields, from Little League to collegiate, and Skagit Valley was completed two years ago. A permanent sign in right field promotes the project and Boeing and the Mariners. The field has beautiful views of the North Cascades and the lush land around it. The ballpark had perfect grass and infield. It sort of looked out of place...what's a nice stadium like this doing at a community college? A nice concrete grandstand behind home plate. A hot, sunny late afternoon just augmented the feeling that this was good decision to come here.

The atmosphere at Dream Field is very laid back. The ticket and concession employees are teenagers who probaly wished they weren't there but were friendly. The concession were located in a small trailer with hot dogs on a rotisserie that were getting too black, red vines, peanuts, and tubs of drinks. The PA announcer was low key and gave you just enough information along with pleas for people to return foul balls (an army ten year-old boys were poised around the perimeter of the park...apparently a foul ball gets you a free item from the concession stand...make out like a bandit, those kids). Picnic tables lined the outfield lines and the one thing that really grabbed me, especially in this day and age, was there were no lights in the park (old time baseball, indeed).

The crowd was very silent and numbered about sixty or so. Most were scouts, parents, or girlfriends. No one cheering or yelling for either team. The feeling was of encouragement for all to do well. It was perfect to hear the sounds of the game. We could hear the umpires very clearly and the coaches barking instructions. The game itself was a wonderful chess match as Skagit took an early 2-0 lead and then Everett scored once in the eighth and again in the ninth to tie the game and it remained that way into the tenth when Kev and I decided to leave (the darkness was also approaching and the game was probably going to be called soon anyway...uh, huh: and then I found out Skagit won the game in the bottom of the tenth...when will I ever learn not to leave a game before it is over? probably never...).
We were both very hungry and, thanks to Kevin, we had to find a place to stay. A great place to watch a game, this Skagit Dream Field, and a good experience. Now, on the road to Bellingham.

Rather than go I-5 up, we ventured up north via Chuckanut Drive. If you are ever up in northwestern Washington, you should take this drive. It starts off cutting through farmland and the pushes into the Samish Mountains and then hugs along the coastline of Chuckanut Bay. Wonderful views of the San Juans, even at sunset. Consider it a must. Kev led me to the town of Everson and the Everson Inn where we ate a nice pub dinner, had a few beers, and played shuffleboard (Kev overtook my early lead to win the game). Got into Bellingham, immediately found a motel, and crashed.

I lived in Bellingham in 1988 so I woke up early before Kev and drove around the town and saw what was new, what was different, what was the same...my way of waking up, I guess. Picked up Kev after a few hours and had breakfast in the Fairhaven district. Fairhaven is an artsy, hippie-esque place with lots of restaurants, furniture and craft shops, and of course a wonderful bookshop. Kev and I meandered around for a while and then Kev wanted to find a place to watch the Germany/Italy World Cup match. We were recomended to a the Boundary Bay Brewpub downtown so there we went. Brew and soccer before baseball...but of course.

Kev and I got to the ballpark just before the firat pitch. The Bellingham Bells were the home team and Joe Martin Field is their stadium. The whole stadium district there in Bellingham ws being remodeled so there was lots of yellow tape and plywood everywhere. Joe Martin had been hosting ballgames since the 40's and it definitely needed a makeover. The old wooden grandstand, stretching from first to third, was being sanded and repainted. Where Skagit was a lush green field, Joe Martin was a serviceable field with strange valleys in the outfield and rough infield. The PA announcer here was loud and always selling something. Where Skagit was quiet and about the game, Joe Martin was like any other ballpark selling the baseball amusement park. A yellow bird in a Bells uniform walked around enticing children. Smells of hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill were welcome. A hidden table off of first base was the beer garden. Nothing was over four dollars for the concessions. A large burm on the left field foul pole was a great place to sit and soak in the sun or let the kids run around. A nice 80* day. And as Kev and I kept telling each other, we were doing the perfect American ritual: baseball on the Fourth of July. "Happy 4th, Paul." "Happy Independence Day, Kev."

The thing that struck me though watching the game was the difference in the two teams playing. Bellingham had uniforms that didn't seem right. Not all the players were wearing matching hats: some had blue hats with a "B" in the center, some had red. Now, I understand that this is a two month collegiate league and wherever you can cut corners or get cheap uniforms is understandable (Skagit and Everett had uniforms that were definitely hand-me-downs). But the opposing team was the Aloha Knights, a team that played out of Gresham, Oregon. Their colors were red, black, and white and their attire looked incredibly sharp. Everyone matched and, frankly, they looked better than some major league teams. Then it hit me: this is a team from Oregon...also known as Nike-land. Yep, there were a bunch of swooshes all over their uniforms, caps, and footwear. Then the name: Knights. Phil Knight, the owner of Nike. (Kev actually talked to a Knight player and said that the team was actually owned by Mr. Knight's wife but, yes, the team name was an honor to themselves ). Oh, yes, baseball and Nike. And it's the 4th. Proud to be an American.

But good uniforms didn't help Aloha that day. Bellingham scored three runs early and then added two more to win the game 5-0. By that point, Kev and I were itching to get back home. We both had 4th functions to attend to that night so we got on the road. We talked about how cool it was to see baseball and the ballparks here and how a quick road trip can just perk up your senses. We talked of doing it again. I mentioned my upcoming Alaska trip and Kev told me to take lots of notes and pictures. It was a good time. Kev did add his Kev-ness to this trip and I was glad we did it.

And as we drove through Mt. Vernon on our way to Seattle, Kevin flipped off the city center once again.

posted by paul shipp @ 11:52 AM