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May 26, 2015 West Coast By UsWe Were Told Not To Come HereWe were told not to come here. Friends and followers alike heeded warnings about its dilapidated state. They said, “Why are you going there? Just spend a few extra days in San Francisco. The Giants have a beautiful stadium. You’d love it.” Only a few sung its praises, our expectations formed through the underwhelming experiences of others, but we are not your conventional baseball fans and this is not your father’s baseball road trip. We ignored these passionate calls for prudence, eager to lay our eyes upon the horror show we couldn’t stand to turn away from. Through the desert and mountains we drove until it appeared, like a dim lighthouse: Bakersfield in all its beauty.
Built in 1941, Sam Lynn Ballpark in Bakersfield, California is easily one of the oldest stadiums in professional baseball. But unlike Wrigley and Fenway, there is no income to finance luxurious upgrades. While much of the park has probably been refurbished in one way or another since 1941, it doesn’t feel like anything in the park has been refurbished since 1942. The dimensions are nuts (345 feet to dead center field) and the dugouts are further from home plate than any other field I’ve ever seen at either the pro or amateur level. The press box is essentially a sea container with windows, the batting cages look like an abandoned mini golf course, and the wooden center field fence has literally disintegrated over time. Physically, this stadium is unquestionably one of the most rundown in all of professional baseball. But what Bakersfield lacks in modern amenities, it makes up for in sincerity.
In the two or three years we’ve been “reporting” on “baseball”, we’ve traveled to over 20 minor league stadiums. We’ve come to realize that our best experiences come at places like Bakersfield. Last year we visited the Double-A Huntsville Stars in the team’s final year before relocating to Biloxi. While the park was a decaying deathtrap and the reported audience of 700 was overstated by about 400, our time there was awesome because the organization, its front office, and its staff didn’t take itself too seriously. Bakersfield was the same way.
From the moment we arrived we knew this was going to be a different animal. We picked up our credentials at a ticket window that looked like an 18th century pirate prison. Everything in the team store was crazy cheap; I got a gray Blaze dry-fit polo for ten bucks and Jordan bought two bobbleheads—Josh Hamilton and Ken Griffey Sr.—for five bucks a piece. Oh, and the team offices and away clubhouse are basically in sheds behind the first base stands.
The front office isn’t oblivious to their surroundings. They fully understand the ridiculousness of their situation. They know having the visiting clubhouse in a trailer outside of the stadium isn’t ideal. They know it’s absurd that a game last week was delayed by an hour because a festival next door was shooting fireworks above the batter's eye in center. They know some of the players are not so pleased that they have to spend their early 20’s in Bakersfield, California. But at the end of the day, the crew in Bakersfield and the ballpark itself combine to provide an experience unlike almost anything else you can find in professional sports. It seemed like the park’s surreal physical state afforded the front office staff the opportunity to carry themselves in a much more genuine and personal way.
Our time at Sam Lynn made us realize that the entire Bakersfield Blaze situation operates outside of traditional sports culture. Sure, it is raggedy, old, and falling apart. But the whole place has a certain magic to it that we couldn’t ignore. Baseball is a business, as it has always been and always will be. But from time to time, it is extremely rewarding to visit a place independent of that ever-present reality. Keep doing you, Bakersfield, and don’t change a thing. –Jake Mintz
Usually when we come to minor league stadiums, we like to interview players. However, our appreciation for Sam Lynn Ballpark, and the kind folks who work there, pushed us in another direction. Dan Besbris, Bakersfield’s Director of Media Relations and radio broadcaster, introduced us to gentleman known as “Froggy”. Froggy sells programs right inside the entrance to the park and has become a mainstay at Sam Lynn for the past two decades. He’s earned a fair bit of attention from local media outlets over the past few seasons and deservedly so: his fellow employees love him, the fans love him, and even the players recognize how essential Froggy is to the overall Bakersfield experience. We were lucky enough to ask him a few questions.
On what he did when he first started working for Bakersfield in 1997: I didn't grow up in Bakersfield; I grew up in San Jose area and then came down to Bakersfield. They needed a program seller so I did that, but I've done a lot of other things too around the park for about 18 years now.
On the best player he's seen in all his years at Bakersfield: I think Billy Hamilton would be the best player I've ever seen. He stole a lot of bases and he's still doing it in the big leagues.
On whether Billy Hamilton ever stole one of his programs: No.
On the difference between all the affiliates over the years: When I started in '97, we were the Giants. Then we had Tampa, then the Rangers, then the Reds, now it's been Seattle for two years. It hasn't been different with the different teams. Some people that work here will say, you know, if Froggy's not here, then we should just close the gates and close the game down because he's not here.
On the craziest California League game he's seen: If you're talking about extra-innings, I have been at games where I didn't get out of here until midnight, home by 1:30, get to bed at like 2 AM because the game is over so late. In terms of a lot of runs, we've had Chris Davis and Josh Hamilton hit over the monster in center field. That's at least, you know, 400-something miles.
On whether he has ever hit it over the monster in center field: No.
–Jordan Shusterman
Game Notes
Actually, probably a fair number of them.
Counters -Meals at In-N-Out: 2 -Mexican Food Meals: 4 -Dr. Peppers consumed: Jake - 16/Jordan - 14 -Times we listened to Evergreen by Westlife: 1
What’s next
After the game, we planned on driving to Barstow, where we would spend the night and drive to Vegas in the morning. But the bright lights of the Sin City got the better of us and we sped right through Barstow and decided to spend the night in Vegas instead. If you’ve seen The Hangover, you know exactly what not to expect from us while we are here. We plan on galavanting around Vegas, but considering we aren’t 21, the scope of our galavanting will be severely restricted. We do plan on checking out Bryce Harper’s high school baseball field, and the spot where he hit that 570-foot dinger. If the city is still standing by nightfall, we’ll head over to Cashman Field to catch some raucous Triple-A action between the Colorado Springs Sky Sox and the Las Vegas 51’s.
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You know that's Sterling Archer, not Burt Reynolds.