Week seven is in the books. I've reached the halfway mark in my time with the Power this summer. I can't begin to wrap my mind around that. I'm halfway done here. I decided it was time to reflect and the first two days this week helped me do that.
Sunday was a double header to make up from Saturday night's cancelation. Two seven inning games under the mid-june sun. That's baseball, man. That's baseball.
We have converted my camera that usually is locked down in the pit to a wireless camera. So now, instead of standing in the dugout for the entire game, I begin the game on the field for lineups and transition to the stands where I do everything that I usually did. That included following the batters as they walk up to the plate and getting hero shots when they get on base, along with occasional and hard to get crowd shots. The perspective from the dugout simply isn't the best for crowd shots. Now, on top of everything that I usually did, I get crowd shots and follow our MC around for the between-inning promotions.
Technically, during the innings, I don't have to do anything. I can go sit in the press box and relax in the air conditioning and take a breather. My primary responsibility is to get shots in between innings. I occasionally walk back to get a drink of water, but nothing more than that. I'm getting paid to help contribute to the best
possible production that we can put on for the fans. Not to sit in air conditioning. That includes getting unique angles of the game while it's happening. That's what I try and do. Otherwise, our director only has one camera angle to choose from. There's not much diversity on the video board and it gets boring to look at the same angle of the batter walking up again and again.
I love the wireless camera. Not just because I get to get different angles of the action, but because I get to interact with the fans more. The crowd was pretty light Sunday, but Monday featured an above-average and energetic crowd for a Monday night.
People look at you differently when you have a camera. I've always known this and have experienced it before, but not to the capacity that I do with a live video board. People know to either avoid you or stay close to get the best chance at seeing themselves on the video board.
I loved having the chance to interact with the fans Monday night. It made me remember why I'm here and why I'm pursuing the career that I am.
Monday night, I had the chance to talk with a little league team celebrating a great season, an energetic youth softball team on a night out, a family celebrating their sons birthday (he ran away when they brought me over to try and get him on the video board), a youth group, visitors from Charlotte, NC and so many more people.
I chatted with Pablo Reyes and Tito Polo's biggest fans and told them a couple funny stories about each guy. I met a little girl and her parents celebrating her 9-month birthday. I talked with a single mother and her son who were at their first game together of the season.
Not only did I have the chance to talk with and get to know some of these fans, but I also made some of their nights. Not just by throwing their faces on the video board. All I did was give out a few baseballs that I found throughout the day. It was a long and rainy day that required multiple tarp pulls. During the day, I managed to collect four baseballs and throw them in my backpack with the intention on giving them out during the game.
After our final tarp pull after gates already opened, I found a fifth ball and tossed it to a young kid with his two friends. They weren't looking when I tossed the kid the ball and laughed and smiled at their well-fortuned buddy after he showed off his souvenir. I then gave two of my other four out before the game started to a couple shy kids who came back and thanked me after their parents persuaded them to.
As the game went into the 8th inning, I still had two baseballs left. Walking to the press box, I saw a few kids standing beside the box waiting for a foul ball. Only one of them had a glove and he was the one that noticed me and my camera as I walked by him. I asked him if he could catch with his glove and when he nodded, I tossed him the ball. He thanked me multiple times as I walked away and once more when I passed him later in the night.
During the 9th inning, the crowd was starting to make their way to the gates, freeing up more seats in the stands. I spotted a little girl with pigtails and a purple and pink baseball glove sitting four seats in the row behind the first base dugout. Her parents occupied the two seats beside her, leaving the end seat vacant. I walked down to the front row one section over to shoot the first couple batters of the inning walking up to the plate. I then began heading back up to the concourse to relocate and stopped at their row. I gave the ball to her mother and said it was for the little girl. When she gave the ball to her daughter, she couldn't help but smile from ear to ear as her jaw dropped to the floor. The look on her face was priceless. She raised it up in the air and showed it off to the people around her. That was the highlight of my night.
I loved everything about working the wireless camera. I was more sweaty and exhausted after Monday's game than any other before it. I had a bruise on my right shoulder from where the camera sits. It was worth it. Not just because I made people's nights and not just because I got to interact with fans. But because it reminded me the reason that I'm here and the reason that I'm in this field.
Minor League Baseball is as much of a sporting industry as it is an entertainment industry. Sure, you want the best product on the field from the players. Sure, some of them may make it to the Big Leagues some day. And that's why some of the fans come to watch the games. But for most of them, it's about the entire experience. It's about the food, the friendships, the family time, the laughs and the memories. Not about balls and strikes, swings and misses and outs and runs.
The fans are there for the overall show. They don't care if you're running on fumes during game seven of a seven game homestand. That doesn't matter. Just because it's just another game for you, doesn't mean that it is for them. They could be, like many that I have talked to were, at their first game ever. You want to do everything in your power to make it an enjoyable and memorable experience for them so that they come back again. My job is to do my very best every night to make memories for fans who may be at their first game. It's a sports industry, an entertainment industry and a memory making industry.
When I was thinking about this, I tried to think back to all the baseball games I've been to in my lifetime. I can remember the outcome of a few memorable ones. I can remember a few specific plays from a few of them. But for the most part, even as a huge fan of baseball, a good majority of my memories from baseball aren't from the field. They're from the people that I was with, the laughs that I had and the overall experience at the game. I have a hard time remembering games I went to last season off the top of my head, but I can tell you specific stories from separate games about the people that I was with, where I sat or what we did.
I don't know how many of the people that I gave a baseball to Monday night will remember the outcome of the game (a 5-2 loss). But there's a better chance that some of them will remember me giving them or their kid a used scuffed-up baseball. There's a better chance that some of them will remember getting on the video board as they did the chicken dance. There's a better chance that some of them will remember participating in a between-inning promotion.
At the end of the day, it's not about balls and strikes, runs and outs. It's about the laughs shared and the memories made.
Life is a lot like baseball in the same way. At the end of the day, when you're gone, people aren't going to necessarily remember the little successes and failures, or your balls and strikes. They'll remember your smile, the laughs they shared with you and the memories you created.
I loved interacting with the fans at the park. I got to know them used it as a chance to practice my interviewing skills. I love interviewing people, even if it isn't for a story. In my mind, I want to hear what the other person has to say. If they say something interesting, I want to follow up on that. It makes me want to work on my feature writing even more. I love talking to people and hearing their stories and having the chance to share those stories with others.
I had the chance to talk with a scout with the Atlanta Braves before a game last week. In his mind, I was a kid interested in the game of baseball and trying to learn how scouts do things. In my mind, I was interviewing him. Picking his brain to figure out how it works, asking him questions to learn more about scouting and what he's looking for in a player. Comparing today's baseball with the one that he began working in 35 years ago. It was a good ten minute conversation. If I was writing a story on scouts, I would have at least a dozen good quotes from him to use in a story.
Those one-on-one conversations, or interviews, is what I love doing. I love getting an answer out of people and I love hearing what they have to say about things. I've done a lot of "interviewing" in Charleston with die-hard local fans, visitors and every-day people. If I could summarize the people of Charleston in two words, it would be passionate and hospitable.
I read that Charleston is called, "The North's most southern city and the South's most Northern city."
I get that now. The city has a mix of the northern personality and character that I grew up around and the southern charm that the south is known for.
1 have experienced genuine southern hospitality down here. I have seen strangers go out of their way to help other strangers. I have yet to go on a walk around town where I don't get a hello, a smile or a head nod from a
single person. I was given a discount at lunch the other day simply because the cashier thought I looked like a guy she graduated with in 1980.
Their not just hospitable, they're passionate. Passionate about their state, their lifestyle and their schools.
People that are born here usually stay here. There's something about West Virginia that won't let one leave. We have a lot of that in Western, PA, but I think that West Virginia has that to a greater extent.
They are very proud of the way they live and their reputation. Most of them embrace the redneck culture that they are stereotyped with. We even poke fun at it by celebrating redneck night at the ballpark. It's a West Virginia think. A West by God Virginia thing, I suppose.
They love their sports, particularly high school and especially college sports. Marshall and WVU are everything down here. Marshall is just down the street, so a lot of people love Marshall. But everyone else is all in for everything WVU. It seems like everyone went to, goes to, or has a connection to WVU. A large majority of our interns and part-time game day staff went to or go to WVU. I'm not going to lie, growing up in Pittsburgh during the backyard brawl era, I was taught that everyone from WVU was overly obnoxious, dumb and rude, and only knew how to set couches on fire. Now, they will admit to setting a lot of couches on fire. But they are not all obnoxious, dumb or rude. Quite the opposite. The people from WVU have been so nice to me and have developed into good friends of mine. So much so, that I actually may find myself rooting for WVU in the future.
I'm loving it here, without a doubt. I'm halfway done with my time here and that still blows me away. In about seven more weeks, I will leave here for good. Unlike leaving Point Park in Pittsburgh, there is no "see you next school year." Although this is only a temporary position here, I can definitely see myself coming back to visit or potentially work again in the future.
Moving on from reflection time, this is how the rest of the week played out.
After the seven-game homestand, the team went on the road for three days before returning for the weekend.
Tuesday was supposed to be a half-day for me along with Thursday. Wednesday was supposed to be an off day. I went in to the office Tuesday to cut my top ten from the last homestand. After I finished around noon, I went to the hospital for lunch and returned to the press box. There weren't a lot of people at the park and I was alone in the box all day. Instead of going home, I decided to stay in the press box all day and watch Netflix, SportsCenter and enjoy the air conditioning. Before I knew it, it was 5:00 and I finished Parks and Rec on Netflix. Jay came in at 5:00 surprised that I was even here and asked if I realized that I had a half-day. Technically, I only worked for half the day. I just like hanging out in here. I waited until a storm that popped up passed and went home at 6:30. I later went over to Trip and Alex's house to watch game six of the NBA Finals with another intern, Scott. I was the only one rooting for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but it was still a fun night.
I woke up Wednesday and checked out the weather for the day. There was a fairly strong storm that was moving in, but it looked like it would fizzle out eventually. I walked to the mall and just beat the storm. While I was there, I went to the foot court and got Taco Bell for lunch, then I went down to the first level and got an iced coffee from Starbucks and enjoyed a live jazz trio. It was a relaxing and well-deserved treat myself afternoon. While I was walking home, I ran into Trip, who was out on the road going to lunch, and offered me a ride home. We met up later and played basketball at the court near his apartment.
Thursday, my second half-day, turned into a full day after our homestand meeting. We got a long list of things to do ahead of just a three-game homestand that featured a theme and giveaway every night. The Pirate Parrot was visiting Friday, so I made a Pirate Parrot video. There was also a plush black bear giveaway, so I made a video about West Virginia's state animal. Saturday was West Virginia day and we had a New River Gorge replica bridge giveaway, so I made videos detailing the history of the bridge. It was one of my more productive days of work, especially considering I wasn't even supposed to be there past noon.
Friday began a three-game homestand. It was raining on and off all day Thursday and Friday and when there's rain, there's tarp. We arrived Friday at 9 a.m. to remove the tarp so the field could begin its prep for the night's game. I was supposed to be on the camera behind home plate, but ended up getting a chance at being the MC for the night. The last time I was supposed to do something other than camera, PA, we got rained out. We put the tarp on after the gates opened ahead of what looked like a large storm. We had a light drizzle for about an hour with periods of harder rain, but nothing more than that. So at 8:00, we took the tarp off the field in the rain and started to get ready to play. We actually played baseball Friday night and I did something other than camera.
The MC gig was a fun one. My MC name that the PA announcer gave me was "2 Live Croup," after the band 2 Live Crew. I had to do the chicken dance with the mascot on the dugout, I had to throw newspapers and T-Shirts to the crowd and I had to run the on-field contests and promotions. My first one was a bucket toss where a kid threw tennis balls into a barrel. I forgot to turn my microphone on at first and was a little embarrassed, but powered through it. The rest of the night went smoothly and ended with a 6-5 victory for the Power in a seesaw type of game. I had to stall on the field for about 5-10 minutes after the game while the post-game fireworks were getting set up in center field. That was interesting, but it was still fun. Overall, it was a fun experience and I'm glad that I got the chance to do it.
I didn't leave until 1:00 a.m. after I cut my highlights and got back at 9:00 a.m. for another tarp pull.
During the afternoon, we hosted the annual season ticket holder picnic. At the picnic, the season ticket holders had the opportunity to take batting practice on the field. I just happened to have my glove in the press box and they just happened to need people to field BP. So the interns all went to the outfield and infield and shagged fly balls and fielded grounders in the infield. I shifted from left to center to short. I'm glad that the rain held off for it because that was something that I've been looking for. Tropical depression Bill swept through West Virginia and gave us a night off. We canceled the Power game and instead watched the Pirates get no-hit against the Nationals on the video board. I went home and enjoyed the night off by going to bed before 11:00. It was glorious.
I guess this past week was all about the new experiences, breaking routine and discovering why I'm here. I made a lot of people happy and did my best in every capacity to put on good shows and give people a night that they will remember. It's more than balls and strikes, wins and losses. I learned that this week more than anything.
Next week is the All-Star break. We're halfway there. The midpoint of the season and the midpoint of my summer.
Because, why not?
Josh
Hours June 14-20
6-14 Sunday: 11:30-7:30 (8)
6-15 Monday: 10-12:30 (14.5)
6-16 Tuesday: 10-12 (2)
6-17 Wednesday: Off
6-18 Thursday: 9:30-5 (7.5)
6-19 Friday: 9-1 (16)
6-20 Saturday: 9-6:30 (9.5)
Total: 57.5
Sunday was a double header to make up from Saturday night's cancelation. Two seven inning games under the mid-june sun. That's baseball, man. That's baseball.
We have converted my camera that usually is locked down in the pit to a wireless camera. So now, instead of standing in the dugout for the entire game, I begin the game on the field for lineups and transition to the stands where I do everything that I usually did. That included following the batters as they walk up to the plate and getting hero shots when they get on base, along with occasional and hard to get crowd shots. The perspective from the dugout simply isn't the best for crowd shots. Now, on top of everything that I usually did, I get crowd shots and follow our MC around for the between-inning promotions.
 |
| Setting off the fireworks with this little guy Friday night |
Technically, during the innings, I don't have to do anything. I can go sit in the press box and relax in the air conditioning and take a breather. My primary responsibility is to get shots in between innings. I occasionally walk back to get a drink of water, but nothing more than that. I'm getting paid to help contribute to the best
possible production that we can put on for the fans. Not to sit in air conditioning. That includes getting unique angles of the game while it's happening. That's what I try and do. Otherwise, our director only has one camera angle to choose from. There's not much diversity on the video board and it gets boring to look at the same angle of the batter walking up again and again.
I love the wireless camera. Not just because I get to get different angles of the action, but because I get to interact with the fans more. The crowd was pretty light Sunday, but Monday featured an above-average and energetic crowd for a Monday night.
People look at you differently when you have a camera. I've always known this and have experienced it before, but not to the capacity that I do with a live video board. People know to either avoid you or stay close to get the best chance at seeing themselves on the video board.
I loved having the chance to interact with the fans Monday night. It made me remember why I'm here and why I'm pursuing the career that I am.
Monday night, I had the chance to talk with a little league team celebrating a great season, an energetic youth softball team on a night out, a family celebrating their sons birthday (he ran away when they brought me over to try and get him on the video board), a youth group, visitors from Charlotte, NC and so many more people.
I chatted with Pablo Reyes and Tito Polo's biggest fans and told them a couple funny stories about each guy. I met a little girl and her parents celebrating her 9-month birthday. I talked with a single mother and her son who were at their first game together of the season.
Not only did I have the chance to talk with and get to know some of these fans, but I also made some of their nights. Not just by throwing their faces on the video board. All I did was give out a few baseballs that I found throughout the day. It was a long and rainy day that required multiple tarp pulls. During the day, I managed to collect four baseballs and throw them in my backpack with the intention on giving them out during the game.
After our final tarp pull after gates already opened, I found a fifth ball and tossed it to a young kid with his two friends. They weren't looking when I tossed the kid the ball and laughed and smiled at their well-fortuned buddy after he showed off his souvenir. I then gave two of my other four out before the game started to a couple shy kids who came back and thanked me after their parents persuaded them to.
As the game went into the 8th inning, I still had two baseballs left. Walking to the press box, I saw a few kids standing beside the box waiting for a foul ball. Only one of them had a glove and he was the one that noticed me and my camera as I walked by him. I asked him if he could catch with his glove and when he nodded, I tossed him the ball. He thanked me multiple times as I walked away and once more when I passed him later in the night.
During the 9th inning, the crowd was starting to make their way to the gates, freeing up more seats in the stands. I spotted a little girl with pigtails and a purple and pink baseball glove sitting four seats in the row behind the first base dugout. Her parents occupied the two seats beside her, leaving the end seat vacant. I walked down to the front row one section over to shoot the first couple batters of the inning walking up to the plate. I then began heading back up to the concourse to relocate and stopped at their row. I gave the ball to her mother and said it was for the little girl. When she gave the ball to her daughter, she couldn't help but smile from ear to ear as her jaw dropped to the floor. The look on her face was priceless. She raised it up in the air and showed it off to the people around her. That was the highlight of my night.
I loved everything about working the wireless camera. I was more sweaty and exhausted after Monday's game than any other before it. I had a bruise on my right shoulder from where the camera sits. It was worth it. Not just because I made people's nights and not just because I got to interact with fans. But because it reminded me the reason that I'm here and the reason that I'm in this field.
Minor League Baseball is as much of a sporting industry as it is an entertainment industry. Sure, you want the best product on the field from the players. Sure, some of them may make it to the Big Leagues some day. And that's why some of the fans come to watch the games. But for most of them, it's about the entire experience. It's about the food, the friendships, the family time, the laughs and the memories. Not about balls and strikes, swings and misses and outs and runs.
The fans are there for the overall show. They don't care if you're running on fumes during game seven of a seven game homestand. That doesn't matter. Just because it's just another game for you, doesn't mean that it is for them. They could be, like many that I have talked to were, at their first game ever. You want to do everything in your power to make it an enjoyable and memorable experience for them so that they come back again. My job is to do my very best every night to make memories for fans who may be at their first game. It's a sports industry, an entertainment industry and a memory making industry.
When I was thinking about this, I tried to think back to all the baseball games I've been to in my lifetime. I can remember the outcome of a few memorable ones. I can remember a few specific plays from a few of them. But for the most part, even as a huge fan of baseball, a good majority of my memories from baseball aren't from the field. They're from the people that I was with, the laughs that I had and the overall experience at the game. I have a hard time remembering games I went to last season off the top of my head, but I can tell you specific stories from separate games about the people that I was with, where I sat or what we did.
I don't know how many of the people that I gave a baseball to Monday night will remember the outcome of the game (a 5-2 loss). But there's a better chance that some of them will remember me giving them or their kid a used scuffed-up baseball. There's a better chance that some of them will remember getting on the video board as they did the chicken dance. There's a better chance that some of them will remember participating in a between-inning promotion.
At the end of the day, it's not about balls and strikes, runs and outs. It's about the laughs shared and the memories made.
Life is a lot like baseball in the same way. At the end of the day, when you're gone, people aren't going to necessarily remember the little successes and failures, or your balls and strikes. They'll remember your smile, the laughs they shared with you and the memories you created.
I loved interacting with the fans at the park. I got to know them used it as a chance to practice my interviewing skills. I love interviewing people, even if it isn't for a story. In my mind, I want to hear what the other person has to say. If they say something interesting, I want to follow up on that. It makes me want to work on my feature writing even more. I love talking to people and hearing their stories and having the chance to share those stories with others.
I had the chance to talk with a scout with the Atlanta Braves before a game last week. In his mind, I was a kid interested in the game of baseball and trying to learn how scouts do things. In my mind, I was interviewing him. Picking his brain to figure out how it works, asking him questions to learn more about scouting and what he's looking for in a player. Comparing today's baseball with the one that he began working in 35 years ago. It was a good ten minute conversation. If I was writing a story on scouts, I would have at least a dozen good quotes from him to use in a story.
Those one-on-one conversations, or interviews, is what I love doing. I love getting an answer out of people and I love hearing what they have to say about things. I've done a lot of "interviewing" in Charleston with die-hard local fans, visitors and every-day people. If I could summarize the people of Charleston in two words, it would be passionate and hospitable.
I read that Charleston is called, "The North's most southern city and the South's most Northern city."
I get that now. The city has a mix of the northern personality and character that I grew up around and the southern charm that the south is known for.
1 have experienced genuine southern hospitality down here. I have seen strangers go out of their way to help other strangers. I have yet to go on a walk around town where I don't get a hello, a smile or a head nod from a
 |
| A park in downtown Charleston |
Their not just hospitable, they're passionate. Passionate about their state, their lifestyle and their schools.
People that are born here usually stay here. There's something about West Virginia that won't let one leave. We have a lot of that in Western, PA, but I think that West Virginia has that to a greater extent.
They are very proud of the way they live and their reputation. Most of them embrace the redneck culture that they are stereotyped with. We even poke fun at it by celebrating redneck night at the ballpark. It's a West Virginia think. A West by God Virginia thing, I suppose.
They love their sports, particularly high school and especially college sports. Marshall and WVU are everything down here. Marshall is just down the street, so a lot of people love Marshall. But everyone else is all in for everything WVU. It seems like everyone went to, goes to, or has a connection to WVU. A large majority of our interns and part-time game day staff went to or go to WVU. I'm not going to lie, growing up in Pittsburgh during the backyard brawl era, I was taught that everyone from WVU was overly obnoxious, dumb and rude, and only knew how to set couches on fire. Now, they will admit to setting a lot of couches on fire. But they are not all obnoxious, dumb or rude. Quite the opposite. The people from WVU have been so nice to me and have developed into good friends of mine. So much so, that I actually may find myself rooting for WVU in the future.
I'm loving it here, without a doubt. I'm halfway done with my time here and that still blows me away. In about seven more weeks, I will leave here for good. Unlike leaving Point Park in Pittsburgh, there is no "see you next school year." Although this is only a temporary position here, I can definitely see myself coming back to visit or potentially work again in the future.
Moving on from reflection time, this is how the rest of the week played out.
After the seven-game homestand, the team went on the road for three days before returning for the weekend.
Tuesday was supposed to be a half-day for me along with Thursday. Wednesday was supposed to be an off day. I went in to the office Tuesday to cut my top ten from the last homestand. After I finished around noon, I went to the hospital for lunch and returned to the press box. There weren't a lot of people at the park and I was alone in the box all day. Instead of going home, I decided to stay in the press box all day and watch Netflix, SportsCenter and enjoy the air conditioning. Before I knew it, it was 5:00 and I finished Parks and Rec on Netflix. Jay came in at 5:00 surprised that I was even here and asked if I realized that I had a half-day. Technically, I only worked for half the day. I just like hanging out in here. I waited until a storm that popped up passed and went home at 6:30. I later went over to Trip and Alex's house to watch game six of the NBA Finals with another intern, Scott. I was the only one rooting for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but it was still a fun night.
 |
| Jazz trio playing in the mall's center court |
I woke up Wednesday and checked out the weather for the day. There was a fairly strong storm that was moving in, but it looked like it would fizzle out eventually. I walked to the mall and just beat the storm. While I was there, I went to the foot court and got Taco Bell for lunch, then I went down to the first level and got an iced coffee from Starbucks and enjoyed a live jazz trio. It was a relaxing and well-deserved treat myself afternoon. While I was walking home, I ran into Trip, who was out on the road going to lunch, and offered me a ride home. We met up later and played basketball at the court near his apartment.
Thursday, my second half-day, turned into a full day after our homestand meeting. We got a long list of things to do ahead of just a three-game homestand that featured a theme and giveaway every night. The Pirate Parrot was visiting Friday, so I made a Pirate Parrot video. There was also a plush black bear giveaway, so I made a video about West Virginia's state animal. Saturday was West Virginia day and we had a New River Gorge replica bridge giveaway, so I made videos detailing the history of the bridge. It was one of my more productive days of work, especially considering I wasn't even supposed to be there past noon.
Friday began a three-game homestand. It was raining on and off all day Thursday and Friday and when there's rain, there's tarp. We arrived Friday at 9 a.m. to remove the tarp so the field could begin its prep for the night's game. I was supposed to be on the camera behind home plate, but ended up getting a chance at being the MC for the night. The last time I was supposed to do something other than camera, PA, we got rained out. We put the tarp on after the gates opened ahead of what looked like a large storm. We had a light drizzle for about an hour with periods of harder rain, but nothing more than that. So at 8:00, we took the tarp off the field in the rain and started to get ready to play. We actually played baseball Friday night and I did something other than camera.
 |
| Click here to watch us get the game started |
The MC gig was a fun one. My MC name that the PA announcer gave me was "2 Live Croup," after the band 2 Live Crew. I had to do the chicken dance with the mascot on the dugout, I had to throw newspapers and T-Shirts to the crowd and I had to run the on-field contests and promotions. My first one was a bucket toss where a kid threw tennis balls into a barrel. I forgot to turn my microphone on at first and was a little embarrassed, but powered through it. The rest of the night went smoothly and ended with a 6-5 victory for the Power in a seesaw type of game. I had to stall on the field for about 5-10 minutes after the game while the post-game fireworks were getting set up in center field. That was interesting, but it was still fun. Overall, it was a fun experience and I'm glad that I got the chance to do it.
I didn't leave until 1:00 a.m. after I cut my highlights and got back at 9:00 a.m. for another tarp pull.
During the afternoon, we hosted the annual season ticket holder picnic. At the picnic, the season ticket holders had the opportunity to take batting practice on the field. I just happened to have my glove in the press box and they just happened to need people to field BP. So the interns all went to the outfield and infield and shagged fly balls and fielded grounders in the infield. I shifted from left to center to short. I'm glad that the rain held off for it because that was something that I've been looking for. Tropical depression Bill swept through West Virginia and gave us a night off. We canceled the Power game and instead watched the Pirates get no-hit against the Nationals on the video board. I went home and enjoyed the night off by going to bed before 11:00. It was glorious. I guess this past week was all about the new experiences, breaking routine and discovering why I'm here. I made a lot of people happy and did my best in every capacity to put on good shows and give people a night that they will remember. It's more than balls and strikes, wins and losses. I learned that this week more than anything.
Next week is the All-Star break. We're halfway there. The midpoint of the season and the midpoint of my summer.
Because, why not?
Josh
6-14 Sunday: 11:30-7:30 (8)
6-15 Monday: 10-12:30 (14.5)
6-16 Tuesday: 10-12 (2)
6-17 Wednesday: Off
6-18 Thursday: 9:30-5 (7.5)
6-19 Friday: 9-1 (16)
6-20 Saturday: 9-6:30 (9.5)
Total: 57.5
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| Chicken dancing with Chuck on the dugout |
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