Hey! What's up? Hello!

Hello!

It's been a while since we've talked. Like, a long while. Let's catch up.

I was festive on "Pirate Night"

Summer is over. My internship is over. It ended perfectly. Absolutely perfectly. My final week with the Power was incredible and my last game was even more incredible.

My final series with the Power was against the Boston Red Sox affiliate, the Greenville Drive. The Sox were my first love and are my other favorite team besides the Pirates. Their team is loaded with prospects that are almost locks to be in the majors some day, including one of the top ten prospects in the game, Yoan Moncada.

Suchy signs autographs minutes after
winning the gamewith a solo-HR

During the last game I had one of the most epic dizzy bat fails of all time. The kids that signed up were barely tall enough to put their heads on the bats and they didn't drop the bats when they were finished spinning. Watch it here. Also, we blew a six run lead. Moncada doubled with two outs in the ninth to give the Drive a one-run lead heading into the bottom half of the ninth. We somehow tied it up and sent it to extras. In the twelfth inning, Michael Suchy, whose signed bat I just acquired, hit a walk-off home run to win the game. Here is the Power Minute from that game, my last highlight recap.  I even threw in a, "because, why not?" because, why not?

The box score from my
final game.

I was standing in the dugout checking on my camera guy and talking with the grounds crew when Suchy hit the home run to left field. We jumped in the air and I gave a hug to the 6'7" grounds crew intern who became somewhat of an older brother to me during the summer. I stayed on the field and said my goodbyes to a few guys including Connor Joe, who I have come to know pretty well. When I left, Cole Tucker got placed on the disabled list and the 2015 first-round pick was promoted to take his place. It was just announced that Tucker will have shoulder surgery and will miss 10-12 months, which is really quite unfortunate.

I stayed at the ballpark pretty late that night socializing and saying my goodbyes to the staff and other remaining interns. My boss had me sign a baseball for him too, which was cool. The next day, I went in during the early morning to complete my final top ten and say goodbye to the rest of the staff.

Here are links to other works of mine from the summer:
In House Commercial compilation 
Power Highlights for WOWK-TV, CBS affiliate in Charleston
Erie Insurance "Seriously Good" Highlight of the Game compilation
Different After Effects projects, including samples of 3D logos I made for each SAL team

The baseball my boss had me sign

Also, my final project video that I mentioned in the previous post was a huge hit. A major success. Please take time to watch it here. 

My dad arrived shortly after I was done to move me out and take me home. That night, we went and watched my church softball team win the division championship in a bittersweet game.

I was home for a couple days, one of which was spent at Kennywood with Emily, and then went on a much-needed mini vacation with Emily and her family to Niagara Falls in Canada. What an awesome couple of days.

Then, just like that, it was time to move in to school to begin sophomore year.

World Cup trophy

Part of my new room

I moved in early to help with the Honors Program Welcome Week. I am an honors mentor this year, which means I was given four students to mentor throughout the school year. At the end of our welcome week, we had them all fill out ballots to select their mentors. All of my mentees have been great so far!

After my family moved me in, we went up to Mount Washington to do some sight seeing. The next day, I went to Heniz Field to check out the crowd for the U.S. Women's Soccer Team who was starting a victory tour after winning the 2015 World Cup. My dorm this year is smaller than last year, but my suite as a whole is amazingly better. My view is top of the line as well.

Look closely: Between my brother and mother, you can see
my suite on the top building of the brown brick
building with the fire escape. 

Welcome week was crazy. It was almost non-stop. I walked a marathon and a half over three days throughout the city doing community service and touring the city with freshmen. We also helped out with a new non-profit who throw birthday parties for kids who can't afford them. We all sang happy birthday to them! Watch it here.

I ended the week by heading to the Friday night Pirate's Giants game and caught up with a few friends. The rest of my roommates moved in Saturday. Then, the real work began Monday with the first day of classes. Monday's are my busiest, most non-stop days of the week. They end with a 6-9 class followed by editing and putting together the sports section of The Globe newspaper.

Some of the freshmen in my groups for
honors welcome week.

I learned this in the first three days of classes: the only time I will be in my suite this year, 701 Conestoga, will be to sleep, work and eat. Not much else. I'm taking on a lot this semester, but I know I can handle it. Here is just my outside the classroom involvement, much of which I consider more important than classes:

- Sports editor and columnist of The Globe. I am also writing a heavy amount of stories for the paper along with being the section editor and columnist.
- Assistant sports director of WPPJ Radio. Trying to bring back live PPU sports coverage to the student radio station. I also will host my show from last year, "Croup's Corner," with my friend, Jimmy Kail.
- Host, reporter for U-View, continuing from last year.
- Athletic Communications Student Apprentice - I now get paid to cover PPU Sports. I work for the Athletic Department with our assistant athletic director/sports information director. That job is going to be all over the place and will be very demanding/rewarding.
- Pittsburgh Center for Sports Media and Marketing Student Advisory Board - The people that paid for me to go to San Diego that led to me awesome summer.
- Honors Program Mentor
I think that's it. For now.

I'm also taking 18 credits this semester. Six classes, four of which are general classes. Science, English Writing, Spanish and Psychology. I'm also taking Sports Media and Marketing, my night class that goes down as an elective, and Broadcast Production, which goes down as a requirement for my minor.

Oh yeah, I declared a minor.

I'm a broadcast reporting major with a minor in media production and management. All it means is four extra classes, which I would have taken as electives anyways. Killing two birds with one stone, essentially.

I'll give feedback on my classes and professors once I've completed a full week with all of them. It will be interesting for sure.

If this summer taught me anything, it's that I can work myself into the ground with 16 hour days and 65 hour weeks and be totally fine. I'm young and have a lot of energy and a strong work ethic. I'm confident in what I do and know how to balance my time, energy and friends. The final one of the three is going to be the most difficult this year. If I worry about it, it won't be fine. If I don't worry about it, it will work out. It always does. Everything will be fine in the end.

I wasn't sure how I was going to eat or survive this summer. I wasn't sure what I was going to do.

I survived and I thrived. I did everything and anything and was fine. I survived a summer in Minor League Baseball. I was once told by someone who used to work in the game and who now works with a Pittsburgh news station that if you can survive a summer in the MiLB, you can do absolutely anything. That's the mindset that I'm going into this school year with.

The view from my suite. What a beautiful world we live in.
What a beautiful city I live in.

This quote will get me through a lot of days this year. It should also get anyone through any day ever.

"So far you’ve survived 100% of your worst days. You’re doing great."

No matter what happens in this life, you have to stay positive. You have know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that things do get easier. There were days this summer that I didn't think I could make it out of. There were days where I questioned why I was there. There were plenty of those days last year. There will be plenty more this year. Everything will be okay in the end, it always is. No matter how terrible things seem right now, they will get better. The work will get done, the stress and drama will eventually go away and everything will be okay. That will get me through this year.

We've made it this far.

On a sadder note, today's tragedy in Roanoke, Virginia, is devastating. The broadcasting and the journalism community is in shock.

WDBJ7 reporter Alison Parker and photographer Adam Ward were both shot and killed during a live shot on their morning show by a former WDBJ employee.  I actually have a friend, a PPU grad, who is a reporter at Parker's former station, WCTI.

It was not a dangerous story. It was not a protest or a riot. They were interviewing a woman about increasing tourism in the area. The shooter filmed himself performing the senseless act and posted it online. The crew was live on the air when the incident happened.

I watched both videos. They brought me to tears. How can somebody performing such an evil act? Why target these young people? What was there to gain from this? They didn't deserve any of this. It is not fair, not one bit. I was angry, upset, heart broken and in disbelief, all within five minutes. I still cannot wrap my mind around the whole situation.

Anything can happen to anyone at anytime at any place. There is nothing we can do to hide from evil. All we can do is promote love and peace, spreading God's love to everyone. This world needs him right now. This world needs love. There is so much hate and so much sadness. It's not fair, no. We can't focus on the hate. We can't focus on the evil. We all need to sell. Sell good vibes. Sell good news. Sell good thoughts. We can't eliminate hate, there's no chance. But we can sell love.


Love is stronger than hate.

That's it.

Life is a mirror. If you smile at it, it will smile back.

I'm not going to be able to get passed this for a while. It is not fair, it is not right and it is not okay. We all need a little love. Smile at people instead of ignoring them, look up instead of down at your phone and love instead of hate.

Because, why not?
Josh

Week Thirteen

Talk about a wild final last week. It was my last full week with the West Virginia Power, and a crazy one at that. I gave myself a long to-do list for my final week trying to leave this place in the best condition possible.

Sitting in the rain waiting for the show

After a productive Monday, I decided to make the trip to University of Charleston Stadium to drop $21 on a DCI ticket. I haven't been to a DCI show since I was in elementary school and even though the corps weren't the top of the line corps, it was a chance to see a show. I didn't know when I could go see a show again in the future, so I took full advantage of this chance. I've been missing music a lot lately and was looking forward to this tremendously. 

Phantom Regiment, the host corp, began their show
with the Eiffel Tower

I was too cheap to pay for reserved seating, so I saved a few bucks and just went with GA seats that were first come, first serve. I was going to try and get there when the gates opened to get the best seat possible. Of course, heavy rain moved in right at 5:30, a half hour before gates opened. The rain stopped at around 6:15 and was a light drizzle for the next hour. I arrived at 6:10 with a couple towels and umbrellas. The start of the show was delayed until 8:30 so the field could have time to dry. I sat by myself in the first seat to the left of the reserved seating section right on the 40 yard line. The seat was great. 

The Blue Knights of Denver took home the top score at the
Drums Across the Tri State DCI competition Monday

There were so many walls of sound that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and gave me chills on multiple occasion. It was a feeling that I missed and one that had me on the edge of my seat for most of the night. That was the best investment that I made all summer, even if I did choose to go by myself and sit in the rain around a bunch of high school students. It was fantastic. 

I spent the last few nights that I had free at and around the Capitol Building. Its peacefulness combined with its beauty makes it my favorite place in Charleston. 

My final homestand kicked off Thursday night with "Back to the Future" night. I spent hours watching clips from the trilogy and cutting up pieces of the three films to show during the game. I even created a special graphic for pregame. Well, our video board went down right before gates opened. After a couple hours of fighting with cables and troubleshooting, we solved our problem and had the board up and running for first pitch. 

The night included a post-game concert and a jersey auction. After the concert, I stuck around to help take down the stage. While we waited for the band to move their stuff off, we had a nice moment with the remaining staff members. I finally left the park at 1:00, only to return at 10 the next morning for game two of seven. 

My last Fireworks Friday. I made sure to include the inflatable chuck in the background of my Power Minute for the game.  I developed a love-hate relationship for that thing. I finally figured out how to get him to stay up. It only took the entire summer. He survived a few wind gusts and children playing on him two nights in a row, so I think it's safe to say he's invincible now. Knock on wood. 

Right around the same time as Thursday night, our video board went down again. This time, we could not find an easy fix. After my boss's phone died while talking to tech support, he used mine for the next two hours. It took a couple hours longer than the previous night and a journey up inside the board, but we fixed the issue during the fourth inning and had it running like normal steadily by the sixth. Coincidentally, we had a no-hitter going up until the seventh inning. 

The first thing I did when I got into the press box Saturday was turn on the board. It worked. We kept it on for the entire day after getting it turned on. IT STAYED ON ALL NIGHT. I started the night on wireless camera, moved to high-home and then took over in the directors chair for the first time. I spent about two innings there and went back out on the wireless camera. 

Saturday was also the day the team posted my final project video to their YouTube account and shared it across social media. For the few that have seen it so far, I have heard good things. Watch it by clicking here. 

It's a good way to go out. On a high note. My goal entering the week was to not be a lame duck as I finish my time here. I laid out a detailed report on the space on the computers in order to save and preserve space on our hard drives. I'm laying out a bunch of templates for future projects. I've done a lot this past week to help people in the future here and I'm satisfied with my work thus far. I still have a few days left and I intend on making the most of every minute. 

Because, why not?
Josh

Hours July 26 - August 1

7-26 Sunday: Off
7-27 Monday: 10-3 (5)
7-28 Tuesday: 10-6 (8)
7-29 Wednesday: 9:30-5:30 (8)
7-30 Thursday: 10-1 (15)
7-31 Friday: 10-12 (14)
8-1 Saturday: 2-10:30 (8.5)

Total: 58.5

Week Twelve

Already? Already. Twelve weeks down. I still can't believe how fast this summer is going.

This past week, I couldn't believe how hot it was. I was supposed to MC Sunday, but due to a shortage of people, I ran the high-home camera. The first pitch temperature was 93 degrees and the heat index read 112. It was a very thin crowd, but the team won and I had some good highlights to use.

Chris in the air just  after
getting the bat out of the net.

Monday wrapped up the seven-game homestand, my second to last homestand. I had the chance to MC again Monday, for probably the last time. It was a busy night on the mic, but a cooler one at that. Thankfully. A Lexington broken bat actually got stuck in our net and we had a delay in the game. Our groundskeeper couldn't get the bat out and the umpires decided to play on. After the game, they had to get a machine on the field to hoist him up in the air to get the bat out of the net. That was a sight to see.

I didn't have to go in until noon Tuesday. When I did, I put together the top ten plays and was allowed to go back home. I actually had a really nice and relaxing day, something that I hadn't had in a while. Wednesday I went in at 10 and began wrapping things up for when I leave. I've put together tips for the Power Minute and other highlights that I put together and I've organized a lot of loose files on the computer. It was a mess when I got here and I'm trying to make it as nice as possible.

I did come across footage of Pirate's RF Gregory Polanco and coach Rick Sofield from when they were with the Power a few years ago. Polanco played and Sofield managed during the 2012 season in Charleston. That was cool to see. Hopefully I can say in a few years that I saw some big leaguers play in A-ball.

After work Wednesday, I went on a walk along the Kanawha River and stopped where it runs in front of the Capitol Building and sat for a good half hour and enjoyed the sounds of the river. Then I watched one of the most breathtaking sunsets in my life. On my walk and as I sat beside the river, ideas started popping into my head. I had been searching for inspiration the past few days for new videos and I just couldn't think of anything. I needed to come up with a Back to the Future parody video to play Thursday night and I was struggling. I eventually did come up with a decent idea, but it was frustrating. I'm not used to having creative brain farts. This was a major one.

Wednesday's sunset on the Kanawha River

Then, all of a sudden, I got an idea for a new video. A "send off" if you will. I assigned myself with a "final project" to complete before I left here. It wouldn't be the last project I did, but it would be one that wrapped up everything that I've watched and experienced this season in a short video. I wanted to show off Charleston and the Power, but also tie in Pittsburgh to this video. The creative juices in my brain came alive and fired words and thoughts into my head beside the river and I wrote a lot of them down as I watched the sunset. I would begin this Thursday.

I went in to work still thinking about this video. I couldn't get it off my mind. I did more organizing and filing, then went outside and sat in the top row of the seats behind home plate with my laptop and began writing and crafting a script for this video. The process at the beginning reminded me of the "Always Home" video that I made as a tribute to Butler High School before I graduated. After about an hour of writing, I went back in the press box for a while and left at 4:30. I went straight home, had a quick bite to eat, packed my cameras and went out.


Keep in mind I do not have a car down here so I do walk everywhere. I was feeling adventurous, so I walked through a couple different neighborhoods on my way to the Capitol Building instead of walking on the main streets. I came across some train tracks by the University of Charleston football stadium that I shot and then got some other shots of the mountains behind it. Then I walked around the Capitol for about an hour and got footage of it. The Capitol's campus always is so peaceful and beautiful and this time was no different. The best part was that there was nobody there. It was right after the 9-5 work day let out and the visitors and tourists weren't there yet. It was empty and it was so quiet and peaceful. The Capitol gave me a lot of good content to use.

I walked along the river and got some more shots there as I headed towards downtown. I found stairs that went up to one of the bridges and took them up and got on the bridge to get some shots of downtown and the river from a different angle. I went in the streets of downtown Charleston to get some footage of the different roads, parks and scenery that downtown has to offer. I made a stop at the mall to get an iced coffee at Starbucks and take a bathroom break. Side-note: the coffee purchase officially put me in the Starbucks Gold Club, so that happened.

I still had some daylight left, so I walked back over to the ballpark. I went in and got some nice shots of the empty stadium as the sun set behind it. I wanted to capture the sunset from the river and there wasn't a lot of it left. I ran from the park to the river and made it just in time to get shoot the sunset. Then I finally called it a night at 9:30 after almost five hours of shooting and went back home. I sorted through the 90 minutes worth of footage that I had and the additional 30 minutes of footage from the season that I wanted to include in the video. At 1:30 a.m., I called it quits and went to bed.

The other production intern, Mike, won free lunch at Quaker Steak and Lube courtesy of a local radio station for him and his co-workers. So on the off day, we and three others went to the restaurant and enjoyed a free lunch on Electric 102.7. Then I went home and edited for the next few hours non-stop until I finished. I was on a roll.

The video is done and I will share a link to it next week. I am really excited with how it turned out and can't wait to share it with people.

Another great sunset Friday night

After I finished, I walked down to the Live on the Levee concert but only stayed for a few minutes before walking around the mall and then heading back down the river as I watched another amazing sunset. I sure will miss Charleston's sunsets.

The view from the top of the Capitol steps

I walked to the Capitol Building from the mall and sat on the top step for a while. I got there at 9:30 and the only noise was the occasional car passing by and the fountains at the base of the steps. I had some time to just reflect on this whole summer and everything that I've had the chance to do. I'm really fortunate to be in the position that I am today. I'm lucky. I'm so grateful for everything that this summer has given me so far. I wouldn't have it any other way.

What will I do next summer and the summer after that? After spending this past summer as a 19 year old in another state 260 miles away from home working in Minor League Baseball, there's nothing that I can't do. Stealing a line from my video: "dreaming big, but focusing on today." Theres still work to be done in Charleston. I want to finish strong. This video that I'm calling "for now" is a good start to finishing strong. I'm enjoying the 9 days without games before my final seven-game homestand starts next Thursday.

To end the week, I explored the museum at the Capitol building for a couple hours. Afterwards, my roommate and his girlfriend let me tag along with them to Morgantown to catch a WV Black Bears game. The Black Bears are the short season affiliate of the Pirates and one level below the Power playing in their inaugural season in Minor League Baseball.

We had a WV Power black bear giveaway on the night of their home opener. I decided to bring along the little guy to Morgantown and got some laughs. We met up with a few other Power staffers who we didn't know were going to the game. They had great seats behind home plate, an upgrade from our standing room only tickets.

RHP John Holdzkom
pitches a 1-2-3 Seventh

I also had the chance to watch Pirate's RHP John Holdzkom throw a 1-2-3 7th inning in a rehab assignment. Holdzkom made headlines late last season as guy signed out of independent ball by the Pirates and proved himself when everyone else had given up on him.

The Black Bears tossed a 3-0, one-hit shutout in their victory over the Staten Island Yankees. It was also Star Wars night at the ballpark as the team auctioned special jerseys after the game. We even stopped at Sheetz on the way back home. It was a good night.

Another off day Sunday before my last full week with the Power. Let's do this.

Because, why not?
Josh

Hours July 19 - 25

7-19 Sunday: 11:30-7:30 (8)
7-20 Monday: 10-12 (14)
7-21 Tuesday: 12-2:30 (2.5)
7-22 Wednesday: 10-4:30 (6.5)
7-23 Thursday: 11-4:30 (5.5)
7-24 Off
7-25 Off

Total: 36.5

Week Eleven

This past week began the my second-to-last homestand with the West Virginia Power. A homestand where I did just about everything.

I got back to Charleston Sunday night after spending the weekend at home. I went in for a normal 10-5 day Monday and was supposed to Tuesday. Around 4:00 a wicked storm rolled through the area after we put our ripped tarp on the field. After the rain stopped, I went over to Trip and Alex's apartment to watch the MLB Home Run Derby. 

Wednesday was supposed to be the start of the homestand. A similar storm with a little more strength (left) hit us at around 5:45 so we postponed the game until Thursday where we would play a double header to start the homestand. I went home for a while but later went back to the stadium to watch the MLB All-Star Game from the press box. 

New River Gorge Bridge
cut into the outfield grass

We played two Thursday. 14 innings of wireless camera work later, it was time for Christmas in July. The new tarp had arrived. After the game, we took over an hour to fold up the old tarp and get our new tarp prepped for use. The new tarp cost roughly $5,000 and feels a lot lighter compared to the old tarp, which isn't necessarily a good thing. We'll see how long it can hold up. 

Our groundskeeper, Chris, who I have came to know pretty well, has done a great job with the field along with his grounds crew. He had a story written about him in the Charleston Daily Mail detailing his work.

 Two tarps, one field. RIP old tarp.

Friday was interesting.

I went down to the clubhouse at 10:45 to change into the mascot costume for the first time. I jumped in the Street Team car with our promo team girls and four of our players to head to the mall for an appearance (left) . The costume got really hot really fast. There weren't a lot of people at the mall, and those that were there seemed disinterested in the yellow furry creature waving at them. Drenched in sweat, I changed out of the costume and had lunch with the players before heading back to the stadium. 

When I got back to the stadium, I put the Chuck costume back on for a music video shoot. Three hours later, it was 3:45 and I was on my way home to shower before the game. I was exhausted and still had a game in the evening. After running the camera behind home plate for the game, we were told to get ready for a tarp pull. On my way back to the press box from clocking out, I ran into our EVP who said they needed help cleaning out the bowl (our regular seating area). One of the cleaning crew guys told me that a lot of their guys don't show up the few days after pay day. 

After sweating some more as I picked up trash in the stadium, I helped get the tarp on the field ahead of a possible overnight shower. It did not rain that night, so the 9 a.m. tarp pull was an easy one. I edited my highlights and was home just before 1:00.

After tarp the next morning, I put the Chuck costume on one more time to get a couple more shots for the video. I went home and got breakfast and was back at the park at 1:00 for the start of another hectic day. It was a major sponsor night at the park and we were short-staffed in the press box. I started the game on wireless camera when a few innings in, we were told to bring our cameras in to head down to the tarp. It rained everywhere but over Appalachian Power Park Saturday night. Two innings later, I jumped behind the home plate camera. I swapped back to the wireless camera after the seventh-inning stretch. 

A motion graphic I made
for when the Lexington
Ledgends strike out.

Before I could begin cutting highlights, I had to go to the field to assist in fireworks cleanup, picking up thousands of tiny pieces of cardboard and other debris on the field by hand. It took me back to the days where I used to pick up leaves by hand at home. Then we put the tarp on the field for another possible overnight shower. It did not rain that night, so the 8 a.m. tarp pull was an easy one. Besides the whole waking up thing. 

Before I could begin cutting highlights, there was a picnic that needed help tearing down on the third base concourse. Dozens of tables and hundreds of chairs needed put back in storage. When we finally finished that, I went back to the clubhouse to change out of my sweaty clothes to begin cutting highlights. 

But wait, there's more. 

Campers in their tents watching
"Big Hero 6" on the video board.

It was Scout Night as well. Between 150 and 200 people, mostly scouts, came back to APP after the game for a campout on the outfield grass. We had popcorn and drinks for them on the Party Deck and played a movie on the video board for them. I left just before the end of the movie around 1:45. 

So, I did my normal camera and highlights duties this week. I also dressed up as a mascot in 90+ degrees weather, picked up trash, took down tables and chairs, and crawled in the outfield picking up fireworks debris. I did my best at everything that I did and gave everything my all. I've been raised to do what I'm told and do it right. "Shut up and do your job." Hard work pays off. 

I sweated more this week than I have in a long time, but I'm doing what I love. 

It's baseball, man.

Because, why not?

Josh

Hours July 12-18

7-12 Sunday: Home
7-13 Monday: 10-5 (7)
7-14 Tuesday: 10-4 (6)
7-15 Wednesday: 9-6 (9)
7-16 Thursday: 9-12:30 (15.5)
7-17 Friday: 10-12:45 (14.75)
7-18 Saturday: 9-10:30, 1-1:45 (14.25)

 Total: 66.5

Week Ten: Double Digits

Rain drops on the windshield in the foreground with
the welcome to West Virginia sign in the background.

If only California could share the rain that we have gotten in the past six weeks. It seems like we can’t go two days in a row anymore, let alone an entire day, without having a chance of the sky opening up on us. 

The rain held off Saturday night and throughout the day first half of the day Sunday for a nice hot and humid day of baseball. The Fourth of July produced what some thin kids the largest crowd in park history. Out ticket scanner network went down, and so the 6,833 attendance that we reported is believed to be about 1,000 to 1,300 less than the actual attendance. The next day, we only saw a crowd of less than 300. 

We were entering the bottom of the fourth inning with the Delmarva Shorebirds when the rain started coming down. The umpire stalled for a brief minute then decided to wave on the tarp crew and send the players to their dugouts. I was in the press box working the line score when the game was called. The rain came down so fast and so hard that the tarp was too heavy for our tarp crew to get on the field. Our strength and conditioning coach even ran out in the rain to try and assist the crew in pulling the tarp, but the rain was too much. It was the second time this year that it’s happened, but the first time during a game. The tarp sat halfway on the infield as the staff could only just watch. The umpires suspended the game until Monday. 

We took the tarp on and off a few times Monday in preparation for the upcoming games. We were to start where we left off at 6:00, finishing the first game, and playing a shortened seven-inning game that was scheduled for Monday night. We still managed to get a good sized crowd for a Monday night. Most of them rolled in around 7:00 when the regularly scheduled game was slated to start. We actually managed to get both games in without rain. 

I received the unfortunate news about the passing of my great aunt late Tuesday afternoon. I tried to keep quiet and just do my job Tuesday. I made it though the game and the result of the game helped. 

LHP Stephen Tarpley
(Courtesy Charleston Daily Mail)

Last week I was able to have a nice conversation with Stephen Tarpley, a LHP Pittsburgh acquired last year from Baltimore in the Travis Snyder trade. Tarpley has had a great start to the season so far and was pitching against his former team Tuesday. Through four innings, he hadn’t allowed a hit when I dropped my camera off in the press box to head down to the tarp. There was a huge system moving into the area and we were all put on standby for a tarp pull. We didn’t want a repeat of what happened Sunday. 

The clouds darkened quickly and the wind picked up significantly. It was only a matter of time. While at the tarp, we watched Tartly throw two more hitless innings. In the bottom of the sixth, the sky once again opened up. The umpire allowed the pitcher throw a couple pitches until the wind and rain were so bad that he waved us on. 

We were in a full out sprint, unrolling the tarp as fast as possible. When we were rolling it out on the field, our Japanese intern, Kay, was pushing so fast that he actually flipped overtop the tarp and ended up on the other side. After Kay ran out of the way and the tarp was rolled out, we began to run with the tarp to the infield. We managed to cover the field with our all-out hustle just in time. 

We were all drenched at this point when we noticed something went terribly wrong. Even though the tarp got on the field in time, the part that covers the first base line was ripped right down a seam. The first base line was exposed and the rain wasn’t letting up. The umpires decided to call it quits and end the game and the homestead. 

The tarp got caught on a stake that wasn’t hammered down the entire way on the bullpen tarp and, because we were going so fast, didn’t notice it and tore right through it. As of now, the front office doesn’t know if they will try and fix it, leave it go, or purchase a new $10,000 tarp. 

On the bright side, because the game was called after six innings, the team got the win and Tarpley got a rain-shortened no-hitter. It was the second no-no tossed by the Power pitching staff this season, but the first that they won. They threw a combined no-hitter in the first month of the year in a 1-0 loss. Tarpley got a lot of publicity that night and the day after from the Pittsburgh media. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. I’m really rooting for Tarpley. 

Wednesday I came in to produce the Top Ten from the homestead and wrap things up for the week. I went out in the evening to the movie theaters to see Ted 2 and then went back to the apartment and played NBA on PS4 with the grounds crew guys.

The sunset Friday, July 11

My dad was working in Ripley, WV, about 45 minutes from Charleston, and picked me up Thursday morning to head back to Butler. My aunt’s viewing was from 2-4 and 7-9. We made it back around 5:30 in time for the second viewing. Aunt Aysha was always asking about me and keeping tabs on me and my brother, even up until the last week. She was a huge supporter of mine and never missed a chance to tell me how proud of me she was. She was inducted into the Butler Sports Hall of Fame for her work with the Special Olympics and her skills as a softball player. 

It was really great to have a chance to see my family and Emily over the weekend, despite the unfortunate circumstances. 

Playing catch with
my cousin, Caleb

My aunt and cousins from California flew in a couple weeks ago and were still in town the past weekend, so I had the chance to see them for the first time in two years. I played catch with one, shared history story with another and entertained the youngest. They were always at our house in the evenings and were never without energy. I also was able to see my grandparents each of the four days I was home. They met me and my dad when we got back and my grandmother took me the rest of the way home while my dad finished up at work, they were at the funeral home Friday, I ran into them at breakfast Saturday, and met up with them before I left Sunday.

At the beginning of the summer, I wasn’t totally planning on coming home. I enjoyed my time at home and it was a much needed mental refresher, even if I wasn’t relaxing mentally much. It was a hard weekend, but a nice one in the end.

There are only two more, seven-game homestands left with nine days in-between. Then, it’s all over. 

Because, why not?

Josh

Hours July 6-12

7-6 Sunday: 11:00-6 (7)
7-7 Monday: 9-12:45 (15.75)
7-8 Tuesday: 10-11:30 (13.5)
7-9 Wednesday: 10-5 (7)
7-10 Thursday: Home
7-11 Friday: Home
7-12 Saturday: Home

Total: 43.25