Just got back from a ballgame in Hagerstown, MD. Saw the Hagerstown Suns (Washington Nationals) lose to the Lake County Captains (Cleveland Indians), 4 to 2. The Suns play in the South Atlantic League which is a Low A affiliate of MLB. Good game, just a lot of missed opportunities, the game ended with bases loaded. The Suns play in Municipal Stadium, the third oldest in baseball, built in just 6 weeks it opened in time for the 1931 season. Hagerstown's Major League affiliations came and went over the years and at times there were none. And in 1981, after 26 years without baseball, the Baltimore Orioles moved in. And since 1981 the O's, the Jays, the Giants, the Mets and now the Nats have farmed their young talent here and have seen some success winning it all in 1981 and more recently won the Northern Division Title in 2005. Municipal Stadium has it's small franchise charms, wooden bleachers (the seats are fiberglass) a manually operated score board (Someone sits out there flipping light switches for balls, strikes and outs, and changes the runs, hits and errors signs by hand) this year it is operated by a cowboy (last year it was a genie with a turban and poofy pants) and Saturday night fireworks. For being as close to a neighborhood as they are they keep the fireworks low and at times they shoot'em rapid fire. One of Minor League Baseballs strangest giveaways came out of Hagerstown when they had a season long promotion that gave away a funeral, you had to write in an describe your dream funeral. I told you it was strange. On the more normal promotion side last night was also loaf-of-bread giveaway night. And that is just what it sounds like.
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