Las Vegas 51s Baseball

Every year, I try to get to a professional baseball game. Most years I’m able to attend a Major League Baseball game, but it looked as though this year just wasn’t going to pan out.

Until last night, that is. I went to a baseball game. Admittedly, it wasn’t a major league game, but it was the next best thing as the Las Vegas 51s, the AAA minor league affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, hosted the Sacramento Riverdogs, who are affiliated with the Oakland Athletics.

What a night it was!

I got to munch on peanuts and drink a beer, while talking to some of the wonderful people who were seated around me. And speaking of seats, I was near ground level, in the third row of the blue seats, right behind home plate looking down the first-base line. Home plate was only about 20 feet away from me.

I got to cool off when the sun went down and the 97-degree heat from the late-afternoon sun cooled down to a comfortable warm summer baseball evening in the high-70s.

I got to watch kids and young adults compete between innings in the bat-spin race, the pitching game, the beat Cosmo around the bases race, the race to see who could jersey-up first, and the load up the serving platter game.

Speaking of Cosmo … he’s the team mascot, a weird-looking dude with big eyes that’s supposed to represent a visiting alien from another world (re Area 51, for which the team is named). One little girl behind me was calling out for him to get closer, then when he did, she screamed and hung on to her mommy for dear life.

I got to hear a crusty ol’ fan to the left of me ring his little desk bell in time to the music, blow taps on his bugle when the Riverdogs relieved their pitcher in the middle of the inning, and belch out his beer-breath approval when the 51s scored. He was an equal-opportunity heckler, yelling out disparaging remarks to 51s, Riverdogs, and umps alike. Amazing, the epitome of a baseball fan.

I got to overhear a guy in front of me say his name was Craig, so I tapped him on his shoulder and introduced myself. As I said, you meet the nicest people at baseball games.

I got to stand and sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” led by three boys up in the press box.

I got to trudge back up a hill to the parking lot and search around for 20 minutes before I found my car (a rental, and y’know how hard it is to remember what make, model and color it is).

But best of all, I was one of the first 2,000 through the gates, which meant I got a bobble-head doll – Carrot Top in a 51s uniform! I know just the spot for him. Carrot Top can stand (Sit? Bobble?) next to AA Mississippi Braves manager Phillip Wellman. They can bobble to each other for as long as they want, 24/7.

Who won the game? The home team, of course: Las Vegas 51s 12, Sacramento Riverdogs 10.

I love baseball.