In the Puget Sound
region, Tacoma is the butt of a number of jokes. Its industrialization,
crime problems,
It's easier to teach
youngsters to score than one might think. My then-eight-year-old nephew
did a fine job scoring a Mariners/Orioles game I took him to. It was a
pitchers' duel, which made it easier...very few baserunners to follow around the
bases, which is the tricky part of basic scoring. So at the Tacoma game, I
worked on the six-year-old. We started with the very basics...color in
runs when they're scored, and a K means a strikeout. Soon enough, David
was working with me. He started by filling in the runs that were
scored. He worked intently, like this was the world's smallest coloring
book. Adorable. He then wrote in a few K's for me. This, also, was
cute. It's a challenge for a six-year-old to write small enough to fit
into the scoring box. David concentrated so hard on writing the K that he
actually came close to scraping through the page. The ballpark itself has
surprising charm. It's fairly old, and the age shows well. The
pavilion area was excellent--it included loads of minor-league promotions such
as an opportunity to take kids' pictures on top of horses (this would be the
only time to date I've seen horses in a minor-league park). I was a little
bit bothered by the number of people in the beer garden. The beer garden
is in the pavilion, which means that
A fine sense of Tacoma
baseball history is on display in the pavilion--a number of plaques for big
names in Tacoma baseball history (I remember Matty Alou), but most tellingly, a
lovely mural. The mural is of a dugout with a player wearing the uniform
for each of the teams in Tacoma history. I was quite pleased and
impressed. So much nicer than the usual cinderblock wall left blank!
Additionally, they have reserved one of their better seats for a sculpture of
Mr. Cheney, the bigwig in Tacoma baseball history for whom the field was
named. Not only is he there in the front row of back section, but there's
a bronzed sculpted scorecard by his feet and even some sculpted peanut shells on
the ground around him. I can't think of a better tribute for a baseball
lover than to be set down in a good seat to enjoy and score baseball
BALLPARK SCORE:
BASEBALL STUFF I'VE SEEN HERE: The first game for Jeremy Reed in the Mariners' organization after the M's gave up Freddy Garcia to get him. He goes two for four with a two-run home run. A.J. Zapp hits a pair of homers for Tacoma. Portland's Xavier Nady also homered just a few days before getting called up to the Padres. In 2007, I see Salt Lake's Joe Saunders for the second time in two weeks. He impresses, going 7 strong innings and striking out 7. Salt Lake blows a 4-0 lead before winning on Brandon Wood's 9th-inning single. Next stadium (chronologically) Back to minor league stadiums page Written July 2004. Revised July 2007. |
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and, simply put, aesthetic unattractiveness lead stuffy, rich
Seattleites to refer to "the aroma of Tacoma." This stereotyping
led me to expect that Cheney Stadium, the AAA ballpark in Tacoma, wouldn't be a
great place. I was wrong. Cheney Stadium is a fine place to watch a
ballgame, and even better when watched with enthusiastic seven- and
nine-year-old nephews. 
you can't see the game from there. And
it was absolutely packed. I've got nothing against enjoying beer at a
baseball game, but why enjoy beer at a baseball game if you're not going to
watch the baseball game? Why not just go to a bar?
for
eternity.
