Stadium was called Tri-Cities Stadium in 2004, Dust Devils Stadium since. What might have
been...Michelle the Girlfriend worked for this franchise for a couple of years,
overseeing its 2001 move from Portland. And I was all set to head out
there during the summer of 2002 to serve as a general dog's-body for the
organization.
If anyone ever asks you what
public relations staff must do for a minor-league team, keep in mind (and this I
never knew) that one of the duties is to dress as the mascot for winter
appearances. This makes The Dust Devil (who technically does not have a
name, although I was encouraged by Tri-City staffers to call him
"Dusty") was, when my girlfriend was in the costume, the sexiest mascot in the United States and
Canada. But take a look at that thing...what IS it? A dust devil, I
know, but does it look at all like one? The nickname of Dust Devils is a
fine nickname, and totally appropriate (I walked through The ballpark itself is
nice. Not a standout. It's a part of the local recreational complex, and
is therefore surrounded by a billion soccer and softball fields. I took my
customary walk around the ballpark before play began, and saw people taking
softball batting practice on the soccer fields, which, come to think of it,
would be a fine place to take a catch before the game. Also, if you wanted
to attend the game for free, please note that on this night, not one but two
gates along the left field wall were open. One led directly onto the field
(kinda hard to get in that way) but the other actually led to the seats.
Not that I advocate this kind of thing, but it would have been
The Dust Devils might consider letting people in for free, actually, since their attendance has been quite low in their four years of existence. I'm told it can be stiflingly hot even for evening games (please note that the third-base side is the sunny side). But this July night was unseasonably cool, so the dust-devil winds not only kicked up dirt but made it a chilly, unpleasant night. Very few fans were there for the first inning, and after an awful night of baseball (7 errors, 3 by the Tri-Cities in the seventh inning, and a 14-0 Everett lead at one point), there was more or less nobody left but me. The day started quiet like a bookstore, but ended quiet like a tomb. The ballpark was huge--335
down the lines. I've not seen a game with so many Texas League doubles and
backpedaling middle infielders in my life. I haven't looked up the stadium's history to see if it's always been that large, but my guess is that
they'll
The Tri-Cities workers did
their best to keep everyone involved and active. Erik the Peanut Guy had a
microphone on him, and the PA announcer would kick it down to him for promotions
and even a few random announcements. It was a nice touch. The
affable Erik would do his schtick on the microphone, then resume
hawking. By the way, I absolutely loved the personalized T-shirts that the
hawkers wore (the backs had their names and statements like "Cotton Candy
Expert"). Erik even did an interview with the mother of the Dust
Devils' third baseman who was seeing her son play professionally for the first
time. His first question to the mother was bizarre. "So, is
this your first time in the Tri-Cities?" Gee, Erik, what do you
think? Why would this young woman have ever been to Kennewick, Pasco,
Richland, or One of the nicest All in all, a decent night of bad baseball in shivery, windy cold. Yup--to me, that's not a bad night.
It was run around the bases night in the Tri-Cities...but by the time the game ended, there were only 5 kids left to run! BALLPARK SCORE:
BASEBALL STUFF I'VE SEEN HERE: My, what a terrible game I saw on my debut visit. Three hits for the AquaSox's Omar Falcon led their attack. Two errors--on back to back plays--by Dust Devil shortstop Pedro Strop (each a throw through the first baseman's legs), plus another by second baseman Jason van Kooten stretch the top of the seventh into six outs, eight runs, twelve batters, and about fifteen years. Not that I'm complaining. In July 2005, I saw what looked to be a stud-pitcher-in-the-making...Shane Lindsey, a free-agent pitcher, struck out 11, walked none, and gave up only 3 hits in 5 innings in a Dust Devils victory. Next stadium (chronologically) Back to minor league stadiums page Written July 2004. Updated July 2005. |
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(Michelle said she was considering using me as official scorer
until they found someone who could do it more regularly, then having me
pinch-hit wherever I was needed for the rest of the summer.) But, alas,
Michelle left the Dust Devils before the season began and moved to Seattle with
me. Oh well...lose summer employment, but gain Michelle the Girlfriend's
constant presence. 
a few on the way to the
ballpark, and a good number of them popped up on the field during the
game). But this thing doesn't look like much of anything, and on top of that,
it's got to be difficult to walk around in that getup.
very, very easy to
walk right in--nobody watching and a gate already open.
certainly keep it that way as long as the Dust Devils are a Rockies
affiliate. Coors Field is that large as well, and those young outfielders
need to practice patrolling all that real estate.
West Richland before? (That's right...there are FOUR cities
in the "Tri-Cities.") The third baseman had two hits, as the mom
said to anyone who would listen to her after the terrible loss--"My boy
had two hits!" she said--but really needed to work on his arm. Like
clockwork, at least one of his throws every inning would sail into the front row
during warmups. I was in the front row. I'm fortunate I was not
hurt. It took me until later in the game to figure out what was going
on...he was trying to throw to his mother! What a sweet gesture.
moments I've
ever seen at a ballpark arose out of a scary one. A foul ball looped over
my head and hit the ankle of the adorable kid in this picture. He screamed
and cried while his mother held him. The ball rolled down past my feet to
a fourth- or fifth-grader in the front row. He then walked up and handed
it to the still-crying little guy. Would I have had that kind of kindness
and grace at that age? I'm not sure. In my mind, that gracious young
fan is the
MVP. I tried hard to get a ball for the rest of the game--maybe one of the
third baseman's errant throws?--so that I could give it to the kind, charitable
youngster, repaying his kindness. But no such luck.
