It’s 12:28 a.m. Minnesota time (I’m assuming we’re still dealing with Central time), and I’m sitting in Room 224 of the Super 8 in St. Paul trying to hold onto the slight bitterness I developed after attending my first-ever St. Paul Saints home game. I want to make sure my true feelings come across in this post, even though I’ve been awake for the last 19 hours and I’m running on empty.
First of all, let me get this out of the way: Whatever the Saints are doing — it works. People pack their park, Midway Stadium, and it’s a better parking-lot atmosphere than the Wingnuts or any Wichita pro sports team could possibly ever imagine or attain.
I came with my boys Jeremy and Asa, making the 10-hour trek today from Wichita for a couple weekend games before the Wingnuts return home on Sunday. I don’t think we knew exactly what to expect, but it’s safe to say that we didn’t expect a parking lot full of tailgaters. Not just a parking lot — most of the stadium’s surrounding area was filled with people playing games, cooking out and just chilling out. It was amazing.
So that’s out there. The Saints are the flagship, marquee independent baseball franchise. No one can take that from them and no one probably ever will grasp that title away. I just want to make that perfectly clear.
But there’s a reason I qualified the good atmosphere by limiting it to the parking lot. My friends, when I got into the stadium, I realized that this was not baseball. This was a circus that happened to also be hosting a baseball game. No one in the crowd, I don’t think, was actually there to watch baseball. Overheard in my section: “This is the St. Paul Saints, right?” and “Oh, it was a hit-and-run” after a 3-2 pitch with two outs. No, it wasn’t a hit and run. It was a full-count two-strikes pitch.
I’m all for on-field promotions to draw in the casual fan. But there are two problems with how St. Paul approaches this: 1) there’s a promotion EVERY SINGLE HALF INNING! And 2) I don’t think St. Paul has anything but casual fans. I sat in a bleacher section full of people and didn’t hear a single conversation about the game going on or about baseball in general. People came in late and didn’t know where they were supposed to sit, and the couple in front of me took PDA to a very annoying level.
I’ll admit to being a baseball purist. I love THE GAME — it has always outweighed the people playing it, the fans, the atmosphere — everything. Nothing is bigger than THE GAME. So yeah, I’m coming from a place probably not very many people can relate to. Am I saying I didn’t enjoy myself? No. I did. Because I watched the game and blocked out all the shenanigans around me.
What’s wrong with just marketing baseball? I realize it’s “just” independent baseball and St. Paul is dealing with a major league team right up the road in Minneapolis, so the Saints have to do something to set themselves apart. So they go for gimmicks. They’re owned by Mike Veeck who has showmanship in his blood. I get it. I really do. But I’m going to remember Blake Gailen’s 7 RBI performance more than I am a chicken-toss during the middle of the 3rd inning.
And while we’re at it, what’s the point, St. Paul, of dogging a player on the opposing team when that team is laying a 12-2 whipping on you? Chris Colton got the “Participant of the Game” award after going 0 for 5 with a strikeout on Friday, but his performance didn’t really affect the game too much. And it would have been 11-2 if a Saints outfielder hadn’t dropped an easy pop-up hit by Colton, which allowed him to reach base and later score. I’m just saying.
I had fun. I really did. I realize baseball games aren’t really about baseball anymore. That’s sad to me, but I’ll get over it. I’m keeping my pure heart, though.
7 Comments
As one of the many Saints fans who actually cares about what happens on the field and have supported the club for over 15 years I think you’ve really underestimated and overstated the situation in St. Paul. Yes, the majority of fans at the ballpark are there for a good time and not terribly concerned about the game. But that’s true of about every minor league ballpark in the country, and also of Wichita –where I attended the first three games the ‘Nuts hosted with the Saints. I saw almost as many promotions there as at a Saints game and done almost as well (which is a real complement to the Wingnuts’ staff since few do them as well as the Saints do).
It’s common for “baseball purists” to really miss the fact that Saints’ owner Mike Veeck’s father pointed out decades ago that he could never run a successful baseball team by satisfying the “purists.” I’m glad you’ll remember Blake’s 7 RBI game. I know that I’ll remember the fact he also tried to complete the cycle by stretching his last double into a failed triple –which I and my good baseball buddy sitting next to me kept cheering him on to do. And I’m not paid to cover the Saints or the league and have traveled to El Paso, Pensacola, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Gary at my own expense as a fan.
I agree with you that most of the fans in the stands have at best a week understanding of the game and even less of the story of the Saints. I’ve personally dealt with that for over 15 years in St. Paul and started my own websites for much of that time to try addressing it. But quite honestly, having been to every OTHER ballpark the Saints have EVER played in both the Northern League and American Association, it’s only slightly better elsewhere. The reality is minor league ball is all about “family entertainment” and every successful club does much the same. The Saints just do more of it and it’s appropriate to this market. The goofy promotions are something that works here but may not work the same elsewhere. It’s also why you won’t see any groups of young women in short shorts and/or tight fighting clothing on the Saints staff since that isn’t tolerated here (as it is in Wichita or Fort Worth or in Grand Prairie’s left field sports bar). There represent some very distinct cultural differences that simply won’t work for a team on the Arkansas like they do one on the upper Mississippi.
The Saints, like other MLB markets, have a lot harder task to get people to show up which leads to some of the issues you raise. If you read any of the several books that cover the history of the Saints (there are at least two) you’ll find that the Saints recieved nearly universal scorn by the local press. It was called “Mike’s Beer League” by one local sports columnits. Most expected it to fold before the first season ended. Some to this day have nothing but scorn for a minor league club within sight of the Metrodome. You need only realize that the Saints get ZERO reporters following them on the road and you’re providing for the Wichita community the sort of REAL baseball coverage the Saints have not had since their only press supporter died about a decade ago (and whose bronzed cap hangs on a plaque designating the press box as the “Augie Box” after the late Mike Augustine).
The Bottom Line: It’s a major overstatement to say that there are “no real fans” in the stands in St. Paul. If you ever bothered to talk to some of those of us tailgating before the game you’ll find a different group of fans closer to your liking. If you come back during the post season you’ll find a much more “hard core” group who really DO know and love the players, the game and care deeply about the outcome. Maybe you’ll stop by Section H, Row CC, Seats 1-4 and talk to some of us who care. Alternatively you can find the groups wearing 10th Inning Stretch T-shirts tailgating before and after Saturday’s game who can give you a different view of (and from) Saints fans.
Mr. Lutz you definitely did not sit in the right section nor spent any time with some of the many Saints fans, like myself, who are really into the game. Yes, most people at Saints games are not “baseball purists” but Mike Veeck’s Hall of Fame father said he could never make his clubs succeed by catering to the purists –some 30-40 years ago in the majors. Yes promotions are big and common, but they’re not all the different from what I saw in Wichita where during the Saints first trip there. When it comes to “insulting” the visiting team I’d say the video clip from “The Money Pit” (where Tom Hanks laughs uncontrollably looking through a huge hole in the floor –which works out to being the entire crowd at L-DS) was quite similar for over emphasizing the visiting team committing an error.
Wichita and St. Paul are very different markets with their own distinct histories. What works in one doesn’t in the other. The goofy promotions work here but don’t always work elsewhere. The same can be said for having attractive young women in short skirts and tight tops (as done in Wichita, Ft. Worth and Grand Prarie’s ballpark sports bar) which have been routinely rejected in St. Paul.
It also cannot be UNderstated that the fact your that the Eagle sent you to St. Paul shows how much more support the Wichita media community gives the Wingnuts. When the Saints started 16 years ago the local sports writers called it “Mike’s Beer League” and said it would fold midway through the first season. Many of them continue to have nothing but that same scorn to this day with less positive to say than you have. The Saints, like several other teams, have to survive in an major MLB market and some of what they do not only has helped them to survive but have been adopted by others –including the Twins.
If you’d bother to talk to some of the fans tailgating before the game you may have found many of us who are exactly the sort of fans you’re talking about. There are Saints fans like me who appreciated Blake’s great evening –and even cheered him on when he (questionably) tried to extend his 9th inning double into a triple to complete the cycle. I know since I’ve scored nearly every baseball game I’ve attended for nearly 20 years (and groan every time I’m asked “What are you doing?” or worse “Are you the official scorekeeper?”).
I suggest you take some time Saturday and walk the parking lot before the game and talk to some of the groups in the main part of the lot. You’ll find some who are every bit the “baseball fan” (though maybe not “purist”). Having attended well over 900 total Saints games (last night happened to be my 750th at Midway) and visited every ballpark (past and present) in both the Northern League and American Association (including Wichita) I can tell you that the Saints aren’t all that different anywhere else in Indy Ball.
If you need more specific locations, try finding the guy with the cowbell, scorebook and Saints cap with Am. Assn. pins (including one for the NBC) sitting just in front of the handicap seating in Sect. H. Alternatively, look for the group three rows in and 6 places over in the Saints parking lot (starting from the stadium) with 10th Inning Stretch T-shirts. You’ll find at least two of the type of fans you’ve suggested don’t exist here.
I see where your problem came from. From what I can tell, you sat in General Admission. Home of the casual fans and people out for date night or with “the gang from work”. I can sympathize, I used to have to sit out there the first 2 years of the Saints existence. Shame on you though for painting all of us fans with the same brush. If you took the time to get to know us, especially those of us that sit behind home plate, us that keep score every game, will sit in the parking lot after midnight talking baseball, you will find that there are very passionate fans in St. Paul. Matter of fact, come find us before and or after the game tonight, we’d love to meet ya, share a beer and talk some ‘ball.
I see what the basic problem was, I’m guessing by the description of bleachers, you were in General Admission, the place where “the gang from work” gets together and people show up for the entertainment alone.
If you’d venture up to the Grandstand and visit with us folks that are there nearly every night, keep score, sit in the parking lot after midnight talking baseball, you’d find there are alot of hardcore fans in St. Paul.
Please don’t paint us all with the same brush, matter of fact if you see a car after the game tonight with a sign in the back saying 10th Inning Stretch, stop by, have a beer with us, talk some baseball. You may find your opinion of us may change.
Here’s my chance to write my thread. I’m also sitting here in Room 224 in St. Paul. I’m a casual fan as JL points out. Not a “purist”. Why is it that I would make a 10 hour trip to watch the Nuts? For the experiance… We (The Nut House – Section 118) have heard that St. Paul knows how to party and pack the house. I will not deny that. It was absolutly amazing! The crowd in the Lot accepted and welcomed us. I started by having a few beverages with the locals, moved to a game of corn hole (or as we name it: Nut Bags) also I need to point out, we dominated the game of Nut Bags, had a meal in the lot offered by St. Paul fans, bought a T-Shirt from the back of a car. Once inside of the park I was who I always am… A social bug. Getting to know the crowd making good with the local police and blasting “GO NUTS!!!” for all to hear. So how much ball did I watch? Maybe 3-4 innings. There is so much atmosphere in the ballpark St. Paul, ICT it doesn’t matter. The real dedication is the ownership, management, staff and PLAYERS of this game. All that put this sport into our towns deserve a hand. I’m out. We’re headed to some Mexican Food joint for some grub then check out the local scene. Take care ST. Paul and give us a shout. Nut fans… See you in the NUT LOT at 12 Sunday. GO NUTS!!!
Coupla things unrelated to the game or the promos. Do TWO of you really need to make TWO posts about this blog? I mean, seriously, could you not have said everything you needed to say, in fewer words, than the TWO blogs each you entered? Whatever. I think goint to a St. Paul Saints game sounds like FUN, FUN, FUN, and I agree that the market in St. Paul sounds like a completely different market than that in Wichita. I like baseball. Period. I do admit that I clap along or say “hey” at the appropriate muscial intervals, but other than that I try to pay attention to the players, their stats, their potential to move up, and the score. Just sayin’
Consider this a public apology to the one we gave Jeff yesterday –in person– at Midway.
In both cases it was because after we hit “post comment” there was no update on this site. Since we (each) thought the information was lost we posted again. Next time I/we will know better to trust that the post will appear here –eventually.