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.