After this first weekend of games for the 66ers and Angels, I can say that I am so excited that I get to do this more than a dozen times this season. It literally is a Baseball Road Trip every single weekend. I'll get into more of how that is in a bit. I will write up one of these "Wrap-up" sections after every weekend that I go to games that goes over the games themselves and any other noteworthy things that happened. Since this weekend was my first one, this blog will be a little longer.
While driving up to San Manuel Stadium on Saturday night, I was struck with a real sense of nostalgia. It was four years ago that I first visited this park and I got to thinking just how far I have come as a person since then. Four years is such a long time. I think I might do a little digging tonight and read up on my blog post from then. A trip down memory lane may be in order.
Here's what I absolutely am ecstatic about when it comes to my weekends: the 66ers, on Saturday, always are having some sort of promotion. And to start with, and in keeping with my Baseball Road Trip nostalgia, the 66ers had the Budweiser Clydesdales visit and pose for pictures with the fans. Does anyone remember Baseball Extravaganza 2009 in St. Louis??? I also scored a sweet replica championship ring of the 66ers 2013 California League Championship as I walked in the special Season Ticket Holder entrance. I felt so entitled and important!
The 66ers have started off the season a little slow. They had only won two games and had lost the two opening series to the High Desert Mavericks and Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. What had been so frustrating was that they had lost multiple games in extra innings. Extra innings, and not just the 10th or 11th, but the 66ers have had games go 13 and 14 innings. Those types of games are draining and when you lose, they just make it so hard to rebound and come back to the park. However, it probably is best to go through those types of games and gain that experience in April instead of late August or early September.
Saturday night, however, the 66ers got a jump on the HD Mavs with three-runs in the fourth highlighted by a two-run double by Andrew Ray. They eventually added one more as they beat the Mavs 4-1.
Ok, onto MLB Sundays. I have planned out my trips to Angels games (and next weekend to Dodger Stadium) all on public transportation and my bike. I put my bike on the Metrolink train, get off at the Anaheim Canyon stop, and then ride the six miles into the City of Orange along the Santa Ana River Trail. I suppose I could ride the train all the way into Orange, but I love riding my bike, and I treat it like a small workout. Considering how beautiful the weather is in Orange County, I'm not complaining at all.
After I ride into Orange, I headed for the downtown Town Square to get some breakfast and a cup of coffee. This part of Orange is really neat as there are a ton of coffee shops, neat restaurants, and unique antique shops. An added bonus for today was that there was a classic car show going on, and while I am a religious bike rider and despise driving a car, I do love looking at old cars. I think that after the Angels games, instead of rushing to catch the early train back to San Bernardino, I'm going to ride around and explore this area and trying a new bar or restaurant after every game.
Dowtown Orange is less than two miles, or an 8-minute bike ride, from Angel Stadium. Here is the best part about the whole biking thing: I do not have to pay to park and I get to lock up my bike next to the main gate. I sped past the parking fare booth with no problems, wove through the sea of parked cars and locked my bike to the perimeter fence next to the main gate. For some reason, the Angels don't have any bike racks, but the fence parking may actually be better. My bike was in full-view of the gate personnel, which included a cop and stadium security. There was no way my bike was going to be messed with.
After a shaky start to the season, the Angels have climbed back up to the .500 plateau. The concern amongst many Halos fans were that the offense would sputter with the loss of Josh Hamilton. Sunday certainly wasn't the case. Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Raul Ibanez went back-to-back-to-back in the first inning off of Mets starter Bartolo Colon. After that, the Angels never looked back. They pounded out 17 hits and gave Colon the worst outing of his career. The Mets misery continued as their golden-boy captain, 3B David Wright, was ejected in the 7th for arguing balls and strikes. The Mets are poised for another rough season, and I have sympathies for their fans. Angels take this one 14-2.
That should do it for Weekend #1. I'll talk to you all on Friday!
Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)
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