I'll give a prize to anyone who can adequately compare the feeling of the end of the Minor League season to something we can all relate to. There is always this feeling of sadness of finality, but there it is almost always accompanied by a smile. I've been going to Minor League games for my entire life, so I am definitely conditioned to the end of the season, but whenever that date comes around, I always feel sad. 2015 is definitely a norm as the calendar moved past Labor Day, and I had to come to grips with the end. While the Major League schedule is keeping me busy, and I am leaving for an extended Road Trip this week, Minor League is where my heart will always lie.
My Inland Empire 66ers failed to make the playoffs this year. They faded down the stretch and ended up going on a really bad losing streak dropping something like 15 of their last 17. However, they did win their home finale on a come-from-behind walk-off double and error to beat the second half division champions, High Desert Mavericks. It was a far cry from last year's squad who rallied furiously the last month of the season to clinch the wild-card and beat Lake Elsinore in the first-round.
Ever since I bought season tickets last year, I have really come to love going to games at San Manuel Stadium. I spent a little more this season to buy season tickets down behind the home dugout. While I certainly enjoyed being closer to the action, my location had the added benefit of getting to know the other season ticket holders in my section. There was a group of about a dozen people who also had season tickets that I really got to know, and they got to know me. While I am usually in-depth in scoring the game while it's going on, I really enjoyed the conversations my section-mates and I had during the down times of the game. It was something that I hadn't enjoyed in a long time, and I remember just how fantastic that camaraderie can be at a baseball game.
Sure, I cheer for the 66ers as much as I can, but I'm usually really focused on my scoring of the game. That is, until, Bernie comes along. People in my section knew me for my stats, but also for messing with the 66ers mascot, Bernie. I don't know what it is about mascots, but I love to torment them. With Bernie, I took great pleasure in calling him "Elmo" and a"Muppet." It was all in good fun, and everybody would laugh when I would yell it. I only did it once a game, but it just added to the experience. And, the mascot took it very well and would make noises at me. I'll definitely miss Bernie in the off-season.
While the home finale was certainly a sad day, I did manage to squeeze out one more 66ers Road Trip, this time out to Rancho Cucamonga. I really did make an experience out of it, hiking Mt. Baldy before the game. I had been to Rancho before this time, most recently for the Carolina-California League All-Star Game earlier this season. After the game, which the 66ers lost, I kept asking myself why I don't come to more games out in Rancho considering that it literally is only about twenty minutes from me. With the amount of games that Rancho and Inland Empire play during the season, I'll have to make it out to Loanmart Field a.k.a. The Epicenter more often.
If I do go back out to Rancho, and I have a full-day, I'll probably hike Baldy again, even though this particular time was really tough. I hadn't exercised as much as I would've liked this past month, and it showed. The 11-.5-mile hike is a big loop, and the first mile is pretty brutal climbing up more than 1,000 vertical feet to a ski hut that is at the bottom of the massive "Baldy Bowl." After the ski hut, at about 8,500 feet, I hit the wall. The altitude knocked me down a peg or two. I struggled with every step, and while I did summit, I got to the top and fell asleep.
The 2015 Minor League season was a resounding success. I have no regrets about the season, and I hope that 2016 is just as fun and exciting.
I head off tomorrow for the Hiawatha trip. I'll post an itinerary tomorrow evening.
Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)
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