The 2016 Week of Baseball has its official kickoff this past
Tuesday as I made a return visit to Chuckchansi Park in Fresno, CA. I was
returning to my home in Highland after spending the 4th of July
holiday weekend in Oregon with my family, and I decided to make a quick
stop-off in the large Central California city of Fresno to see some Triple-A
action. It was a fantastic decision and I am glad that I made the time to
revisit what is a very special ballpark.
My last visit to Chuckchansi Park was eight years ago on the
Cal Phase 2 road trip. In 2008, I did a San Francisco, Fresno, and Stockton
circuit utilizing the train to move about the state. It was my first real
season of Baseball Road Trips and I have to laugh at how young I was. The
pictures from that trip remind me of how I have gained an enormous amount of
wisdom and experience when it comes to going to games and Baseball Road Trips.
Looking back, they serve as important reminders as the foundation for my love
of this hobby and how far I have come.
In my 2008 visit to Fresno, I went to a scorching day game
in mid-June. It was over 100 degrees and while the park did have misters, it
was kind of uncomfortable watching the game. This time, I attended a night game
on a Tuesday with temperatures very comfortable around the 80 degree mark. I
traded in the Amtrak travel for the convenience of a rental car, and after
encountering some traffic on the 99 freeway, I made it to the park about a half-hour
before game time. This was plenty of time to get my passport stamp and
reacquaint myself with a facility that I hadn’t seen in eight years.
Chuckchansi Park is a beautiful facility. Of the ballparks
that overlook skylines rather than natural elements, Fresno is one of the
better ones I have been to in Minor League Baseball. While the Fresno skyline
isn’t super spectacular, by any means, it provides a fantastic backdrop to the left
field view of the stadium. With the view of the skyline added, Chuckchansi Park
is laid out really well for the fans. I sat on the first-base line in a
quasi-upper deck that seems to be split between the main seating bowl and an
outfield section. After going to so many Single-A stadiums in the past three
years, the expansiveness of a Triple-A stadium was something I wasn’t used to
for Minor League Baseball.
The Sacramento River Cats scored three runs in the top of
the 8th to pull away from the Fresno Grizzlies late, winning 6-4.
After spending the night with some family in Fresno, and the
jumping back in the car for the final four hour trip back to Highland, I got to
thinking about the future prospects for Baseball Road Trips in the Central
Valley. I did one a few years back to Visalia and Bakersfield, but the Triple-A
parks in the Central Valley are really top-notch and ripe for a good Road Trip.
Just thinking out loud, the one California League ballpark that has evaded me
is Modesto. So, it is very conceivable to do a Sacramento, Modesto, Fresno trip
using the train and my bike. Maybe something to think about for the future…
Anyways, the Week of Baseball really gets going as Thursday will
mark my 400th professional baseball game. I’ll probably write a
little blurb about that before the weekend starts.
Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)
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