A throwback view on baseball and Modesto’s place in it
A confession: I’m at best a casual baseball fan. I don’t fanatically follow a team, gear up in team logo attire, live or die by the day’s box scores or memorize individual statistics.
I do, however, enjoy going to an occasional ball game. I’ve been to about a dozen Major League ballparks around the country, from the revered Wrigley Field in Chicago to the late, unlamented Kingdome in Seattle.
Why go, if I’m not invested in a team? I love the ambiance of a ballpark, and the mini-drama that plays out as the innings go by, runs are scored, strategies shift and tension builds.
About that ambiance, and the point of this column: Major League ballparks are about the glamour and glitz of “The Show.” Big cities, beautiful stadiums, fancy (and expensive!) food choices, national media coverage and an electric atmosphere.
The ambiance of minor league baseball, especially Single A ball, is entirely different, and just as compelling. It has a rural charm, much like a county fair. Corn dogs, rather than gourmet creations. A simple ballpark, a step or two up from a high school or college baseball field. Basic bleachers, not luxury boxes.
That difference in atmosphere fits the difference between the teams, players and aspirations. Major leaguers are millionaires, at the top of their game, the best in the business. They are celebrities and entertainers as well as athletes. Minor leaguers are young men who were standouts in high school or college, hoping to catch lightning and a ride to The Show. A few will probably make it.
It’s hard to get too invested in minor league standings — the rosters on minor league teams are transitory, by design. The best players will quickly move on to bigger venues. Others might spend a few years, and reluctantly admit that they should probably pursue another career. Spectators might get lucky and get to see a major leaguer come through while rehabbing from an injury. Watch the movie “Bull Durham” to get a feel for the charm of minor league baseball.
Modesto’s John Thurman Field fits that atmosphere. It’s a nice ballpark with a small-town feel, unpretentious. No glamour or glitz, just young athletes on the first rung of professional baseball, striving to impress the scouts and move up to the next rung. Thurman Field offers a pleasant way to spend a summer evening and watch the game drama unfold.
Downtown Modesto stadium?
The plans to build a new stadium in downtown Modesto raise lots of questions about public funding of professional sports, the best use of public money, the economic viability of the investment. I will leave those debates for others to hash out. My point is that building a fancy new stadium downtown runs counter to the traditional appeal of minor league ball.
It shouldn’t be about big money investments, fancy digs, high-watt entertainment and glamour. It’s about aspiring to those things, on the first step of that journey.
We are lucky – we can get the Major League experience on a day trip to San Francisco or Oakland. Let’s not lose the affordable charm at the other end of the professional baseball experience.