The first sure sign that spring has sprung in all her budding glory in Indy is Opening Night at Victory Field with the Indianapolis Indians. And so it was that the Boss and I found ourselves on hand at the Vic to greet the season in the best possible way and that is to see the Tribe start its first home stand of 2013 against the “evil” Columbus Clippers. As expected there was an enthusiastic crowd of Indians fans that were ready to pay homage to their heroes on the diamond and enjoy the opening night festivities.
As the current Tribe starting lineup was being introduced, I could almost hear the ghosts of Grover Cleveland Alexander, Mordecai Brown, Oral Hildebrand, Gabby Hartnett and Napoleon Lajoie yelling down from Baseball Heaven for the guys to give it their all and win one for Chief Knokahomma, the old politically incorrect mascot of the Indians. But it could have been just ringing in my ears … I couldn’t tell. I saw that the ball park had withstood the rigors of the winter in fine shape and was looking bright and sassy.
The Indianapolis Indians are a Triple-A team affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Central Division of the National League in the MLB, so that means that most of the players are just a phone call away from being with the parent club. The Tribe plays in the Western Division of the International League and won a division championship in 2012.
After finding our seats along the first baseline (they were really great seats that were just past first base and we had a commanding view of the whole field), the next order of business was to wash my hands. The men’s rooms at Victory Field are the best. Clean, bright, and everything in working order, with lots of room to do what you gotta do. While I can’t speak from personal experience about the ladies facilities, the Boss informs me that the women’s rooms are equally well appointed and the best that any public facility can be. After cleaning up, the next order of business was to get some food. Of course no trip to the Vic is complete unless you have consumed a Ball Park Dawg during the course of the game so I made my way to the stand. Imagine my unbridled joy when I found that they now sell foot long hot dogs. These are the real deal — a real foot, not 10 inches and about the size of a half dollar in circumference. You have to hold it in both hands. I’m sure there is some symbolism there, someplace. It still has that great ball park taste.
Well, the game was underway, and things seemed to go fairly quick. We in the stands had to remember that until a few days before, the guys on the field had been in Arizona and Florida. While you couldn’t see your breath, it was a bit chilly.
One of the best things about going to the Vic is making a new friend of the fan in the seat next to yours. The Boss made the acquaintance of James, a young man from Zionsville, who is a baseball fan and enthusiastic Tribe supporter. The Boss is really not a baseball fan but she loves to go to the Vic and be a part of the event. She loves to walk around and look at the downtown skyline and people-watch. Very often, she runs into someone she knows and this makes it extra special. She found a conversation mate in James and they both seemed to enjoy just talking to each other and occasionally observing what was going on with the ball game.
It was the seventh inning stretch before anybody knew it and the score was still 0-0. Finally in the top of the eighth a Clipper connected to a fastball that seemed to carry all the way to Monument Circle. Anyway it was a grand slam and that made it 4-0 just like that. The Tribe wasn’t able to score so that was the way the game ended. The Tribe lost but the fans won. It was a great opening night with a whole lot of fun things to do.
So it’s baseball season in Indy and I am really looking forward to more great times at the Vic with all my family. Maybe I’ll see you out at the ball park next time. I hope so!
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