Well, I made it out to the Shorebirds’ opener, but as some people know the game was postponed thanks to heavy rain the day before messing up the infield.
So I made it back on Thursday evening and went to my usual seat, and it got me to notice some of the other changes made in the stadium, the biggest being the relocation of the bullpens outside the field of play. No longer would a team need to have someone guarding the line in front of the bullpen, and you wouldn’t have the occasional delay when the pitcher warming up tossed a wild pitch that bounced away from the catcher.
But that also presents an issue. Back in the old days it was easy for me to lean forward and see if our bullpen was up or not. (Obviously I had a better view down the right field line to see the opposition’s.) But now I can’t see back there, so here’s a suggestion.
With a videoboard, we can always have a picture-in-picture or cut between batters that shows who is warming up in the bullpen. I’m sure those in the press box can see them, but those of us sitting closer to field level would like to know as well.
It’s just a thought to improve the fan experience, since so few pay attention now that the netting is foul pole to foul pole. (You have to have a pop up to go into the stands.)
On a different note, if I were to go back to a Shorebird of the Week - like I used to do on my previous site from 2006-16 - my tradition was that if a player won a leaguewide honor and I hadn’t honored him already over the season, that guy would be the SotW as soon as I could get him to be. Saying that, back in the day I would have honored Chase Allsup this week as he was Carolina League pitcher of the week this past week. (And I likely would have had his photo since he pitched his gem Thursday night when I was there.) I will say he went through Woodpeckers like a hot knife through butter, allowing just one hit and a pair of walks in five shutout innings, fanning ten to help us secure a rare doubleheader sweep.
Chase will hopefully be in the early stages of another stunning start as this goes live, since he’s scheduled to pitch tonight.
Photo answer: Trey Mancini was the first baseman I took the photo of as we played the Charleston Riverdogs on April 27, 2014, winning 5-3 in eight innings for Game 1. (We swept by winning the nightcap, 5-0.) As you likely know, Trey eventually made it to Baltimore for the tail end of the 2016 season and played there until 2022, with the exception of the 2020 season he missed due to stage 3 colon cancer. After his return he was the AL Comeback Player of the Year for 2021.
Now Trey is working on comeback part 2: after being released by both the Cubs and the Reds during the 2023 season and failing to stick with the Marlins in 2024’s spring training and sitting out the remainder of the season, Trey signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks for 2025 and is off to a good start at AAA Reno, hitting .309 in 15 games so far.
In the meantime, though, you can Buy Me a Coffee, since I have a page there now. You can also like and restack this piece so others can enjoy it.