Well, I have found the place I want to watch a game every day.  It’s in Oneonta. And while no picture can do this place justice, here are two that may show you how tiny, and well situated the park itself is.

Damashke Field

The park was recently renovated with most of the box seats on the side lines removed.  But while the sidelines are filled with metal bleachers, which I am sure keeps upkeep costs to a minimum, the front rows of the baselines seats, as well as the area behind home plate are original.  And when I say original, well one fan told me that Babe Ruth played here as a Red Sox player.  I think the term field of dreams often gets overuse, especially by me, but if there ever was a place where you got the feeling that the ghosts of days gone by were standing on the field, ready to enter the game this might be it. It was a tiny crowd, maybe 100-120 fans in the stands, so you could hear them, and the players well.  The box seats are all held by season ticket holders, which shows there are quite a few loyal fans in the area.  The team itself has bee owned by the same partners since 1966, though there may be a new group taking over in the near future, after all one of the main parters is in his 90s.

If there is a drawback here, it may be amenities, like the bathrooms which, I believe, are part of the original clubhouse.  Well, if Babe Ruth was original, they may not have been plumbed then, but you get the idea. One fan, and father of the bat boys is excited that next year he might be able to get cheese on his cheeseburger, just to give you a sense of the conveniences. Luxury this is not.  There also may b too many ugly chain link fences used instead to keep people off the field and batted balls on the field.  Still, sitting to watch a game here is one of the most peaceful things I can imagine. Here is one more shot before the game of the players stretching.

Players stretch in Oneonta

Now, remember that old adage of you see something new almost everyday in baseball. Well, my Oneonta experience really showed that to be true.  Oneonta is the short-season A ball affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, and yesterday they hosted the Vermont Lake-Monsters, the short-season A affiliate of the Washington Nationals.  Starting for the Lake Monsters was a 12th round pick, who’s only real skill seemed to be that he was left-handed.  He did get a little better as the game went on, but threw a lot of pitches. The Tigers hitters were patient, but clearly are still learning when to swing.   The Tigers pitcher was a bit sharper, and with the lack of plate discipline of the Lake Monsters, didn’t have too hard a time keeping them off the basepaths. He finally gave up a run in the 5th, on a triple and a single to right.  The Lake Monsters tied the game in the sixth, and there it would sit for a 6 more innings.  In the 4th inning, the number 6 hitter, Steve Souza, came up to bat for the second time and struck out, also for the second time.  He was mad at the call and at himself and hit his bat into the ground at the plate.  The bat must have broken at that point.  A fan sitting in the back row of the grandstand said in almost a regular speaking voice “Temper, Temper.” Souza turned and stared into the stands as he walked back to the dugout.  Once at the top of the steps, he finished breaking his bat over his knee, and then turned and mouthed an obscenity to the fan (really to the fans in general). He threw his batting glove on the ground and stormed to his position at third base.  Where do you think that first batted ball of the inning went? To Souza, who wasn’t able to make the play, and was charged with an error.  The kid was hostile, though in his next at bat he was more patient and hit a long fly ball, instead of striking out.  So, I bet you are thinking that seeing this was my unusual moment of the game, but actually it was not.  As  I said before the game went into the 12th inning in a tie. In the bottom of the 12th, with an extra third baseman pitching for the Lake Monsters, and the lead-off batter on first,  the Tigers’  shortstop executes a bunt for a hit! Now two on, and no out.  The next batter lays down another text-book bunt and sacrifices the runners over.  The next batter lines sharply to the shortstop. With one out, the Lake Monsters elect to intentionally walk the next batter who has been on base three times- though twice on errors, thus loading the bases and setting up the double play.  Carlos Ramirez comes to bat and hit a soft bloop right over the second baseman to drive in the winning run.  Yeah, the game is over, and the fans rise from their seats and begin to file for the gate.  But wait, there is a discussion happening on the field.  The catcher is talking to the umpires.  The umpires are talking.  They are still talking.  The Tigers stop congratulating themselves and head to their clubhouse. The Lake Monsters stand on the sidelines, as their catcher continues to point at second. The second baseman is still standing on second.  We begin to murmur in the crowd, and this is where my recent reading of Dan Formosa’s Baseball Field Guide helps me out. With the bases loaded, and two out, any third out negates the run, and the runner running from first to second failed to cross second base, instead running to join the celebration of his teammates, once he saw the run score.  Now, as you may recall from my discussion of Auburn, the NY-Penn league only utilizes 2 umpires in a regular season game.  With the bases loaded, it makes it difficult for each base to be seen.  Of course, no one was watching second.  One was tracking the ball and the other was watching the scoring runner.  Kudos to the Lake Monster catcher, Derrick Norris, for knowing the rule, watching the whole play and for making his firm case to the umpires.  The Tigers were called back out to the field, and play resumed.  Fans still in the park returned to their seats. Now, on one hand, as I said, it was a great job by the catcher to make his point, it could change the fate of the game, adding a win to the Lake Monsters record. On the other hand the Lake Monsters are not in the running for the playoffs with 6 games to go in the season, and they were already using a position player to pitch.  Extending the game was a taxing move on a player not conditioned for two innings of activity.  Norris, who was rated as one of the Nationals top-30 prospects by Baseball America, will get some credit from the organization for making his case and showing the leadership that he did.  And that was the big gain for this move.

In the top of the 13th, the Lake Monsters got a lead-off hit, and then went down in order. The Tigers came to bat with the third baseman still pitching, got a leadoff single, a sac-bunt, and an error on our friend Souza. Two runners on, one out.  Next batter hits a shallow fly ball, and with two out, the next batter is hit by a pitch to load the bases.  The next Tigers batter steps in as the 12th batter to be faced by an infielder, and is walked, to walk in the winning run. The Tigers win. Again.  It was a great night at a beautiful ballpark, one the was relaxing, and stimulating all at the same time.

Oneonta is now on my must see parks list, and the good news is that it is very close to Cooperstown, so though it may be off the beaten track a bit, it gives you an excuse to plan you next summer vacation when the Oneonta Tigers are in town!