As I finish up my tour through the International League, I couldn’t help last night notice the chill that is in the air.  It wasn’t that long ago that I was sitting in Charlotte drinking hot chocolate because the early April nights hadn’t yet warmed.  That game, it seemed, would never end.  This one too seemed quite the same way.  Its like both teams were trying to find ways to lose at times.

I expected to be one of very few fans in the stands, as the Buffalo Bisons (AAA New York Mets) were last in the standings and the season was coming to a close.  Additionally, with school already underway, not many parents were bringing their kids to the ballpark on a school night.  I was pleasantly surprised though because either pocket calculator night, or just the waning days of baseball had brought out a decent enough crowd.  Also, with the opponent being the Rochester Red Wings there were plenty of fans from near by willing to make the drive to cheer on the Wings.

The park, as you can see from the photo in the earlier post, is typical AAA in size, a little less than 20,000 seats.  The seating in the lower bowl extends foul pole to foul pole, with a right field party deck.  The upper deck is higher than in many AAA parks, which raises the seats in the back of the lower bowl and gives them an outstanding view. The only flaw to the seating is that there is not a walkway that splits the lower bowl all the way around.  To get from one foul pole to the other, when folks are in the stands, you actually have to leave the seating bowl and go into the dank, poorly lit concourse.  Its a reminder of how stadiums used to be built, since Coca-cola field (or Dunn Tire Park as it is formally known) opened  in 1988.

Though it overlooks highways, it really does have  nice placement in town.  Just on the edge, depending on your seats many building seem to be peering in over the top of the grandstand, as if to check on the progress of the game themselves.  And though it is in the middle of downtown, it really is a peaceful place to watch a game.

As I said the concourse leaves a little to be desired.  Dimly lit, you firmly leave the baseball realm when you head to the concessions.  The bathrooms, while quite roomy, haven’t worn the test of time very well, with peeling paint.  The food choices were abundant.  More selection than any other International League team, except those with brand new ballparks - ie Gwinnett.  The folks working were very nice, and everyone I encountered was very friendly.

The surprise of the night though were the fans, who lined up early to get inside.  As I stood in line to enter, fans were passing each other and greeting like old friends.  They were discussing future games, and the football schedule, as well as what was happening at work.  Many wore jerseys and hats from the NFL Bison, but some were covered in Yankee, Red Sox or Mets clothing.  There was a buzz about who would be in this game, and who had been called up as the rosters expanded.  People, despite the woeful record, were hopeful the team was going to win, and were talking about who was pitching that night.

As I stepped to my seat later, I noticed fans of all sorts chatting and calling out to each other.  The team may not be very good, but the camaraderie was intense.  These were sports true Buffalo sports fans and they were connected by the stability of the season.

This wasn’t just a social visit though. They were here to watch baseball. And though it wasn’t true AAA quality, at moments it was quite good.  The fans could see the play develop, and they were watching closely enough, and knew what the play should be.  When, with a man of first and second and no out, Argenis Reyes caught a line drive and threw to second all the fans rose, because with both runners running they could see that a triple play was possible.  The fans realized sooner than the base runner approaching second, actually.  By the time the ball hit the first baseman’s glove- the crowd was roaring with approval.  The first triple play at this ballpark by the home team since 1997.  It might be the first one I have ever seen in person too, and it was beautiful.  Here is a link, so that you can see Argenis Reyes make a great stabbing play, too.

The AAA Mets aren’t terrible, despite their record.  What I saw was a team that had some skills, but for every amazing play, they made a terrible one too.  Reyes hit a double to drive in a run later in the game, but he passed second thinking he could make it to third on the throw home but the ball was cut off, and he didn’t make it back to the base.  Because the major league team needed so many call-ups, these players were from lower levels.  They might have some talent, but they haven’t learned all that they needed to at High-A or AA yet.  Mike Lamb who was playing 1st, was clearly a guy who had spent much time at the major league level.  He never missed a mistake pitch, sending a couple to the wall.  Rene Rivera, the catcher was at the other end.  You could see he was involved in every play, and he was challenged at the plate many times.  If the throw came in on time, he had the runner, if it was off-line he still had a chance.  He was heads-up sometimes knowing he couldn’t get the guy scoring, but still throwing to another base to try to get an out anywhere.  He had some power too, but he seems far from being ready for the major leagues.  He probably shouldn’t have been at AAA this year at all, but he did seem to do well playing about his level.  And that’s the case for many of these guys.

The pitcher, Kyle Snyder, was a trooper.  He started the season in the bullpen, but had moved into starting mid-season, probably because there wasn’t anyone else to throw.  He didn’t have the stuff to be starting at AAA ( though it was a cold night, so perhaps he was just having trouble last night) but he went out there and ate innings.  His 2-7 record shows that he has done a lot of that.  He has the second most innings on the team, and yet a terrible record.  Most fans were rough on him too, not realizing he was doing his job well.  He kept the team in the game reasonably enough for a guy who shouldn’t have started this many games at AAA.  A triple play can help you look better than you are though.

The Bison had moments where they looked like all-stars, then they would follow it up with something sort of boneheaded.  These player s hadn’t had time at lower leverls to get much of that out of their system.

The fans stayed in it though, they cheered all game long.  A few left early, but overall, the fans held on to the idea of comeback, and though Rochester never lost their lead, at times the Bison would close the gap a bit. Overall, it was a  great place to watch a game.  The crowd (seen below) made the difference.  Go Bison!

The 7th inning stretch at Coca-Cola Field- Home of the Bisons