Last night, I was in Lowell, Massachusetts where the Lowell Spinner- short-season A team for the Boston Red Sox- hosted the State College Spikes- affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Though many of the short-season teams in the NY-Penn league are very popular with their local fan bases, Lowell might have the best following.  Only the Brooklyn Cyclones, who have most of the championships since they were founded could really compare.

LeLacheur Park is your basic minor league park built in the last 20 years. It sits on the UMass-Lowell campus.  No real frills to say.  Their are reserved seats in the infield that are just like normal stadium chairs, and in the outfield on both lines there are bleachers with backs.  There are no outfield seats.   The tickets are always sold out, though you can usually purchase standing room tickets and find a seat during later innings.  The fans are mostly Red Sox fans, as Lowell is virtually a suburb of Boston, and you see the Sox logo just about everywhere you look.

The game was a close one, and a fast one, despite many baserunners.  Both pitchers worked quickly.  At this level, there are few players you recognize as names, though there were a couple that had come out of this year’s draft class that had just signed their contracts and been sent to Lowell.  One non-drafted free agent that stood out was the short-stop for the Pirates.  His name caught my attention in his first at-bat, as it was a bit unusual.  Gift Ngoepe hails from South Africa, and though I haven’t done a ton of research on this, he may be the only pro-ball player from South Africa  where MLB has made several off-season trips to raise awareness about baseball.  He’s a small guy, but made some very nice defensive plays and also managed a nice double.  He also just looked like he was having fun- something you don’t see so often in August from minor league players.

Everyone who worked throughout the ballpark was extremely nice; the customer service was top-notch.  The food was also very good, though perhaps not full of variety.  Good sausages, great ice cream portions.

The team did all the usual minor league between inning games, like dizzy bats and sumo wrestlers in inflatable suits.  My only complaint might be that between pitches, not between batters, but between pitches they would show some funny video clip on the outfield video board.  The clips were things like Austin Powers saying “oh be-have” and bits like that.  And it didn’t just happen

once or twice, but nearly after every pitch.  If I were a hitter, i would be annoyed.  As a fan, it just added to the noise that tends to wear you down.  Good news, as I said, it was a short short game.

Here is a shot from the seats down the right field line, which as you can see, curve around to provide a great view of the game.

LaLacheur Park- Home of the Lowell Spinners

By the way, State College won the game 1-0.