Baseball!

 So Thursday night we headed over to the ballpark to watch our Long Island Ducks take on the Frederick Baseball Club.  It was supposed to be a single game, but since Wednesday night’s game was canceled because of the smoke from the Canadian wildfires, the teams played a single-admission double header Thursday night.  As per a Atlantic League rules regarding double headers, each game was 7 innings long.

We could smell smoke in the air while waiting to enter the ballpark — I even wore a mask for a little while — but the air was much more breathable after a brief rain shower, 

When we entered the ballpark we got swag.  Lots of swag.

The local Catholic hospital network sponsored a rally towel giveaway.

And a local bank was also giving out tchotchkes.  They had some employees handing out drawstring bags with a few items, and they had additional items on their table.  

Here is what I got.

This is a tote bag that folds up into its own pocket.  You can take the bag with you, and unfold it if you need to use it.

A refrigerator magnet/clip.

This next item is a stress reliever.  You press the little round things, then flip the device over and press them again.

This little guy holds your cell phone.

A stress ball.

We grabbed some food (hot dogs tonight, mine without a bun) and took our seats.  They’ve done some work at the park, upgrading the sound system and installing a new scoreboard, very nice. Now we can actually hear the announcer, what a novelty.

Game one was exciting.  Former Met Daniel Murphy plays for the Ducks now, and he led a rally in the 6th inning.

Do you see the ???  on the visitors’ jerseys?  The team doesn’t have a name or mascot yet.

I really thought the Ducks would win, but the relief pitcher blew it.

The Ducks fared better in the second game, winning 3-2 thanks to three home runs.

Here’s Tzu-Wei Lin tying up the game.

Our mascot was in fine form.  Quackerjack is fun.

During the 7th inning stretch, when we sing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”, we sing “buy me some peanuts and Quackerjack”.

There’s a phrase in baseball, “ducks on the pond”.  It means the bases are loaded.

When the “ducks” are the Ducks … yeah, it’s punny.

We’re going back on Wednesday.  I can’t wait.