The Saskatoon Berries beat the Regina Red Sox 11 to 10. This marked the first game of the year that my partner Rhiannon and I ducked out of early; a weeknight with work at 7 a.m. the next day, a 7 p.m. start time, and double-digit scores for each team conspired against us. We headed out in the middle of the eighth. By then, the beer batter, second baseman Brock Laird, had struck out twice, been hit by a pitch twice, and doubled. If he came up after we left, the beer shack wouldn’t have been open anyways.
1. The Red Sox haven’t been doing a ceremonial first pitch — at least not yet — but they have had young baseball players running out with the Sox into the field before the anthem is sung. The outfielders line up in center, most of the infielders gather at second base, and the battery and first baseman stand at the mound. The designated hitter stands along the first base line, but he’s still entrusted with a kid, this time one with Crocs or similar on. I did wonder if the child was paired with the DH so he wouldn’t have to jog too far in less reliably-athletic shoes.
2. I saw two people with Blue Jays Bo Bichette jerseys on. I’m doubting I’ll ever catch a Mets Bichette jersey in person. I was curious how these two felt about his struggles down in New York. If they’re still wearing the jersey, it could be they wish him well and hope he turns it around, or they’re just celebrating his time with the Jays, or that’s the piece of baseball merch they own. The next day, I popped out of my office on a 15-minute break and put on the Mariners radio broadcast, only to immediately hear a description of Bo driving in two runs. It didn’t please me terribly, but hopefully someone got some joy out of it, Jays fans or otherwise.
3. One of the kid races was among a trio dressed as a carrot, a watermelon, and a hot dog. When the announcer declared the winner, he said, “The hot dog gets it by a wiener,” which I imagine will be the first and last time that’s said at the field.
4. There was a hard wind coming across the field, strong enough that I could see some of the broadcast cameras moving a bit on their tripods. (Though some of those angles are a little shaky at all times.) This might’ve posed a problem for defenders, though I’d expect it more for the outfield than the infield. In the infield, some iffy throws for the catcher had Matteo Pierre being swapped in early at the position. His big moment of the night was a four-pitch walk in the sixth, where he didn’t make a motion towards swinging once.
5. The Berries used three pitchers in the sixth. Tyler Bailey, who, unless I’m looking at the roster wrong, is normally considered a catcher, came in to allow a hit followed by a hit by pitch and two walks before being lifted. He was followed by Colin Plain, a right hander who allowed three hits and got one out when Justin Simard was caught stealing. Finally, Clay Mixon came in, hitting another batter but at least getting two outs to close the frame. I’d be surprised if the Sox ever used three pitchers in an inning, even if a situation like this came up that forced their hand. The coaching staff seem to prefer to give a pitcher a minimum of an inning, if not two or three, even if it seems like they’ve got guys available in the bullpen.
6. In the first, Berries first baseman Josh Hensen hopped in the air to catch a bouncer coming down the line, grabbing it with the webbing of his glove. He wasn’t sure if he had caught it, so there was an unusual scene when he stopped to look in his glove to see what he had, while a batter was hoofing towards the base and a couple of teammates were yelling “You’ve got it!”
7. When David Gordon came on in relief for the Sox, his jersey was already untucking. I doubt it’s a choice or a fault of Gordon’s or anything like that — some of the jerseys seem a little short for the players — but I was thinking, if Tony La Russa knew this was happening, he might cross the border to pull Gordon off the mound by his ear for the offence. A couple of years back, the Sox had a great lefty starter, Colton Anderson, for whom it would be safe to assume his jersey would be completely untucked by the end of a frame.
8. There weren’t many Berries fans in attendance, but a couple of them were behind us. They were disappointed by the lack of hot drinks, which is an oversight at the field right now. They were understandably happy about centerfielder Nash Nichols’ grand slam. The guy said our bathrooms were actually nice, though that might’ve just been our reputation being bad enough in advance to lower expectations. I think the word is out that the washrooms we do have are shared by fans, staff, players, and umpires, and scarcity of washrooms might suggest they aren’t going to be luxurious. Last year, the shared facilities led to a tableau at the urinals, where a Sox fan was asking a visiting player how he liked playing a very windy game the night before. “I wanted to fucking kill myself,” the player told this older man.