(Portland) It was a happy Sunday at Hadlock.
Yes, the Sea Dogs won in last-inning, dramatic style but that was only part of it.
The park was busy with folks. There was a buzz in every part of the place.
The Sea Dogs pulled out a 12-11 win against the AA Yankees.
I guess, that alone would make a Yankees’ disliker, like myself happy.
The best part may have been that the young Yanks grabbed the lead in the top of the ninth only to have the young Red Sox take it back.
The crowd got my attention. People were excited to be there and were enjoying themselves on a warm Sunday afternoon.
The Sea Dogs management always has fun going on, but on this afternoon just being there was enough.
In the pre-game, one young man got to hand slap the players on both teams.
My biggest takeaway was a special needs young man taking on the National Anthem. He gave it a shot and pulled it off. It didn’t have quality, but it had heart and that put a lump in my throat.
I had hoped for a look at young Ceddanne Rafaela, but he was in Los Angeles taking part in the Futures Game. I’m guessing that the Yankees’ top prospect (Anthony Volpe) was also there.
I saw Anthony at a New Hampshire/Somerset game earlier this year.
There was plenty of action on the field. There were baserunners galore and several home runs.
Young Alex Binelas (#17 Red Sox prospect) whacked two homers. Alex moved up to AA in late June. This was certainly his best game so far.
Impressed with Christian Koss. He has the numbers to be Portland’s MVP to date. Today he homered and was aggressive on the bases.
Portland’s David Hamilton leads the Eastern League in steals with forty.
I was on the edge of the Portland dugout and so when he was picking up his glove at the start of the game I said to him, “Steal, steal, steal!” He smiled.
David then went off to his position in the field but when he came back in, he led off with a hit and then immediately stole second. From my location I had pretty good photographer’s positioning to catch that action.
When the inning ended, David again came by for his glove. Again, I told him to steal. He looked at me and said, “I already gave you one.”
David did steal second (again), and this time with no throw. Later, he would steal home. Wish I’d gotten that shot!
I did get Christian Voss sliding into home.
A player I was looking for was Max Burt. Max attended St. John’s (Danvers). When I saw the Somerset team in NH, Max didn’t play. However, the day before today’s game Max had hit two home runs. Today, he collected a couple of hits.
One thing that Max did in the field that was unique was, just before a pitch was made, he would jump in the air. I’m not sure what advantage there is to it, but he did it just before every pitch.
The Eastern League schedule is interesting. Teams now play six-game series with each opponent. What this means for Portland is that their next two series are away, so they won’t be at Hadlock until August 2nd versus Erie.
August works the other way for the Sea Dogs because most of the month they will be at Hadlock.
The weather was interesting. There was sun, clouds, and a little bit of rain. Welcome to New England!
Continued thanks to Chris Cameron for making my visits possible. Hadlock Field is a great place to be.
McClelland Miscellanea 