A few weeks ago I interviewed my friend Tony for the blog, and with only a few days left in my summer, and a few more games left in his season, last night was the ideal opportunity to see him pitch before his team hits the post-season. Tony is a pitcher for the Gary Railcats, who obviously play their home games in Gary, Indiana; which normally isn't thought of as a destination for a field trip, but during the summer of Delta Whiskey, anything goes. Besides, it'd make good blog content and I like to keep tabs on my interviewees.
Driving to the game was no small feat, Tony's game started at 7 PM, and coming from the north suburbs meant I had to drive my way through rush hour traffic to get there for the first pitch. Fortunately, with kids back in school, traffic wasn't too bad on my way down there, and despite the gloomy weather it was a great night for a baseball game by Seattle standards (grey, drizzly, etc.). On my drive through Gary I thought about Gary's reputation, and how the town has really gotten a bad rap; albeit somewhat deserved.
Founded by US Steel, Gary provided much of the steel used to build the huge buildings that line our cities' skylines, not to mention a ton of other uses we've had for steel during our country's growth in the 20th century. Located along Lake Michigan, Gary was an ideal location for water-based transportation, and things were probably good for Gary residents until steel production hit a wall, and then Gary went to hell. For years, Gary's reputation as a crime-ridden city was justified by data (high murder rates) and personal experience, and there wasn't much of a reason for folks to visit Gary. Sometime in the 1990's casinos made their way in to the area, which brought some work to the local economy, but Northwest Indiana never became the "Vegas of the Midwest." In addition to gambling parlors (I like that word), there are fireworks stands, gentlemen's clubs, tobacco stores, and fast food restaurants that make Gary a bit of an eyesore.
But that doesn't mean its not worthy of a visit, and I did my best to support Gary in its efforts to get back their swagger.
I pulled up to the ballpark and noticed police lights in the parking lot outside of right field. I circled until I parked in an adjacent lot, and as I was walking by the roped off parking lot I overheard one of the attendants mentioning that there was a murder in the parking lot. As in recently. Walking by that parking lot was kind of creepy, knowing that only a few hours ago there was a life that ended just a few feet from where I stood. I later found out that it was a murder/suicide attempt, and it is a tragic story. Let's just say police sirens and murder chatter didn't exactly boost my confidence in the Gary, Indiana restoration plan, but that kind of thing can happen anywhere (at least that's my rationale) and I headed in to the ballpark.
The Railcats play in a relatively new stadium that probably seats close to 5,000 fans when its jam packed. Last night's game had plenty of good seats available, since the weather wasn't so hot, and kids/families are in back to school mode. But I settled in between home plate and Third Base to watch Tony go to work, and it was a lot of fun watching him pitch a complete game shutout. Whether its at Yankee Stadium or the Gary Steelyard, seeing a friend do well at their craft makes you proud of them and the work they put in when no one is watching. There were only a handful of moments when Tony was in jeopardy, and the 8 (actually 7) behind him helped him out with a few craft plays in the infield. There's a reason the Railcats are charging hard towards an Independent League title in the post season!
A few other friends showed up last night to support Tony, and we had fun rooting on Tony, making a half-ass attempt at the wave, and strolling around the ballpark to take in the sites and sounds of Independent League baseball. The ballpark stroll gave us a chance to observe the Michael Jackson memorial shrine erected in right field. They may have to go back and edit some of the text on the stone monument, now that his death has been ruled a homicide, and its clear Michael Jackson's death had a profound affect on at least one person, who left behind a teddy bear, with some illegible handwriting on it. I'll never understand that whole thing (leaving stuffed animals at memorials for adults), but hey, he's their native son. I just would like to listen to the conversation that takes place before the maintenance man (or woman) decides to get rid of the teddy bear.
Anyhow, if you're curious about the evening and want to check out more pics, here's a link to an album with a few captions along the way....
Have a nice weekend y'all...
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