The Dally Tar HeelThursday, August 22, 19915B
Diamond dream come true
Writer gets a taste of national pastime
"Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and
Chevrolet."
An unknown scholar made this com
ment about America's favorite national
pastime baseball. As the dog days of
summer wind down, so does the base
ball season. So let me take a moment to
reflect on one of my fondest memories
of the past season.
This quote may not have much rel
evance at the big-league level anymore.
The only place it may hold any truth is
in the bush leagues better known as
the minor leagues where one can still
go and enjoy baseball, hot dogs, apple
pie and even have a shot at winning acar
on fan appreciation night.
My journey took me to Charlotte on
a humid July night in which the home
town Knights, a Double A affiliate of
the Chicago Cubs, were hosting the
Huntsville (Ala.) Stars, an Oakland Ath
letics farm club. In attendance with me
was my UNC hallmate, Rodney Cline.
We arrived at the ballpark about 45
minutes early. Our objective was to
obtain the autograph of Todd Van
Poppel, the Stars' rookie phenom and
the A's first-round draft pick.
After battling young kids, adults and
other autograph seekers, we finally
gained a good spot in the front row
beside the Huntsville dugout. After
watching Van Poppel exercise for about
25 minutes, we saw him finally make
his way over to the dugout. We were the
third and fourth persons for whom he
gave his John Hancock. Mission ac
complished. We then took in some ballpark hot
dogs and soda before settling into our
general admission seats on the first
base line at cozy Knights Castle.
The game turned out to be a drag as
Huntsville trounced the Knights, 17-3.
The Stars lit up the Knight sky as three
Huntsville players hit their first home
runs of the season. The game got so ugly
for the Knights that their second
baseman pitched the ninth inning.
However, it was neither the auto
graph, hot dogs nor the game itself that
made this night so special and interest
ing for me.
On this night and this night only
Rodney and I were honorary mem
bers of the Charlotte Knights' ground
crew. During the eighth inning, Rodney
and I were approached by two Knights'
David Monroe
Staff Writer
employees who were looking for pro
spective workers to help the ground
crew after the game.
The way in which we were selected
for this glamorous job is a neat story
within a story. Two of the eight ground
crew members failed to show up for this
game. As a result, two other crew mem
bers, Ken and Dave, came through the
stands trying to recruit two substitutes.
As it turned out, Rodney and I would
be their first and only recruits. We were
asked to do the job because we were the
only guys sitting together who were
without a date or a drink in our hands.
Rodney and I did not hesitate to say
yes. For us the baseball fanatics that
we are this was almost a dream come
true. This was probably as close as we
would ever come to actually being part
of professional baseball team, even if it
was as members of the ground crew.
Immediately after the game, we
charged onto the field and awaited in
structions on what to do. Ken and Dave
helped us put the tarp (large pieces of
plastic that protect the pitcher's mound,
infield and otherdirt areas from rain) on
the visitor's bullpen.
Rodney and I knew what our next
task was. We rushed over to the Knights'
bullpen and covered the pitcher's mound
with the tarp. We then put sandbags on
the comers to hold the tarp down. A
high five was in order, as we knew that
we had done this by ourselves.
What we had to do next was what we
were really there for to put the large
tarps on the infield. This required the
strength of eight men pushing against a
pipe, allowing the tarp to unroll. The
wind made it difficult, blowing the wet
and muddy tarp back in our faces.
We eventually covered the left side
of the infield with the first tarp. With the
second tarp, we covered the right side of
the diamond. Our job was done.
What made the occasion even more
special was that this was only the sixth
time in 50 games that the tarp had been
put on the field.
The job did come with some advan
tages. We received free drinks for the
rest of the evening, free tickets for the
rest of the season, and we were paid
handsomely for about 15 minutes of
work.
Despite the dirty hands and shoes,
being a member of the ground crew for
one night was worth it. I will always
remember one steamy summer night in
which a friend and I were able to fulfill
a childhood dream and be a part of a
professional baseball team.
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Open a Collegiate Banking Express account with
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