Road Trip-West Virginia

Since the Ohio trip was somewhat shortened by the lack of reasonable hotel rates and I drove home,it looked like my original plan to break up the trip home with a stop in Morgantown WV to hit another new stadium was kiboshed.

On the way home,I talked about it with Cherie and since the game started at four and we still had the rental car,the day trip to Morgantown and the Black Bears was on.

We stopped in Lavale MD for a Dairy Queen "Grill and Chill".
Hagerstown's two DQ's are all desserts and Cherie complains about that a lot,so that was an easy selection.
Clear,fast and friendly,the Cumberland suburb was a nice respite on our trip with their five dollar lunch that included a large sundae.
We had a little problem finding the stadium since the address wasn't listed in the GPS,but it really is quite easy to find after you have been there once.
The stadium is surrounded by a shopping area with a mall,Wal-Mart,Target,Best Buy etc,so once you have been there once,there are plenty of markers to remember for future visits.

We then arrived late,but I didn't want to graph today anyway.
Neither team (Black Bears or visiting Williamsport Crosscutters) had released their team sets,so I didn't have a particular time involved to arrive and between that and the issues in finding the stadium,we arrived in the second inning...
The Black Bears gave us the best seats in the place and we were even told so by the usher that seated us-"Whoa,these are the best seats that we have,so zero complaints there.

The field is close to the fans and is one of the few stadiums in the minors (Not sure if I can think of any others) that uses artificial turf for a surface anymore.
Monongalia County Ballpark was (like State College) built to be shared between the team and a university-in this case West Virginia University,
Since the Big 12 (WVU) has some national powerhouse baseball programs with the colder season Big 10 being a lesser light,the need to get games finished in weather that is not warm is a much bigger deal for the Mountaineers than it is in State College for Penn State.
Therefore the answer is to have a playing surface capable of playing those and that is artificial turf.

MCB's turf did bring back some memories of childhood baseball as on two occasions,balls were hit off the turf,bringing a small puff of dust and crazy hops over infielders that wouldn't have dealt with the surface very often.
One of the two resulted in a triple that brought to mind Willie McGee or Lonnie Smith roaring around second base after a turf aided triple into the gap.

Most of the entrances there are down the left field line for the fans and you walk up a steep incline.
The team pays attention to this as they offer gold cart rides from the parking lot to the park and from the ticket booth to your seat,if you need it.
I hope the team continues to use the carts as so many people in those situations would have difficulty getting around the Black Bears.
It does give an interesting visual when you enter the field and it is pretty unique.

Now for the downside-this might be the worst environment for autographing that I have ever been in and I didn't even bring anything to get signed!
As a newer ballpark,the Black Bears used the baseball recommended screen to run from dugout to dugout and severely limited access there.
That wouldn't be so bad,if the grass area (each side of the field down the baseline with a contoured hill) was available for fans.
It isn't as fans aren't allowed to be on it.
I suppose you might be able to access some visiting team relief pitchers as their bullpen is reachable near the entrance,but anyone else and you look to be spending your time graphing outside the stadium.

If you want to go to a game with a nice ballpark-I'd would say there are plenty of positives to stopping by and seeing the Black Bears and would recommend it.
If you are a autographer and want to try to get someone there-I would give it the lowest grade I could give,so keep that in mind before going to Morgantown.

Plan on being back soon with the trip to the Appy league and still owe a podcast.

Big Don visits the newest park in the minors

We have a guest column today as our longest faithful reader,Big Don Cain visited the new ballpark in Morgantown WV for the West Virginia Black Bears of the New York/Penn league.
Thanks to Don for taking the time for us...

Photo Credit;Mike Lowry

Hello Shawn. The following is my review of Monongalia County Ballpark.

Location -  The bad - MCB is behind and off to the right of a shopping area. If you don't know the area, you probably won't drive straight to the ballpark. 

                 The good - There are several restaurants located in the shopping area near the ballpark.

Parking -  Parking is $3. The good - It is just across the road from MCB.

                                  The bad - There is only one way out of the parking lot, and you are better off waiting until at least 15 to 20 minutes after the game is over.

Tickets - Tickets are $11 and $12. If the seats are sold out, SRO tickets are sold for I think $9.

              The ticket prices are not bad considering that you are no more than 18 to 20 rows from the field when sitting in the top row.

Merchandise - The Black Bears have an okay selection of merchandise. I have been to 55 ballparks and have seen much better and much worse selection of merchandise. Hats are $30 plus tax. Sizes vary greatly. I had to try FOUR hats on before I found one that fit. I have never experienced this before.

Food Prices - Neither Mike nor I had any food at MCB because it is very overpriced, especially for a short-season A team. I have seen lower food prices in double-A ballparks. One example of this is $4.50 for a pretzel. The pretzels are big, but $4.50 is steep. I think sodas are $5.00.

Graphing - There is little chance of graphing before the game. You have to do one of two things: Stand one side of the dugout, with little room to see the players and coaches, or stand at the other side which is far from the field, and hope that the player/coach comes over to you. Mike and I got one player (Cameron Varga) of Hudson Valley. That is only because I recognized him and he was nice. I think the players and coaches exit from a building beyond the outfield wall (and across from the parking lot.) Mike and I did not want to stay to just get a few cards signed. We were hungry from not buying anything food or drink at the game.

Ushers - Overall, the ushers seemed relatively okay. There are also local police officers there in case anybody gets unruly. The ushers seemed as if they were there to help people, and weren't overbearing.

The Field - The field is nice because it is new. Mike and I were thankful for the drainage system, because the game started on time, despite raining for a while before the game. I don't like artificial turf, though.

When Mike and I entered MCB, our ticket stubs were torn off. I made a joke and said, "What is this 1985." "They tear ticket stubs off here, and they have artificial turf." Mike laughed.

Photo Credit;Mike Lowry

Game experience - The other fans were reasonably polite. There were a few idiots that got up while the game was going on. I have experienced much worse in other places. The music was not overbearing. The one usher near us told the music person to turn the music up. (The music is loud near home plate, and it's normal-sounding at other places in the ballpark.) Mike said "Don't turn it up." Then I said "If I want to hear loud music, I will go to some club." Then I made a reference to when they used to blast the music at The Diamond in Richmond when there was 800 people at a game.

It was kids run the bases day. Mike decided to go back in the ballpark and go on the field. I followed him because I figured that we could take pictures. Mike found a foul ball on the first base side in the grass. Then it was time to take pictures. We took pictures of each of us standing on the Black Bears on deck circle, the Black Bears dugout, the visitors bullpen and the scoreboard. No one said for us to leave. It was a fun experience. The turf did not seem as hard as other artificial turf that I have stood on. Several people on the Black Bears staff said "Thank you for coming" and "Take care guys." 

There were about 20 vehicles left in the parking lot when Mike and I got there. I went to the end of the parking lot, and took a few scenic pictures. Then it was time for Mike and I to leave.

We both agreed that Monongalia County Ballpark was okay, and that we would go back at some point.