Driving through Kanawha City with my daughter last week, we passed the site of the old Watt Powell Park and I mentioned to her that was where I used to go see baseball games. I remember going there as a kid with my family to see the Charlies and then later with friends to see the Wheelers and the Alley Cats.
Passing by a television tuned to a sports channel yesterday, I saw baseball players getting in shape in Florida as part of Spring Training. That’s the strongest signal I know of that Winter will eventually lose its grip and Spring and Summer will be here before we know it.
My girls were born in North Carolina and we went to see the Durham Bulls play from time to time. That was a beautiful ballpark but the downside was the Bulls are AAA and the park is nearly the size of a Major League ballpark.
I really like Single A baseball for the intimacy of it and West Virginia Power Park is a nice little venue. If you’re interested, you can get to know the players and really have a connection with what’s going on—on and off the field. If you’re so inclined, you can even make your presence felt by the opposing team. I will never forget the 3rd base coach for the Visitors turning around and telling my buddy to shut his mouth at Watt Powell. Of course that was the worst thing he could’ve done. Let’s just say my friend really didn’t listen to the opposing team’s coach.
Single A baseball has the same appeal for me as do the summer and winter Olympics and college sports. The players are there for the love of the game. They are getting paid, but they are far from getting rich. They still have dreams and are busting their tails to live them out.
After this endless winter and the itinerant cabin fever that came with it, I can’t think of anything I’m looking forward to more than getting outside and relaxing in the sun. And this year I plan to spend some of those summer evenings at the ball park. As my friend Danny Boyd just told me, watching baseball in the summer is “Good for the soul.”
Is Spring Training over yet?.