Anyway, I made my first trip of the year to a Minor League game to Rome, GA, the home of the Low-A Rome Braves. For this blogger/autograph hound, it doesn't get much better than a Rome Braves game. From the design of the stadium to the friendliness that the Rome Braves promote, its a great place to spend a night. I've been to State Mutual Stadium about 5 or 6 times, and I've never left disappointed.
The first year of operation for the Rome Braves was a great one as you can see. This team was
was able to secure the South Atlantic League championship led by future Major Leaguers Brian McCann, Jeff Francoeur, and Kyle Davies. Speaking of McCann, he actually had his numbered retired by Rome. They chose a great place to display this, directly above a hot dog stand.
Anyway, Rome is a great place to not only catch a game, but its amazing for autographs also. If you don't like late nights, then its pretty easy to grab autographs before the games. Personally, I'm not opposed to getting players to sign inside the ballpark before the game, but I'd much rather let the kids do their thing. Plus, if you can recognize faces or have a program, getting signatures is MUCH easier afterward.
Either way, the players are pretty close to the stands the whole time, which is typical for MiLB games, so you'll get a good look at them and might even a few autos if they're not too busy. This a view from the ever so great Miller Lite Marina. If you like your drinks, and I know you do, they have nightly specials on tap. You can see most of the field here, except a portion of the left field corner.
So for my trip I was happy to see Christian Bethancourt catch, as I've been anxious to see him with the hype surrounding him already. It was also nice to know I would get to see a few other players I've been waiting to see like Kyle Rose and David Hale, who didn't have such a great night.
After settling into our seats, I made sure to take care of my "View From My Seat" photo (above) for my collection and the best Braves Blog around, Talking Chop. Which reminds me, I really need to organize those 25+ game photos of the same theme from last year sometime soon. Rome has a very nice video board with that will show replays, promotions, games, and all other sorts of Minor League hijinks.
Unfortunately for me, the game didn't go to well for the Braves and they got hammered by a Mets' affiliate, the Savannah Sand Gnats. Plus, finding out about the no hitter by Ubaldo almost seemed like piling on personally. Final score: Braves 2, Sand Gnats 9.
Winning Pitcher: Darin Gorski (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: David Hale (0-1)
So after the game, I headed straight for the parking lot to put away the few things I purchased or was given at the game (shot glass, pennant, baseball, bobblehead). Then it was off to the clubhouse entrance. In Rome, the only thing separating you and the players is a small guard rail. The players are encouraged to be autograph friendly, which worked out greatly in my favor tonight. I brought cards of 12 players, all 12 were more than willing to sign. Below are the results:
Thomas Berryhill
Christian Bethancourt
Paul Clemens
David Hale
Mycal Jones
Brett Oberholtzer
Cory Rasmus
Kyle Jones
Braeden Schlehuber
Julio Teheran
Arodys Vizcaino
Matthew Weaver
So all in all, 13 different cards signed. For post-game autograph hunting, I think that might be a record. It was truly awesome and all of the players were more than happy to take the time to sign. Amazing night, one that will hard to beat in terms of signatures.
Next week I'm off to see the Montgomery Biscuits play the Mississippi Braves. The promotion is Evan Longoria Bobbleheads, so its a much catch game for me. Hopefully I can have some of the same success with the M Braves. Thanks for reading!
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