Cleveland Indians vs Boston Red Sox 4/16 Progressive Field
It was a decent day with rain in the forecast, but still I was first in line here.
Wait a second… that’s not right. Now this is where I actually went.
It was a last minute idea and I went with ballhawks Rick, Ian and Hunter. I was tempted by the fact that I still wanted a Red Sox commemorative and hoped that this trip would end that.
As it turned out we got into Cleveland just in time to get tickets. This however is not how to deal with a customer clearly not knowing their policy.
Me: ‘Could I please get a student ticket? I have my college I.D.’
Person behind the window: [reading slowly from a sheet] ‘Haven’t you read the sheet. This year to purchase student sections you have to go online to [insert site here] and buy them’.
What a jerk. Again, I clearly had no clue and people were already heading in. I had to spend the $12 I had for the cheapest ticket they had. Needless to say I was not pleased but I headed in and came up empty.
Obviously any Easter Eggs were gone so I went straight into snagging. There were not too many people there as the cold weather, threat of rain, weekday and general disinterest caused the low turnout [story of almost all of their season].
The Indians had more lefties than I remembered, and one hit one that got into a scrum between me and someone else. I came out on top for ball #1, and after a quick look tossed it to the kid.
Karma would come later when another lefty came up and would lift a fly ball that I tracked perfectly and caught in the glove. Pretty pleased to come up with ball #2 and I was ready for a good day.
As this happened, the Red Sox pitchers were warming up. I was getting excited as this was my only shot. All of a sudden it started to drizzle. The Indians though continued to hit. Once they were done, though the grounds crew came out and put the tarp it. The rain stopped after 10 minutes and it never was more than a drizzle. I was frustrated to say the least, especially after I heard how the Pirates had a home run derby between Jose Tabata and Michael McKenry during BP. That would have been fun to be a part of. At least I got to see a game, the Pirates got rained out. Still no Red Sox BP hurt a lot. I was looking forward to it.
In addition, the main seating bowl did not open as early as it did on the Friday/Saturday time, so I had to wait it out in one area. That stunk.
I decided to go over to the Red Sox bullpen to check for commemoratives but the coaches had already come in there by the time I got there and I knew my chances were slim.
Felix Doubront was the starter for Boston at this game and David Ross started at catcher instead of Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Ross is a former Pirate so that was kind of cool. Pedro Ciriaco also started at shortstop in this game. Pirates fan remember him for the frequent flier miles he got in 2011 traveling from place to place and never sticking anywhere.
Anyways, as Doubront was finishing up, he threw this weird curve that Ross could not handle. It bounced off his glove and out of the bullpen. It landed in my glove for ball #3. I inspected the ball and prayed for a commemorative but wound up disappointed. I asked if they wanted in back but Bullpen Coach Dana LeVangie said it was okay.
For those who do not notice the date of this entry, this was the day after the Boston bombings, another reason why I wanted to go to this game. I wanted to see how the Red Sox would do the day after such a tragic event. As always, the National Anthem was played and when it ended a firework went off. I have no idea if this is a tradition before every game in Cleveland, but in the moment it was in poor taste. The last thing the Red Sox needed to hear was another boom. Needless to say, I along with everyone in the Red Sox bullpen jumped.
After Doubront warmed up, I tried to get the attention of a Red Sox coach but it didn’t work and I left the area. I was not pleased.
I also really wanted to purchase an Indians media guide but I had no money. I love collecting media guides as well and I was unable to add this one to the collection.
Our seats were in the high up bleacher area of left field. This was how you knew you were there.
In that area is a seat dedicated to Indians fan John Adams. I am not talking about the second US president, but a fan that brings a drum to the game. He was running a bit late but I got this picture with him.
As expected security was much tighter at this game. Want proof? Well here you go.
Ubaldo Jimenez started for the Indians and did not make it out of the second inning as the Red Sox scored seven runs winning 7-2. Ubaldo was booed off the mound.
It was Jackie Robinson Day and as the game ended Rick, Ian, Hunter and I all did speed pitch. Sadly our pitches were some of the fastest that day. Ian and I decided to pay tribute to Robbie [aka Scoonz] and wrote ‘Thank You Based God’ and ‘#SMTFO’ by our names.
We then tried to sneak over to see if the umpires had any commemorative baseballs for Jackie Robinson Day but couldn’t get there fast enough. It was unlikely anyways considering the umpire entrance and exit was protected.
The game itself was cold and boring. Ian decided to raise the roof to John Adams’ drum beats. You could tell I was bored since I was laughing like a school girl. Here is a video of the fun.
Indians people also tossed t-shirts and one of the guys threw a shirt that without a glove I made a leaping catch on. The guy was surprised. It was a generic XL Indians shirt but still it looked like a football route and a touchdown. I’ll take that.
After the game, we stayed for autographs and got Indians closer Chris Perez, second baseman Jason Kipnis as well as Bench Coach and former major leaguer Sandy Alomar Jr to sign.
All in all it was a long day but still fun and worthwhile. I hope to be back sometime this season.