Dawn

 

Map courtesy of Minor League Baseball

It is just after 7am on Tuesday, May 4, 2021.

May the fourth be with you, of course.

My phone has already dinged twice with the sounds of texts and that was as good an impetus as any to get out of bed.

Sleep is a mystery to me more often than now anyway.

I put SiriusXM on the TV in the living room to entertain me as I type.

The Beatles are singing, as they have inside these walls since before I was born. "I Saw Her Standing There" still packs a punch in its sixth decade.

"One, two, three, FAW!"

The skies are dark and there's rain on the ground.

But today feels different.

Minor League Baseball is back tonight, baby!

I get it. You're sick of hearing about it. I've prattled on about it on a consistent basis since October 2019. I hope you'd simply just move along if that's the case.

From what I see, the first game is at 6:00 p.m. eastern when the Portland Sea Dogs host the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. That's Double-A baseball for ya, Suzyn.

A few other games will follow between 6 and 7 p.m.

In the still ridiculously named High-A East League, the Greensboro Grasshoppers host the Hickory Crawdads at 6:30. A few minutes later, the Asheville Tourists will throw their first pitch against the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Then, at 7:05 p.m. eastern, in Lakewood, NJ, in Ocean County, a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean, and hopefully light-years from a bad reality show called "Jersey Shore" a different kind of Jersey Shore will take the field at a place called FirstEnergy Park.

A right-handed pitcher named Ben Brown will toe the rubber for the team, newly rebranded since they were last known as the Lakewood BlueClaws in 2019.

These Jersey Shore BlueClaws will face an opponent from 126 miles to the north. The BlueClaws are an affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. Facing them is an evil empire. Yes. That Evil Empire.

An affiliate of the New York Yankees.

For the first time in 606 days, since they lost to the Cyclones in the now-defunct New York-Penn League semifinals, the Hudson Valley Renegades will play ball.

Luis Medina, a highly-touted prospect, will get the ball for the Gades.

The reach of Gadesland (and beyond)

Is it killing me to not call this game tonight? Yes...and no. You know I want to call everything. You also know I've been fairly patient about everything COVID-related. Or at least philosophical about it.

I had it all plotted. I'd be packed. Equipment would be loaded in the car. I'd get a room. Wow, rates weren't great for what it's worth. I'd get to Lakewood in the early afternoon. Would I go the straight route down the Garden State Parkway or would I be a little more adventuresome?

I'd go to the room first to get comfortable. Then I'd go to the stadium.

At worst I could have made it a day trip with a late-night drive home.

It will happen. Just not today. 

You know I believe we should at least call the opener. You know I want to be calling the first game as a Yankees' affiliate. The first game in 606 days.

But it's OK. It's one more week to prepare. It's one more week to test equipment. I can watch the games on MILB.TV (and so can you -- there's a promo code to get a discount). Many have radio/audio broadcasts, including the BlueClaws whose "voice" Greg Giombarrese will call the game tonight.

Our day is coming next Tuesday in the Hudson Valley. It will be our turn then.

Tonight, we watch. Maybe practice a little off the monitor.

It's sports. It's baseball. Hope springs eternal on Opening Day. Every team has a record of 0-0. 

Tonight, I'll have a story to write after it's over.

The first of 120 stories to tell.